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March 29, 2026

Seder 2026

Each year, as I curate my Seder wine list, I look for the perfect intersection of the practical and the profound. The wines must be “Seder-friendly”—approachable enough for four cups—but they must also be excellent enough to honor the mitzvah and adorn the table.

Usually, I am not makpid (strict) about sourcing exclusively from Israel; my cellar is typically a global map of favorites. But this year, the classic Haggadah question can be framed a little differently: Why is this year different from all other years?

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Israeli Wine, Kosher Dessert Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Rose Wine, Tasting Notes, Wine

Agur, Domaine du Castel, Galilee, grand vin, Gvaot, Judean Hills, Late Bottled Vintage, LBV, Limited Edition, Netofa, Pinot Noir, Rosé, Secret Reserve, Shiloh

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March 18, 2026

Domaine Roses Camille Visit – January 2026

Well here it is, my first sole post on this new platform. Just wanted to thank everyone for the support so far. It has been challenging getting this thing off the ground during the current war and even more challenging finding the time to write. As with the other posts from this trip, even though it was a joint trip, the post is written solely in my voice and the notes are mine , though David’s scores are included here as well (current scores of his are provided for the wines we tasted together and scores from previous posts of his for the two 2019 vintage wines).

Usually when I post about the trips David and I take to France, I make sure to include all visits with distinct posts as part of the series and always end with the Hotel post as a wrap up. As we were trying to port everything over to the new site, and David REALLY wanted to do his end of year posts which were late and of course predicated on the Royal and Hotel posts, I decided to hold the other posts till later as for the most part they are about winery visits that we did in Bordeaux and 3 out of 4 of those visits did not include tastings. But, there was one visit which DID include tastings and so I wanted to at least that one out prior to Pesach. This post is about our visit to Domaine Roses Camille in Pomerol. I am going to keep this focused ONLY on that visit and leave the rest to a separate post (or 3, haven’t decided yet). But those will come later as I also have to get my pre-pesach seder post out as well.

We were on a VERY tight schedule when we visited Bordeaux – we had firm appointments at each of the wineries we visited and a train schedule to contend with. As such we ended up having only about an hour for our in Pomerol. Both David and I have written about the wines of Christophe Bardeau many times. We try to taste with him in Paris whenever we are there and he has something new to release. But this was my first time actually visiting the property and tasting with Christophe there. Of course most wineries one visits are either large commercial enterprises or boutique wineries – but all use professional modern equipment to some extent. It is rare that one gets to visit a garagiste winery that is successful – as they tend to ramp up production and get more professional as soon as they achieve any level of success. There are only 2 real examples in the kosher world of proper estate wineries (I am not talking about producers who buy grapes and then produce their wines where they can – even though they too might fall in to the garagiste category) that even though they are wildly successful, have stayed garagiste to the core. The first is Four Gates which I got to visit last summer for the first time (I am just remembering that I never posted about that visit! Will have to fix that…) and now Domaine Roses Camille . Both of these wineries basically are function in tiny spaces. One or two tiny rooms for production and bottling and maybe another for storage and shipping. That’s it.

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Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Wine, Tasting, Tasting Notes, Wine, Wine Tasting, Winery Visit

Clos Lavaud, Domaine Roses Camille, Domaine Roses Louise, Echo de Roses Camille, partial-access

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March 15, 2026

The Best/Top kosher wines for Passover 2026 in all price ranges

As I’ve mentioned before, this list started when people asked me to compile a cumulative list. This year, there have been fewer such events. I went to three of them (including Miami 2025), and the number of great wines is growing along with the overall number of Kosher Wines.

First, here are a few caveats: This is MY list! This is not a list that will make many happy. These wines are the wines that make me happy. No wines here would be considered overripe, over-sweet, or all over the place. The wines here are listed in the order of cost. That said, the top-line wines – what I call Top-Flight wines- are not defined by cost at all. On that list, you can find 2022/2023 Elvi Wines EL26. At the same time, the list includes some of the best high-end kosher wines I have ever tasted. Ultimately, price does not define your place on the Top-Flight Wines list, nor does QPR (Quality-to-Price Ratio); only pure quality gets you on this list. The list of Top-Flight wines is wines I would buy without hesitation, no matter the cost (if I can afford it, of course).

Passover is a time of year when Jews buy the most wine, along with Rosh Hashanah, and the US New Year. That is why all the kosher wine events usually take place a month or two before Passover. It allows the wineries and distributors to showcase all their wines, each appealing to different market segments. So, no, there are no sweet or semi-sweet baseline wines here. Many very good bottles of wine priced at 25 or lower can be bought at Skyview Wines, Gotham Wines, Suhag Wine, Liquid Kosher, onlinekosherwine.com, kosherwine.com, and now Elk is live with his website, ElkWine.com.

Of course, those and others exist. Support your local merchants! I have no real options, so I use the ones to the right of this blog, when viewed on the web (as always, I NEVER make money from them and I never know or care what people buy, the list is who I purchase wines from, and so I feel comfortable recommending them to others).

