Kosher Food and Drink

Champagne Drappier, Cuvée Carte d’Or, Brut, NV

It is not said enough: Champagne Drappier offers perhaps the best value in all of kosher wine. Forget the fact that this is world class Champagne, produced by the same family since 1808, and that methode champenoise wine takes potentially the most effort on behalf of the winemaker, and that the produce in the appellation of Champagne is more prized and pricey. There is a reason Champagne commands great prices.

Now I’m not saying $50 or $60 is inexpensive for anything, let alone 750ml of fermented grape juice. But truly great wine is often expensive to produce and renown names can carry larger price tags based on prestige.

But what most stands out to me is the fact that Champagne Drappier sells for only about $10 (about 20-25%) more than its non-kosher sibling. Compare that to other famous French labels. Château Pontet-Canet sells at about a 250% premium. Lascombes almost double, etc. Added cost should be no surprise. There are more hands involved in kosher winemaking, including the cost of the supervision label itself (not to mention everyone else taking a cut on the path from winery to your table).

So it’s a breath of fresh air to pay within the same stratosphere as the rest of the free world. When you consider the excellent quality, it’s rare air.

Cuvée Carte d’Or is probably my favorite of the Drappier line. As with most Drappier, it’s produced primarily from Pinot Noir. I don’t know the blend (if there is even one) in the kosher, but I am trying to find out. The NK is 80/15/5 PN/Chard/PM. This is likely a Blanc de Noir. Nerd stuff: Grown in limestone soil and chalk, undergoes MLF, unfiltered. 5% aged in oak, 40% reserve. Low sulfur. Dosage is 6.5 g/l.

In the glass, pale vermilion gold, Wonderful, complex aromatics of white peach, lemon curd, quince, patissière, light nuttiness, brioche. The palate shows complexity, full body, small, focused, creamy mousse, bright acidity, and tart fruit. Long finish. Can’t get enough of this wine. Incredibly, it’s mevushal, too.

Drink now until 2027. Though there is dosage here, this wine is not meant for the long haul.

$53, 12%abv, mevushal, available here

Hagafen, Napa Valley, Wieruszowski Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021

Hagafen, and its winemaker Ernie Weir, have always stood atop the field of mevushal wine. This wine is no exception. Hagafen produces only mevushal wine but you would never guess that. In fact, if you’ve ever visited Hagafen Winery, on the Silverado Trail in the heart of Napa Valley, you’d be hard pressed to determine the winery is kosher.

And that’s just the way Hagafen like it. This is a great winery that just happens to be kosher – since 1979, the oldest consistently kosher winery in the U.S.

The 2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is lovely. Fresh and aromatic, the nose shows red and black fruits, followed by stony minerality, earth, and graphite. The palate offers great control of juicy black currant, red cherry, blackberry, and cassis, alongside dark chocolate, cedar, and sagebrush. Deep earth and minerality. Brilliant acid and mouth-coating tannins balance the supple fruit and medium-plus body. Great structure and depth. Punches above its weight. Approachable but better with 24 hours of air. Drink now until 2030 at least.

$53, 13.2% ABV, mevushal, available here

Château Peyrat-Fourthon, Haut-Médoc, 2015

50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot

A true Bordeaux experience. Classic expression if you seek this profile.

In the glass, deep and dark ruby, with no bricking noted on the edges. On the nose, cherry and blackberry, pipe tobacco, graphite, and leather. Beginning tertiary notes of loam and earth are noted. On the palate, primary fruit still in good show, with gripping tannins and bright acid. There is a distinct mineral character. The fruit has softened since my last taste but this bottle is evolving beautifully. This wine is in window with capacity to evolve another 5+years. 

12.5% ABV, non-mevushal, available here