Kosher, mevushal wine

What is it, how is it made?

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Kosher, mevushal wine

You may notice some wines announce they are kosher, sometimes, kosher mevushal. What does that mean?

Kosher is Yiddish for “proper” or “fit.” Kosher wine only contains kosher ingredients. Once grapes are picked, only Shabbat-observant Jews can be involved in making the wine. Wine-making equipment must be rabbinically certified.

Kosher wine is made the same way as non-kosher wine, but without some ingredients some winemakers use. Sacramental wine used in the Catholic church has the same ingredient rules as kosher wine.

Kosher wine does not automatically mean better or worse wine. Some kosher wine is very sweet—Manischewitz is leading brand—and appeals to limited group. But kosher wine does not mean sweet wine. There are very many wines of all categories you would not know were kosher unless it told you so on the label.

Galil Mountain Winery Merlot, Galilee, Israel 2018 is kosher but not mevushal