Also, the amount of money you spend does not define the value or quality of the wine. Take, for example, the 20-dollar 2023 Elvi Herenza Rioja, 2023 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc, and others. These are lovely wines; the fantastic price is only an added benefit. However, many low-priced wines are not on this list, as they lack the required quality, IMHO.

Seeing the list and checking it twice (could not help myself), I am sure there will be a question: what defines a wine as a Top-Flight wine, and why are there wines that are not on it? The Top-Flight wines are wines that impressed me when I tasted them. That does not mean that the 2023 Chateau Moulin Riche, as lovely as it may or may not be, can compare to any wine on the Top-Flight Wine list. It does mean that when I tasted any of these Top-Flight wines, I was wowed and said, “This is a wine everyone should get, no matter the price.” In the end, the Top-Flight Wines is my way to whittle down the list of wines I enjoyed from thousands of kosher wines available here in America. In hindsight, I am sure I will have missed some wines.

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Kosher Dessert Wine, Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Sparkling Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, Wine, Wine Industry

best kosher wines, top kosher wines

4 comments on The Best/Top kosher wines for Passover 2026 in all price ranges
March 12, 2026

The Top and Best 37 QPR Kosher Wine WINNERS of 2025
In May 2020, I wanted to drive home the need for QPR (Quality-to-Price Ratio) wines. So I set out to create what I thought a QPR metric should be! Gone were arbitrary price ranges and such. So many people arbitrarily define 40 dollars as too much or too little for a given wine. My only question is, on what basis did you come to this decision? Your gut, your price limit, your wife, your accountant? I knew we needed a REAL, quantitative, objective approach to building a QPR score.

So I let the market determine the QPR price range. I did this by grouping the wines by type (white, red, rosé, sparkling, and dessert) and then further refining the grouping by ageability within white and red wines. This gave me the following groups:
- Drink “soon” White Wine (Simple whites)
- Rose Wine (always drink soon)
- Drink “soon” Red Wine (Simple reds)
- Mid-range aging Reds (4 to 11 years)
- High-end Red wines (11 and more years)
- High-end White wines (7 and more years)
- Sparkling Wine (No need here for extra differentiation)
- Dessert Wine
I then made the mistake of trying to create an Orange wine range/group – that was a HUGE mistake. Again, the wines themselves were not the issue; the issue was trying to group such a small sample set into a single group. So, I moved them into white wines.

Throughout the year, I posted many QPR posts for almost all of the main categories. I will continue down this road until I find a better way to categorize and track wines that are QPR WINNERS. Regarding the QPR WINNERS score, the secondary QPR score was a 2.1 revision to my QPR score, which is explained in this post. All the wines listed here are QPR WINNERS from my tastings in 2025.

Let us discuss the approach

I have heard from a few of you. I do not understand your QPR (Quality-to-Price Ratio) scoring. So, let us take another shot at this! Every time a customer comes into a shop or goes online to buy kosher wine, they have a choice of a few thousand wines online or many hundreds in a store. The question is, how does a buyer differentiate one wine from the next?
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Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, QPR Post, Wine

Aglianico, Assai, Aura di Valerie, Barolo, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Blanc, Blanc Fume, Brut, Brut Rose, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill, Chambolle-Musigny, Chateau Bellefont-Belcier, Chateau Clement-Pichon, Chateau Dauzac, Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt, Chateau Haut Condissas, Chateau LaGrange, Chateau Montviel, Chateau Moulin Riche, Chateau Rocher Gardat, Chateau Royaumont, Chateau Tour Saint Christophe, Chateau-Lafon-Rochet, Chianti Classico, Clos Mesorah, Covenant Winery, Domaine du Chateau Philippe le Hardi, Echo de Roses Camille, el26, Elvi Wines, Emunah, ESSA Wine Co., Four Gates Winery, Gran Selezione, Herzog Cellars Winery, Landsman, Les Fiefs de Lagrange, Les Roches De Yon, One Plus XII, partial-access, Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre, Pinot Noir, QPR, Raziel Winery, Relais de La Dominique, Riesling, Rocca di Frassinello, Semillon, Shirah Winery, Special Edition, Syrah, Terra di Seta, top kosher wines, Top QPR Wines

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March 11, 2026

The Best and Top 25 Kosher Wines of 2025, including the Wine of the Year, Winery of the Year, the Best Wine of the Year, the Best Mevushal Wines of the Year, and Best QPR Wine of the Year Awards

First, I must start this by saying I am sorry for this being two months late. The late tasting of the 2023 wines in Paris pushed all the dates forward. On top of that, this massive job of bringing up an entirely new platform was a crazy and arduous task that, Barush Hashem, we are both past! It was worth tasting those wines in their correct place. As stated below, I love KFWE, but it is not a place to taste wines for a serious tasting platform, like this. It is a place to taste wine and know if I should taste it in the correct setting. It is an excellent filter to help fine-tune the wines to sit down with.

