"While at the seder we primarily drank red wines, I also tasted several excellent whites. A chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc is always welcomed on a warm afternoon. This white grape variety which originated in France was transplanted in Israel and is accountable for producing refreshing white wines offering distinctive green and lemony aromas…" Yonatan Sternberg tastes some excellent whites post-seder.
I hope you found my previous Passover wine suggestions to your likings. As I mentioned last week, choosing the right wine for the Passover meal (or for any other festive occasion) is often a tricky task. Year after year the wineries and beverage stores bombard us with sales and specials that are hard to resist.
Over the course of the holiday I had a chance to sample a relatively wide variety of wines. It seems like every where I turn; all people do for seven days is organize corrupting meals and drink plenty of wine. As you may know, beer and whiskey are not kosher for Passover, hence even my friends who usually don’t drink wine end up drinking more wine over the course of the holiday than their combined yearly consumption.
While at the seder we primarily drank red wines, I also tasted several excellent whites. A chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc is always welcomed on a warm afternoon. This white grape variety which originated in France was transplanted in Israel and is accountable for producing refreshing white wines offering distinctive green and lemony aromas. Both the Dalton and Barkan wineries recently released their Sauvignon Blanc Reserves. Sold at around NIS 50, both wines are light and refreshing offering good value for money. The Dalton, Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, 2008 is light straw with green reflections in color and is showing aromas typical to this variety, including grapefruit, lemon zest and a slight grassiness.
I also sampled a couple of excellent Chardonnay wines. Bravdo, Chardonnay, 2008 – straw with noticeable gold reflections, the wine has a somewhat creamy texture and offers complex aromas including: white flowers, pears, citrus peels and hints of oak all leading to a long and satisfying finish. I also recommend trying their Merlot 2007. To Whom It May Concern: it is also important to note that Bravdo recently received kashrut certification, and is now a kosher winery.
This year the Ella Valley Winery produced both an oaked as well as an unoaked (aged in stainless steel vats rather than barriques) version of their Vineyard Choice (V.C.) Chardonnay. Both wines are definitely up to par when comparing them to the other Vineyard Choice (the equivalent of a reserve series) wines. I also enjoyed Binyamina’s Chardonnay, Shoam of the Avnei Hachoshen Series. Deep gold in color, the wine is showing generous fruity and floral aromas along with hints of toasty oak and should go well with rich fish and seafood dishes.
Le’Chaim!
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