My work schedule simply does not allow me to ever catch up on wine writing! But time waits for no one – and here we are at Pesach, so I need to post my Seder picks for this year before finishing my series on Paris tastings. So be it.

Each year when thinking about the Seder wines, I try to come up with a list of wines that are both practical for each kos, while being appropriate for the mitzvah, in that they are truly excellent wines that deserve to adorn my Seder table. As I wrote last year, in general, I am NOT makpid on all of my wines being from Israel for the Seder, and most years I end up with a mix of wines from various places. But in the spirit of the season – Why is this year different from all other years? While part of the answer is obvious, as with the Haggadah, there are also deeper reasons why we should be supporting Israel now more than ever. First and foremost, the current situation here in Israel from October 7th onward has made farming in Israel VERY difficult across the board, of course, including vineyards. While things have started to improve with the ceasefire in the north, the wine industry here is simply crippled.  Add to all of this the fact that the Israeli wine market was already suffering during the Corona years due to depressed sales to the restaurant sector. Add to that the tariffs that now have a potential to raise the cost of Israeli wine abroad even further, and we have a REAL problem here in Israel. And so I will be doing my part to support Israeli wineries, and I encourage my readers to do the same if at all possible.

The Seder itself presents a number of challenges in terms of drinking. First and foremost, all of the four cups are drunk for the most part without food. Two cups prior to the meal on an empty stomach no less and two cups after the meal when we are already full and the hour is late. My Seder night strategy has served me well each year, and so I see no reason to change it up. So here it is, along with my choices for this year’s seder.

[My only criteria besides the wines being from Israel is that I have enough on hand to provide all of my Seder attendees with the same wine (we are about 15-20 people this year and most of them will be drinking wines, so 2-3 bottles of each.]