As with last year, I wanted to keep this post short and sweet – so the criteria are simple. I couldn’t care less about price, color, or where it was made. All that matters is that it is/was available this year to the public at large, that I tasted it in a reliable setting, not just at a tasting, and that it scored 94 or higher. PLEASE NOTE the improved quality of the top wines this year! This is the best year that I have posted about regarding scoring. All 25 wines are 94 or above. An almost exact copy of the number of wines from last year that hit 94 and above (except for the Best QPR Wine of the Year and the Best Mevushal Wine of the Year).

We are returning with the “Wine of the Year,” “Best Wine of the Year,” “Winery of the Year,” “Best White Wine of the Year,” “Best QPR Wine of the Year”, and “Best Mevushal Wine of the Year.” Wine of the Year goes to a wine that distinguished itself in ways that are beyond the normal. It needs to be a readily available wine, incredible in style and flavor, and reasonably priced. It may be the QPR wine of the year, or sometimes it will be a wine that has distinguished itself for other reasons. The wines of the year are a type of wine that is severely underappreciated, though they have had a crazy renaissance over the past two years. The Best Wine of the Year goes to a wine well worthy of the title.

Disclaimer and note! The 2025 Best QPR Wine of the Year may be a hard pull for me, but I am betting on it anyway. The issue here is that the 2022 Chateau Rocher Gardat is not yet here in the USA. That said, I have been promised it will make it, and if it never does get here or gets priced in some insane manner, I have a backup as well. End of my Disclaimer and note.

The Mevushal wine of the year is something I dread. I understand the need for a wine that can be enjoyed at restaurants and events. Still, when we start seeing Château Gazin Rocquencourt and Chevalier de Lascombes go Mevushal – we know we have a problem. As I have stated in the past, if this is what needs to happen, then please sell both options as many do with Peraj Petita/Capcanes, Psagot wines, and many others. Still, it is a wine; as such, it needs a best-of-the-year moniker, so we do it again! The good news is that the process is getting better, so there is that!

This past year, like many of the past few years, I kept tasting more and more wines than ever. Now, to be clear, I tasted thousands of Israeli (and other) wines but did not write notes on them. At this point, I refuse to post notes that demean the Israeli wine situation. I understand that goes against my long-term stance, but the situation there also goes against any logical or even human stance. As such, if the wine is good, I post it. Otherwise, I am not adding value. I still think, long-term, Israel needs to change its winemaking style. However, as long as folks buy the wines, they will stay as they are. Enough said.

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Israel, Israeli Wine, Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Sparkling Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, Wine

Arnaud Baillot, Assai, Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Castellare, Chateau Bellefont-Belcier, Chateau Dauzac, Chateau de Rocher, Chateau LaGrange, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Chateau Malartic Lagraviere, Chateau Moulin Riche, Chateau Pontet Canet, Chateau Royaumont, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Chateau Tour Saint Christophe, Chateau-Lafon-Rochet, Domaine du Chateau Philippe le Hardi, Domaine Roses Louise, el26, Elvi Wines, Four Gates Winery, Generation IX, Gidon, Herzog Cellars Winery, I Sodi di S. Niccolò, L’interdit de Valandraud, Merlot, partial-access, Raziel Winery, Relais de La Dominique, Stags Leap, Terra di Seta, Top 10, top kosher wines, Top Mevushal Wines, Top QPR Wines

2 comments on The Best and Top 25 Kosher Wines of 2025, including the Wine of the Year, Winery of the Year, the Best Wine of the Year, the Best Mevushal Wines of the Year, and Best QPR Wine of the Year Awards
March 10, 2026

Hotel Wine tastings – Taieb Wines, Mercier Wines, Bokobsa Wines, Cedev Wines, Victor Wines, and more! Jan 2026

As stated in the previous post, this is another shared post that David Raccah is writing in his voice, but subsequent posts will be either in a singular voice of David or Avi, or in a shared voice (which will be all new for us).

As stated in my previous post, we were in Paris in January, both Avi Davidowitz and I. The number of boxes in our room was not nearly as insane as four years ago. That was a tower of boxes. Still, we had a lot of wines to taste and some good wines to talk about.

Two years ago, we had about 80 wines; this past tasting, we were at 67. This post will close out 2025, and then we can get to the wines of the year and such! Then we can get to the KFWE post! Yeah, lots ahead!

As stated before. We would love to taste all of these blind. To make this simple: unless we can find someone to pay to help us manage the tastings, taste blind, and gather all the metadata, forms, and sheets, it is just INSANE! We really need to get a helper who understands English enough and can handle sheets and the like in Paris and wherever else we taste wines. Until then, we will have to give up on tasting blind.

The wines were tasted in classic region/style order, Roses, whites, reds from Burgundy, Rhone-like areas, Bordeaux/Blend wines, and I think that is it. The comments are listed by the producer.

Taieb Wines

There were 14 Taieb wines. Sadly, there are no Jean-Philippe Marchand Burgundis for 2024, something that you will hear more about next year. The 2024 vintage in France is not looking great, but time will tell.

