Kosher Wine 101
Everything you need to know to buy, serve and pour kosher wine with confidence.
Kosher wine is made from the same grapes, in the same vineyards and often in the same cellars as the world's great wines. What sets it apart is who handles it and how. At M & M, the kosher run of each wine is crafted alongside the estate's own team so the wine in the glass reflects the estate, not a compromise.
What makes a wine kosher?
From the moment the grapes are crushed until the wine is sealed, it may only be handled by Sabbath observant Jews, under the supervision of a rabbinic authority. Every ingredient and processing aid, from yeasts to fining agents, must be kosher, and equipment is dedicated or kosherized. The certifying authority's seal, the hechsher, appears on the label, the cork and the capsule.
What does mevushal mean?
Mevushal wine has been flash pasteurized, heated briefly before bottling. Once mevushal, the wine keeps its kosher status even when opened and poured by anyone, which makes it the choice for restaurants, hotels and catered events. Modern flash pasteurization is quick and gentle. In our portfolio, mevushal wines are marked on every page and can be filtered on the wine list.
What is a hechsher?
A hechsher is the certification of the rabbinic authority that supervised production. Different communities follow different authorities. Supervisions across our portfolio include: Badatz – Beit Yosef, Beit Yosef Chareidi, IKU, IKUI, OK, OU, Rabbi Don Yoel Levy, Rabbi Its’hak Katz Kehal Yereim Paris Chareidi, R’ Its’hak Katz Kehal Yereim Paris Chareidi.
What about Passover?
Wine that is kosher for Passover has been produced so that it never came into contact with chametz or kitniyot derived ingredients. Most fine kosher wines are also kosher for Passover; look for the notation on the label or ask us about a specific wine.
Does kosher wine taste different?
It should not. That is the whole point of our work. Our partners, from Feudi di San Gregorio to Domaine de Chevalier, craft their kosher cuvées with the same grapes, the same winemakers and the same standards, so the kosher and non kosher versions are indistinguishable in the glass.