New York, NY – Kosher Wine And Spirits Hotter Than Ever At KFWE 2015

New York, NY – Hundreds of members of the media and the wine industry braved icy weather Monday for an opportunity to see and taste some of the newest kosher wines and spirits at the 2015 Kosher Food and Wine Experience, held this year at the Metropolitan Pavilion.

This marks the ninth year that Royal Wine Corporation has hosted the event which featured over 340 different wines from Israel, Chile, California, France, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, Washington, Oregon and New York and an assortment of 82 types of liquors and liqueurs from Spain, Colombia, Israel, Poland, California, Sweden, Mexico, Ukraine, Russia, St. Marten, Panama, France, Scotland, United Kingdom, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and California.

“As a company our philosophy is always that we don’t want to hide behind a glass and a cork,” Mordy Herzog, vice president of Royal Wines told VIN News. “We are always eager to get our product into people’s mouths so that they know what they are drinking and what they are buying. As consumers become more savvy, and their palates become more advanced, we are increasing our efforts in the market and our greatest inspiration is the customer. We work hard never to forget that on the other side of the wine glass is a consumer who has to feel that they got a great product.”

Over the years, Kedem Royal Wine has attracted the attention of both kosher consumers and wine enthusiasts and has grown to encompass more than 40 different wine labels from wineries worldwide, each with its own unique flavor.

“Different climates are better for different grapes,” said Herzog. “Different years are better for different grapes. The soil, the climate, the humidity all play a role in the grapes. There are certain areas in France, for example, where it’s just legal to grow cabernet. Different areas are for merlot. So different areas are more appropriate for different grapes…wine is natural. All a winemaker really does is allows the flavors from the grapes to come out, complimented by a little bit of oak, complimented by a little aging.”

Herzog also noted that shmita will not affect Royal’s supply of Israeli wines.

“We make more wine the year before and it carries us over for the shmita year,” said Herzog. “We have done this long enough that we have a proper cycle and we have it figured out down to a science.”

This year’s show was held at a significantly larger facility than in previous years to accommodate the growing interest in the kosher wine market.

“Baruch Hashem people now recognize kosher wine, not for it being kosher, but because of what’s in it, what it’s made of,” explained Herzog.

New ratings to be published next week by a leading wine periodical rank a number of Royal Wine’s offerings as “excellent.”

“Over 30 of our wines were rated over 90 by Wine Enthusiast,” said Shimon Weinberg of Royal’s Kent Marketing. “That is huge, huge.”

Weinberg also noted renewed interest in French wines, whose sales dipped after 9/11.

“All the things that happened in the non-Jewish world, the backlash against France with ‘freedom fries’, it affected kosher wine sales too,” said Weinberg. “But now French has really picked up and become a hot category again and we have a phenomenal portfolio of French wines.”

While years ago kosher wine may have been considered of lower quality, that stigma is fast fading.

“I think it is only a matter of time before we will be mixed in with the regular shelving in any good liquor store instead of having a section that is kosher,” observed wine consultant Samuel Rak. “I think that once people become more familiar and realize that we can produce well aged beautiful wines that come from climates that are perfect for growing wines, in Israel and here in the States and all over Europe, kosher wines will become part of the general market.”

Pricing continues to prevent some from consumers from purchasing kosher wines, according to Rak, who estimated that a non-kosher bottle that sells for between $6 to $10 would likely fetch approximately $10 to $14 for a similar vintage.

“The production of kosher wine is the same as the production of any other wine,” said Rak who noted that additional costs might be incurred when converting non-kosher wineries for kosher wine production. “But when you talk about wines like Herzog or wineries in Israel that are devoted to kosher wines, their production facilities are the same and the price point should be the same as well. Once the price differential goes down, people will buy kosher wines because they are really just as good.”

Israeli wines have been in high demand according to Jay Buchsbaum, vice president of marketing and director of wine education at Royal Wine. More than half of the bottles at the KFWE were Israeli vintages, including two wines from The Cave, a boutique winery located in a mountainside cave in a 262 foot tunnel that dates back to 16th century.