The first thing that we tasted was the two new Clos du Moulin wines, which hail from the Bergerac region of Bordeaux. There have not been many Kosher wines made in the Bergerac region, and I think it is one of the underexplored opportunities out there. These two were both QPR (Quality-to-Price Ratio) WINNER wines. The Blanc is a blend of 60% Semillon & 40% Muscadelle. The rose is made from Cabernet Franc. The red wine is a blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, & 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was solid enough.

Taieb Wines. Yoni and his family continue to make well-priced wines and garner QPR WINNER scores. This tasting was no exception, with five WINNER wines from the 24 wines tasted and many wines with a GREAT QPR score. I have posted often about Taieb wines, and if you want to read the entire background, read the first post I made here.

The 2024 wines were a step behind what we expect from Taieb wines, but the 2023 wines were all in the range and good options.

Cedev Wines

There were 12 Cedev wines, and many of them were quite good. First, there are three Alsace wines, and while I have never been a big fan of Gewurztraminer, two of the three were QPR WINNERS. The Sylvaner and Gewürztraminer were both QPR WINNER, while the Riesling was solid but a slight step behind.

We saw the lovely Bergerac wines from Taieb and Cedev, and they have two lovely Cadillac wines from Bordeaux, another region that is underrepresented in the Kosher wine market. The red Cadillac is a blend of 85% merlot & 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the white Cadillac is a blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc & 15% Semillon. Both of them are QPR WINNERS and worth finding.

There is also a bunch of interesting wines to look at, like the 2024 Grof Degenfeld Imperial Topaz Valley, the 2024 Maison Arnoux et Fils Vieux Clocher, Cotes du Rhone (surprising), and the 2022 Plume de Paloumey. Interesting wines, and it makes me happy to know that more regions are getting kosher options.

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General, Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Rose Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, Wine, Wine Tasting

6 Puttonyos, Art Series, Barbera D’Asti, Baron David, Beausejour, Blanc, Bourgogne, Cascina Vecchio, Cave du Bollenberg, Charles Pere & Fils, Chateau Bellegrave, Chateau Branda, Chateau Cantenac Brown, Chateau Clement-Pichon, Chateau Fayat, Chateau Grand Rivallon, Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere, Chateau La Naude, Chateau La Tour Blanche Sauternes, Chateau le Coteau, Chateau Magence, Chateau Martin, Chateau Merigot, Chateau Rocher Gardat, Chateau Roquettes, Chateau Tour de Pressac, Chateau Vieux Lavergne, Chateau Vieux Moulin Noir, Château de Marmorières, Château Haut-Brignot, Château Tour de Bellegarde, Chiroubles, Clos du Chateau de Cadillac, Clos du Moulin, Clos Mesorah, Cotes Du Rhone, Cuvee de Exception, Dominique Piron, Eclat De Diamant, el26, Elvi Wines, Furmint, Gabison Yossef, Garnatxa, Gewurztraminer, Grof Degenfeld, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, Hautes-Cotes de Nuits, Herenza, Herenza Crianza, Herenza Reserva, Herenza Semi, Imperial Topaz Valley, JazzaMoart, Kvitl, La Clape, La dame de Baladoz, La Demoiselle D’Haut-Peyrat, Late Harvest, Les Amandiers, Les Aromes de Vieux Taillefer, Les Jardins de Soutard, Maison Arnoux et Fils, Marquis, Marquis De Mons, Palais de France, Paris Hotel, partial-access, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Plume de Paloumey, Pommard, Riesling, Rose, Saint-Martin, Serinity, Steiner Estate Winery, Summer Ice, Sylvaner, Szamorodni, The Butcher’s Daughter, Tokaj, Tokaji, Torchio, Vieux Clocher, Vina Encina, Vol de Paloumey

No comments on Hotel Wine tastings – Taieb Wines, Mercier Wines, Bokobsa Wines, Cedev Wines, Victor Wines, and more! Jan 2026
March 8, 2026

Paris tasting of Royal Wine’s 2023 and 2024 Bordeaux and other French wines – January 2026

This is the first post on our new platform. Some posts will be joint, like the Europe posts, and some will come from one of us. This is a joint post, and that will be made clear at the start of each post. In general (and a reason why we have decided to collaborate), our palates are mostly in line; the main differences are that Avi has a higher tolerance for some of the riper wines than David, and David has a tolerance for wines that Avi would consider to have too short a finish. When the notes differ for reasons other than this, Avi will usually add an explanation as to why. The bulk of this post was written before we decided to launch this site, and rather than rewrite everything to reflect that this is a joint post, this post (and the next) will remain primarily in David’s voice.

The first wine tasting that Avi Davidowitz and I organized during our trip to Paris was with Menahem Israelievitch, the Managing Director and Winemaker of Royal Wine Europe, in his lovely home. Unlike last year, this was done in one day, and we actually tasted the same number of wines as last year, give or take a few. So, I think we were more efficient this year.

