With my intense focus on the new Search feature, I have been behind, but as stated, I am past the worst of it and am now pushing forward with many posts! This has been on my mind, and I need to get it out before the bigger posts, like the massive new Italian wine releases from M&M Importers!

If I can sum up the two events, KWD and KFWE (Kosher Food and Wine Experience), I would say that KWD met and exceeded my expectations, while KFWE continues to meet but really needs to rebrand. At this point, IT IS NOT a food event; it has not been one since it left Manhattan in 2023! Sure, KFWE London is, and to some great extent so is KFWE Oxnard, but KFWE NJ/NY is not only not a food event, the food is a mess and hinders any hope of serious wine tasting. All the major wine events that happen throughout the world, in the non-kosher space, respect the wine, and food is more of an afterthought. It is time for KFWE NJ/NY to do the same and get serious!

KWD’s Wine and Food Night

However, let’s zoom in and start talking about events. Once more this year, KWD’s event was first on the list, and thankfully, it was not the week before! The Super Bowl was the following week, so overall, it was a success, timing-wise.

Look, food will never be a highlight at these two events. As stated earlier, the last time food was part of any of these events in NJ/NY was in 2023. In the future, please rename the KFWE to RWE (Royal Wine Experience), at least for the NJ/NY area. At the KWD, there was one table that saved the event, food-wise: the Grill Father table. Solid food. The rest was just not for me. I needed some sustenance and palate cleaning, and that worked out well.

Let us start with the ONLY things that matter regarding wine tasting. First, the wine glasses were great! There is ZERO point in pouring whatever wines you have and forcing me to taste them in a tiny glass. Bravo! Next, there were no drunk people, at least not by the time I left at the end. There was water on all the tables, and the spittoons were emptied somewhat consistently (this was the only minor slight). There were crackers, and the tables were not overly packed. When you put this together, you have a WINNER! That is two years in a row now, great work, guys!

This year’s KWD was the same this year wine-wise, IMO. Royal’s wines at the event were mid-level with a few higher-level wines. Royal was able to highlight some real winners, like a couple of 2023 wines, but mostly they poured older stuff. To me, the real winners were Raziel Wines, ESSA Wines, and some good Herzog Wines.

The entire M&M lineup was impressive. That table was the REAL WINNER! M&M continues to impress with solid-to-great wines. I had already tasted those and posted them; otherwise, I would be screaming their praises. I have a whole new set of wines to be posting, that will be the next post, B”H!

The wines at Bam Spirits, Kosher Wine International, Noble Wines (Cedev), and others were good to solid. The Noble wines are starting to shine. Avi and I tasted some of them in Paris, and I tasted even more of them there. The Yarden table had some interesting wines, and overall, I think having an event with many distributors is a WIN-WIN for consumers, and we need more of them, not just one!

River Wine had a lovely reserve Pinot that I would love to taste again, but I hear it is sold out. I hope to get some somehow.

Overall, I think the crowds, the passion, and the interest people had in the wines, more than in getting drunk, made for an enjoyable and successful third event by the KWD crew! Bravo, guys!