Kosher wine
| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Deuteronomy 32:38 |
| Mishnah: | Avodah Zarah 29b |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Avodah Zarah 30a |
Kosher wine (Hebrew: יין כשר, yayin kashér) is grape wine produced according to Judaism's religious law, specifically, Jewish dietary laws (kashrut).
To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must supervise and sometimes handle the entire winemaking process, from the time the grapes are crushed until the wine is bottled and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher. Wine that is described as "kosher for Passover" must have been kept free from contact with chametz, examples being grain, bread and dough.
When kosher wine is produced, marketed and sold commercially, it would normally have a hechsher ("seal of approval") of a kosher certification agency, or of an authoritative rabbi who is preferably also a posek ("decisor" of Jewish law), or be supervised by a beth din ("Jewish religious court of law").
In recent times, there has been an increased demand for kosher wines and a number of wine producing countries now produce a wide variety of sophisticated kosher wines under strict rabbinical supervision, particularly in Israel, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Chile and Australia. Two of the world's largest producers and importers of kosher wines, Kedem and Manischewitz, are both based in the Northeastern United States.
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