The 2023 Vintage in Bordeaux

So, unlike the 2022 vintage, the 2023 vintage does not come across like 2009 or 2016. The 2023 vintage is very close to the 2014 vintage, maybe a step closer to the 2019 vintage than 2014. As I have commented on a few times, 2014 will always have a very special place in my heart, as it was the first big push back into France by Royal and others. It was also exceptionally good, and the prices were the best we would see until COVID hit and the 2019 vintage was released.

The 2023 vintage has been hit-and-miss overall for most producers, but Royal hit this vintage out of the park. Outside of the 2019 vintage, I do not remember a vintage with so many scores at this level. The ABV levels are much in line with those of 2014 and 2019, and the drinking windows start earlier than for the 2022 vintage.

Some of the wine notes you read below will state those words, the magic pop word. The wines, without that word, are still wonderful, and wines I may buy, but those with pop show more expressive.

Unlike the 2022 vintage, the wines from 2023 are far more accessible and easy/ready to drink. The weight and alcohol are lower; it is more balanced, and it pairs with more foods than the 2022 vintage.

Royal did a great job with the 2023 vintage, but do not expect those results from everyone. So far, of what we have tasted, Royal did the best job. Thankfully, 2023 is NOT like the 2021 vintage; these wines are not green. Maybe they have roasted herbs, but that is more oak, and they rarely show vegetal notes.

How do I compare the 2023 vintage to other recent vintages? I say the quality and personal interest I have in buying these wines are in line with the 2019, 2016, and 2014 vintages, followed by 2022, and then 2015, 2018, and so on.

Looking through the list of wine notes below for the 2023 vintage and the notes for the other wines we tasted from this vintage, you will not see a pattern. Royal crushed it this year! Mr. Israelievitch and the team did an excellent job with the 2023 vintage. As you will see soon, there are many wines here. At first, I thought that the 2022 vintage would have the most wines we have seen from Royal for a few years. But no! I was wrong. In 2023, they made even more Bordeaux wines. There were no Bordeaux whites in 2022, but in 2023, there are FIVE! We tasted three of them, but two are still at large: the 2023 Haut Condissas Blanc and the 2023 Chateau Greysac Blanc.

Comparing the wines we tasted last year from the 2022 vintage with those we tasted recently from the 2023 vintage, I was surprised. The ABV is all over the place in 2023; some are 14+, and some are 13+. All 2022 wines are pegged at 14.5% or higher. I was surprised because, in 2023, I did not expect to see so many 14+% numbers, but they are there. In 2022, they made 40 wines from France. In 2023, they made more; the number comes in at 47, at least of what we tasted! The wines keep coming! Which is great news!

The total number of wines we tasted last year (over two days) versus this year (in less than a day) was 58 and 54, respectively. Last year, we had 28 WINNER wines out of 58 total wines tasted. This year, there were 35 WINNER wines out of 54 total wines tasted. That is an incredible haul for 2203 or any year, in my view.

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Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Sparkling Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, Tasting, Tasting Notes, Wine, Wine Tasting

Arnaud Baillot, Aurore de Dauzac, B Rose, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, Beaune Premier Cru, Blanc, Bourgogne, Brut Speciale, Chablis, Chambolle-Musigny, Champagne, Chateau Bertineau Saint-Vincent, Chateau Chasse-Spleen, Chateau Clarke, Chateau d’Aussieres, Chateau Dauzac, Chateau de Mallengin Eve, Chateau des Arnauds, Chateau des Laurets, Chateau Du Tertre, Chateau Faurie de Souchard, Chateau Fourcas Dupre, Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt, Chateau Giscours, Chateau Greysac, Chateau Haut Condissas, Chateau La Clare, Chateau LaGrange, Chateau Lamothe-Bergeron, Chateau Le Bon Pasteur, Chateau Le Crock, Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Chateau Malartic Lagraviere, Chateau Malmaison, Chateau Montviel, Chateau Moulin Riche, Chateau Pomeaux, Chateau Pontet Canet, Chateau Roubine, Chateau Royaumont, Chateau Tour Saint Christophe, Cheurlin Champagne, Chevalier de Lascombes, Corbières, Cuvee Hautes Terres, Domaine de la Begude, Domaine du Chateau Philippe le Hardi, Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils, Etoiles de Mondorion, Gevrey Chambertin, Grand Cru Classe, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, Inspire, J. de Villebois, La Vie en Rose, Le Comte de Malartic, Les Athets, Les Crais, Les Fiefs de Lagrange, Les Marrioners, Les Roches De Yon, Margaux, Marquis de Terme, Medoc, Monthelie, Montmains, partial-access, Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre, Pomerol, Pouilly-Fume, Premier Cru, Rose, Roubine, Rouge, Royal Wine, Royal Wine Tasting, Sainte Beatrice, Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc, Savigny-les-Beaune, Silex, Teurons, Volnay

3 comments on Paris tasting of Royal Wine’s 2023 and 2024 Bordeaux and other French wines – January 2026
January 12, 2026

Four Gates Winery’s January 2026 new releases

As you all know, I am a huge fan of Four Gates Winery, and yes, Benyamin Cantz is a dear friend. As is my custom, since many ask me what wines I like from the new releases, here are my notes on the latest wines.