“The Cave is a great line,” said Rochel Leah Korb of the Binyamina Winery. “Everyone is asking for it and it comes in a box that looks like a barrel.”

Equally intriguing were a line of wines that contain no grapes at all. Morad’s pomegranate, passion fruit, lychee and red grapefruit wines are aged for a minimum of 12 months in stainless steel vats. Herzog described Morad’s passion fruit as one of his personal favorites.

“It’s made from 100 percent passion fruit,” said Herzog. “You hold the glass five feet away and you will smell aromas of passion fruit. It is literally delicious… it tastes like a dessert, but it’s regular wine, not made from grapes, but made from passion fruit.”

Among those who came from ancillary businesses to sample the latest vintages were Ralph Slone, who runs kosher cooking holidays in Italy and France and Laurent Masliah of the Prime Grill.

“ I am always interested to find new producers and new wines and also for very good new wines for Passover,” said Masliah.

Interest ran high at the spirits tables which featured bourbons, gins, vodkas, brandies, tequilas, cognacs, rums, whiskeys, scotches and liqueurs. The most valuable bottle in the room was kept at a back table and was only opened for the select few: a limited edition 37 year old Toumintoul Scotch Whisky. Each of the 600 bottles of the Toumintoul 37 is individually numbered and will retail at $600.

Lorne Mackillop of London’s Angus Dundee Distillers, which produced the decades old scotch, said that the Toumintol 37 was aged in 17 to 18 former bourbon barrels, with some product loss over the years due to evaporation. Each of the barrels was individually tasted to ensure the quality of the product. The company plans to offer an extremely limited edition 50 year old scotch next year, produced from a single barrel.

“There is one barrel has made 105 bottles, that’s it,” said Mackillop. “It will all be sold in Europe.”

Flavored schnapps featured prominently at the show with artisan distillery Zachlawi displaying honey pepper and peach flavored whiskeys and a new line of flavored vodkas including citrus, coffee and orange swirl varieties. Despite their recent surge in popularity, flavored vodkas are not a new phenomenon according to Harlan Gardner of Bak’s, producer of the naturally green-tinted Vodka with Bison Grass.

“The first time they flavored vodka was back in the 1700’s when they flavored vodka with bison grass, a type of grass that grows in Poland,” said Gardner. “It was supposed to be for strength and it lends a natural sweet flavor to the vodka.”

Flavored rum appears to be gaining in popularity in the kosher spirits business.

“We have natural flavored rums in coconut, mango, pineapple and passion fruit,” said Ricardo March of Valera Imports, which produces Ron Abuelo aged rum and Rum Jumbie, a line of fruit infused Caribbean rum. “We became kosher because of Royal Wine and we produce our product in Panama, which has the second largest Jewish community in South and Central America.”

March said that Valera’s rums are a hot seller in the kosher market.

“It is the first natural flavored rum that is kosher in America. This is a product you can chill a little bit, drink it in a glass without any ice. It is really amazing.”

Walders Limited, the makers of Vodka & Vanilla and Scotch & Coffee, plans to expand their line this summer with a new rum based banana toffee flavored liqueur called “Banoffee.”. While Walders cream liqueurs have achieved popularity both on their own they have fast become a favorite of mixologists.

“It is a very good base, a good mix for cocktails,” said Schraga Schapira, managing director at Walders.

Five pitchers at the Walders table, featuring the company’s Vanilla & Vodka, mixed with assorted fruit juices and other combinations, were well received by the crowd. Beverage and mixology consultant Esteban Ordonez, who has worked with kosher caterers and premier kosher restaurants, could be seen mixing cocktail ingredients in a large white pail.

“It has a very nice flavor, elegant and not too minty,” said Spencer Uboyido, a Royal Wine employee who was tasting a Walders mojito. “In a word, it is beautiful.”

{NewsPhotosEmbed 653294435}