New York – Kosher Wine Aficionados To Move Out Of Their Comfort Zone

New York – For over 20 years, amateurs of fine kosher wine around the world have been spending their hard-earned shekels on the quality Cabs from California, or from the Golan in Israel. By “Cab”, here the meaning of course is Cabernet Sauvignon, the grape variety, not taxis, Uber or Lyft.

There is nothing wrong with Cabernet Sauvignon. On the contrary, some of the best wines in the world are Cabs or based on Cab. However, this passion for Cabernet Sauvignon has become almost sort of an obsession for the average kosher wine consumers, to a point they wouldn’t try nor even hear about trying other varieties.

For them, wine is just Cab. They often claim they do not like Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, Carignan (say what?), Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc. Let’s not even get into their total dismissive attitude towards white wines, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc… They won’t hear it.

Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc actually should be on the radar of the wine lovers.

Let’s talk just a little bit about history.

Where does Cabernet Sauvignon actually originate from? It was established by a study conducted at UC Davis in 1996 that, as a matter of fact, CabSav is the result of an accidental breeding of 2 grape varieties in the 17th century. Which varieties? Well, a red and a white: Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon (Blanc). Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc are in a way the father and mother of Cabernet Sauvignon. A very successful heir indeed! By the way, UC David has also discovered that Cabernet Franc is the parent variety of Merlot, as well.

Wine aficionados have lots to gain by expanding their horizons and try more types of wine, different styles and varieties. There are many grape varieties besides Cabernet Sauvignon that are no less good or worthy and which often are the base of many great wines. Wines that happen to be more versatile and easier to pair with food (besides a tomahawk steak).

Let’s talk about a couple of these wines to better understand what Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc are about.

Matar, Sauvignon Blanc-Sémillon :
Matar is an Israeli boutique winery located in Kibbutz Ein Zivan in the Golan Heights. It was started in 2012 by brothers Tal and Nir Pelter whom have gathered awards as well as an excellent reputation since the early 2000’s with their non-kosher Pelter winery. Pelter is one of very few Israeli non-kosher wineries that has been successful in exporting their wines and sell them to the non-kosher market abroad.

Tal is the winemaker while Nir handles the administrative side of the business (very much akin to Golan and Gilad from the famous Flam winery). Tal Pelter, like many of his peers, is a very talented and passionate winemaker. He loves being hands-on in the winery, crushing the grapes, filling the barrels, stirring the lees etc.

When Tal and Nir wanted to expand their business and make kosher wine, Tal was not very enthusiastic about leaving most if not all the manual work to kashrut supervisors as it would take away a huge part of his own enjoyment in the winemaking process. So the Pelter brothers decided to take a radically different approach than other wineries such as Flam and Tulip when those went fully kosher in 2010. They created a brand-new winery right next to Pelter with its own equipment and facility to produce strictly kosher wine. There, Tal would take all the winemaking decisions which would be executed by kashrut supervisors, Sabbath-observant Jews having the rabbinical approval to handle those tasks. And in parallel, Tal would keep making himself his non-kosher certified Pelter wines next door.

Tal Pelter studied and was trained in winemaking and oenology at Perth, Australia. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that he is making a wonderful blend of Sauvignon Blanc (80%) and Sémillon (20%). While these two varieties constitute the base of most the great white wines from Bordeaux in France, including the sweet dessert wines of Sauternes, Australian winemakers have adopted them and produce some terrific, complex, sophisticated and crisp white wines. Hunters Valley among other Australian regions, is becoming famous all over the world for these wines. And this wine from Matar certainly compares with those excellent Australian wines. It features delightful aromas and flavors of lime, straw, tangerine, with some grassy undertones as well as bracing acidity which makes it a perfect pairing with salmon and tuna sushi as well as with poultry dishes, such as lemon-confit chicken. And with only 11.8% Abv. , it is a perfectly refreshing wine for the summer and all year-round.

Domaine du Val Brun, Saumur-Champigny :
Cabernet Franc is the main red variety of the Loire Valley in France where it is the star of several appellations, such as Chinon and Saumur-Champigny. There, it typically yields wines that are not as heavy as the Israeli or California Cabernet Franc, and is rather more subtle and delicate. This one has a medium body with notes of red berries, earth, tobacco and spices. It is not a very complex wine but rather a wine to enjoy with a BBQ, grilled chicken or turkey skewers, hot dogs or deli, even a nice charcuterie platter with beef jerky, salami etc.

Gabriel Geller has joined Royal Wine Corp. after over 15 years of experience in the wine industry. Since 2008, Gabriel has been a freelance wine writer and critic for a variety of media outlets as well as a consultant to wineries, hotels, importers, distributors and wine shops throughout the world.