I have often written about Four Gates Winery and its winemaker/Vigneron Benyamin Cantz. Read the post and all the subsequent posts about Four Gates wine releases, especially this post of Four Gates – that genuinely describes the lore of Four Gates Winery.

Other than maybe Yarden and Yatir (which are off my buying lists – other than SOME of their bubblies), very few, if any, release wines later than Four Gates. The slowest releaser may well be Domaine Roses Camille.

Four Gates grapes versus bought grapes

It has been stated that great wine starts in the vineyard, and when it comes to Four Gates wine, it is so true. I have enjoyed the 1996 and 1997 versions of Benyamin’s wines because of his care and control of his vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes he receives from Monte Bello Ridge show the same care and love that have been in the wines we have enjoyed since 2009. I recently tasted the 2010 and 2011 Cabernets, and they are lovely, ripe, and balanced, with acidity that helps.

I have immense faith in Benyo’s wines, sourced from his and the Monte Bello Ridge vineyards. The other wines he creates from different sources are sometimes excellent, like the 2010 Four Gates Syrah I tasted a couple of years ago. I would have sworn it was a Rhone wine, with crazy minerality, acid, and backbone, with fruit NOT taking center stage, though ever so evident, the way it is meant to be! While lovely on release, others may well not be the everlasting kind of Four Gates wines.

The wines in this release

While there are no “official” missing wines, the Cabernet Franc is not here. Those grapes have been going into the Gidon recently. The hope is that we get a standalone Cabernet Franc wine soon.

This year, we have two Chardonnays, a blended Pinot Noir, a Merlot, a Gidon, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The Ayala Chardonnay is OK, while the classic labeled Chardonnay is on point. I am not sure about the ageability of the Ayala, but the other Chardonnay needs time; it will reward you for your patience.

This year, there is no PV, Malbvec, or any other such thing. There was an issue with the Pinot Noir: once again, the deer got in, resulting in a smaller-than-desired output. To make up for that issue, he used fruit from a neighbor, and I think that pulled the quality down a bit, but ultimately, time will tell.

We have another vintage of the classic Four Gates fruit. The Chardonnays are from 2024. The Pinot Noir is from 2023. The rest are from the California blessed 2021 vintage. The Merlot, Gidon, and Cabernet Sauvignon show all the joy of the 2021 California vintage. All the fruit and acidity are at the point, and these wines need a LOAD of time to truly appreciate.

Prices and Quantities

I have heard it over and over again. That I and others caused Benyo to raise his prices. First of all, that is a flat-out lie. I never asked for higher prices, but when asked about the value of his wines, the honest answer I could give was more than 26 dollars.

Let us be clear: all of us who got used to 18/26-dollar prices and stocked up on his wines in those days should be happy. The fact that he raised prices is a matter of fundamental price dynamics and classic supply and demand. Four Gates has been seeing more demand for wine, while production is slowing.

The law of Supply and Demand tells you that the prices will go up, even if you beg for lower prices.

Four Gates Winery is one of the few cult wineries in the kosher wine world that releases wines yearly. Sure, there have been crazy cult wines, like the 2005 and 2006 DRC wines or some other rarities. His wines are in a class of their own, especially when it is his grapes, and there is less of it out there. This year, you can add more California wines like Tench, Addax, Yesod, and many others to the growing list of expensive California wines.

This year, Zenith prices reached their highest again, and most wines sold out within minutes, with the most expensive wines lasting under 25 minutes. Good wine has been working for Benyo in small quantities so far. No one knows how much longer this will go on. Until there is a clear successor, every year may well be the last one harvested. I am not trying to sound grim or load up on FOMO; this is just the reality we all face throughout our lives.

The notes speak for themselves. I bought all the wines this year. The wine notes follow below, in the order they were tasted – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here, and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2024 Four Gates Chardonnay, Ayala, Santa Cruz Mountains, CA – Score: 91 (QPR: GREAT)The nose of this wine is simple, showing nice fruit, apple, pear, quince, along with some nice oak, and bright notes. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, with intense acidity, a lovely mouthfeel, and good fruit of pear, green apple, quince, sweet oak, and salinity. The mouth’s richness is shocking given its expected weight, a lovely surprise indeed. The finish is long, tart, with intense acidity, smoke, sweet fruit (including apple and orange), and lovely sweet oak. Drink until 2030. (tasted November 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.7%)

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Kosher Red Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, Wine, Wine Tasting, Winery Visit

Ayala, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Four Gates Winery, Gidon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz Mountains

5 comments on Four Gates Winery’s January 2026 new releases
January 8, 2026

France, May 2025 – Part 3 – Hotel Wines and more

Finally we get to my last post of my trip this past May to France with my friend David Raccah of Kosher Wine Musings. I am sorry this is so late – but family and work obligations simply did not let me get to this any sooner.

I think we can finally put a pin in the 2022 vintage (of course there will be a couple of outliers that get released next year – but whatever). It was certainly an interesting vintage. Some REALLY nice wines out there – but you need to give them their due. This isn’t 2020 where everything is approachable as is. But when given time, these wines really do show incredibly well overall. For 2023, it seems much more of a mixed bag based on the wines we have tasted to date. One thing which we can say for sure, there seems to be much less produced in 2023 (and 2024). I assume the kosher market is finally feeling what the rest of the world has been experiencing – a massive slowdown in consumption. We will see how this plays out with the various producers on our next trip in the winter, but my bet is that there will be much less wine in vintages 23/24/25.

In terms of this post, we did taste a number of Rosés (– yes – again apologies that these are so late) – with only two really being noteworthy. We also tasted a number of whites – the best of which David brought in for me especially to taste – the Alex Rubin Arinto – a really special bottle that I wish I had access to. In terms of the reds, I included two wines that were tasted outside of the hotel (one at IDS and one in Israel – but I wanted to include it with the rest of my miscellaneous 22s).On the red side – there were some really nice finds, with fourteen of them scoring a 91 or above – though for France, it is really only the ‘22s that were showing well. So with all said and done, we tasted forty-two wines this time in the hotel and I threw in two more as a bonus for a total of 44 in this post. Less than usual for a “hotel post” – and like I said, I expect this trend to continue. Here are my notes:

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Tasting Notes

2024 Elvi Wines, Adar, Alella, Alex Rubin, Aloxe-Corton, Arinto, Assai, Blanc, Blanco, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Superieur, Cabernet Sauvignon, california, Capcanes, Carillon D’Angelus, Cave D’Esclans, Côtes de Bourdeau, Chablis, Chardonnay, Chateau Angelus, Chateau Haut Condissas, Chateau Haut-Brisson, Chateau Lafitte, Chateau Puygueraud, Chateau Roc de Boissac, Chateau Tour Baladoz, Château Lynch Moussas, Château Sainte Roseline, Chevalier De Marmorieres, Chianti Classico, Collection, Cotes de Provence, Crianza, Cru Classe, Cuvée Casher, Cuvee Boisee, Eclat De Diamant, el26, Elvi Wines, Elysee Palace, Francs-Côtes de Bordeaux, Gran Selezione, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Gris du Sud, Guiduccio, Herenza, JP Marchand, L'enclos de Zeide, La Chablisienne, La Mancha, Lampe de Méduse, Le Petit Trianon, Lussac Saint-Emilion, Margaux, Medoc, Meshi, Monsant, Monterey, Montsant, Pauillac, Pays d'Oc, Peraj Ha’Abib, Peraj Petita, Prestige, Priorat, Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion, R de Romy, Relais de La Dominique, Reserve, Ribera del Júcar, Rioja, Riserva, Rosada, Rosado, Rosato, Rose, Roseline Prestige, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Saint-Emilion, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe, Sous Chaillots, Summer Ice, Tempo D’ Angelus, Terra di Seta, Tinto, Toscana, Toscano, Vieux Chateau Chambeau, Vin de France, Vina Encina, Whispering Angel, White

No comments on France, May 2025 – Part 3 – Hotel Wines and more
December 29, 2025

Another round of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Hits and Misses, 12 QPR WINNERS – December 2025

With this post, I will be caught up on the Solar Calendar for 2025. This post is not as long as my last QPR (Quality-to-Price Ratio) post, but it still weighs in at 24 wines.

QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Wines

It has been six or so months since my last QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) post, and many people have been emailing me about unique wines I have tasted and lovely wines that are worth writing about.

Thankfully, no matter how much garbage and pain I subject myself to, we are still blessed with several excellent QPR wines.

Throughout the year, I post many QPR posts for almost all of the main categories. I will continue down this road until I find a better way to categorize and track QPR WINNERS wines. People are still asking me what a QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Wine is and what the score of WINNER denotes. Once again, those are explained here in this post.

Some things that made me stand up and take notice (AKA QPR WINNERS):

All of these wines come from the last three months of tasting in my home. All the other group tastings have been posted in other posts.

Liquid Kosher Wines

There are three wines from LiquidKosher here. The 2024 Weingut Gehring Roter Hang Riesling is solid. The 2024 Clos du Moulin Rosé and Blanc are both lovely wines. All three are QPR WINNERS. Again, these are not mind-blowing wines but they are enjoyable and they hit the mark.

Another Godin Wine Winner

We last tasted a few Godin wines last year, and now they have two new ones. One of them was a WINNER, the 2022 Godin Red Reserve, Douro, which is bright and not round. Hits the point – nice stuff!

Two Fantastic Domaine du Castel (Razi’el) Sparkling Wines

There are two sparkling wines here that are expensive, but they are also fantastic wines! Those are the N.V. Raziel Rose, Brut, and the N.V. Raziel Brut. Sadly, Yarden has taken a step back, and I think Raziel is taking their place! The Rose smells like a Burgundy red; it is shocking and glorious! The Brut smells on point and feels like what I want from a sparkling wine. Coming at these blind, they will not taste like Champagne, but they will taste very special, unique, and lovely! Bravo!

The Rest

The 2024 Shiloh Pinot Noir (NOT Mevushal) did shock me. I had it first at KWD, earlier this year, and having it in the house, to taste slowly and without the noise, allows one to appreciate what they are tasting. Still, it is/was much like what I remembered from that night, a solid Israeli option!

The 2024 Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc is another hit from the Goose Bay label, and add to that the Pinot Noir I loved in Miami, and they are really putting together some excellent wines from 2024. This is bright, on point, and again a wine that is not overly New Zealand in nature. It has a hint of gooseberry, but not overly so, and I would think most people would not even guess it is from the tropics.

The highest-scoring wine here is the 2021 Aura di Valerie Barolo DOCG. It is an excellent wine. It tastes, smells, and acts like a Barolo, and it is really lovely! I recommend you guys go and get some before it’s all gone and you miss out! Enjoy!

The 2023 Château Puygueraud Francs is showing much better than it did the last time we had it in Paris. I think it has come into its own and is on point now.

The 2021 Chateau Pedesclaux, Pauillac, was a surprise for me. It takes a bit of time to show well, but even on opening, the minerality is shocking, and the pop is there!

The last wine is a retaste/repost with a different score. The 2022 Marchesi Fumeanelli Terso Vento Bianco, Veneto IGT, is such a wine. When we had it in September, it was an oak bomb, and while it did calm down that evening, the wine felt out of kilter to me. Tasting it again now, it does have the balance needed to join the WINNER circle.

Final Thoughts

OK, that is a wrap! I did not break out any other QPR categories beyond WINNER because the list of wines below does not really shine outside the WINNERS.

I have grouped all the QPR WINNER wines at the top. The rest of the wines are listed in the order they were tasted (AKA Timeline order). The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my quality “scores” can be found here, and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2021 Aura di Valerie Barolo DOCG, Barolo – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)The nose of this wine is incredible, dirty, earthy, musty, smoky, with rich red fruit, soy sauce, truffles, rich mushrooms, and dense smoke. Lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine takes time to open. GIVE THIS TIME, WOW, this wine is AWESOME! The fruit, the crazy acidity, the intense tannin structure, draping, elegant, smoky, dirty, with plush cherry, raspberry, and dense smoke. The finish is long, dirty, earthy, with more mushroom, soy sauce, saline, and minerality. WOW! Drink this from 2030 until 2037. (tasted November 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

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Israeli Wine, Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Rose Wine, Kosher Sparkling Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, QPR Post, Wine

Aura di Valerie, Aziza’s, Barolo, Blanc, Brut, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cantine Leuci Fiano, Capcanes, Chateau Pedesclaux, Chateau Puygueraud, Clos des Menuts, Clos du Moulin, Cremant d’Alsace, ESSA Wine Co., Essence, Godin, Goose Bay, GRW, Harkham Winery, Koenig, Larmoni, Marchesi Fumeanelli, Netofa Winery, Peraj Ha’Abib, Pet-Nat, Pinot Noir, QPR, Razi’el, Red, Reserve, Riesling, Rose, Roter Hang, Saperavi, Sauvignon Blanc, Secret Reserve, Shiloh WInery, Shiraz, Solar das Boucas, Teperberg Winery, Terso, Trocken, Tsinandali, Vento Bianco, Weingut Gehring, White

No comments on Another round of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Hits and Misses, 12 QPR WINNERS – December 2025

Seder 2026

Domaine Roses Camille Visit – January 2026

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The Top and Best 37 QPR Kosher Wine WINNERS of 2025

Let us discuss the approach

The Best and Top 25 Kosher Wines of 2025, including the Wine of the Year, Winery of the Year, the Best Wine of the Year, the Best Mevushal Wines of the Year, and Best QPR Wine of the Year Awards

Hotel Wine tastings – Taieb Wines, Mercier Wines, Bokobsa Wines, Cedev Wines, Victor Wines, and more! Jan 2026

Taieb Wines

Cedev Wines

Paris tasting of Royal Wine’s 2023 and 2024 Bordeaux and other French wines – January 2026

The 2023 Vintage in Bordeaux

Four Gates Winery’s January 2026 new releases

Four Gates grapes versus bought grapes

The wines in this release

Prices and Quantities

France, May 2025 – Part 3 – Hotel Wines and more

Another round of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Hits and Misses, 12 QPR WINNERS – December 2025

QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Wines

Some things that made me stand up and take notice (AKA QPR WINNERS):

Liquid Kosher Wines

Another Godin Wine Winner

Two Fantastic Domaine du Castel (Razi’el) Sparkling Wines

The Rest

Final Thoughts