Not all Israeli wine is kosher

Houston Chronicle:

Inside a candlelit room at a west Houston Italian restaurant, the Israeli government sought to change Israel’s international image with help from one of the world’s oldest industries: wine — glasses and glasses of wine.

The government recently teamed up with its wine industry and U.S. importers to promote the beverages made from grapes grown on the land immortalized by biblical figures Noah, Samson, and David and Goliath.

These days, Israel is known more for conflict and tension than for its wines, local Israeli government officials said.

“Israeli wine can help rebrand Israel,” said wine importer Richard Shaffer, who is working with the government by hosting wine-tasting parties.

Wine production began in Israel millennia ago, Shaffer said, peppering his wine dinner speech with biblical references.

In the last quarter-century, wine experts have rediscovered Israel, a promised land with less than two dozen wineries. Today more than 200 dot the nation’s landscape, said Shaffer, the owner of the Chicago area’s Israeli Wine Direct, which works with Israel’s boutique wineries.

The government’s promotional campaign that sponsors wine tastings across the nation may have already helped Israel’s wine exports to the U.S. because they increased to 150,200 cases last year from 146,500 cases in 2007, according to Department of Commerce numbers.

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Another obstacle Israel faces in growing the industry is convincing consumers and shopkeepers that not all Israeli wine is kosher.

Kosher wines must be made under the supervision of a rabbi, contain only kosher ingredients and processed using equipment certified by a rabbi.

No preservatives or artificial colors can be added to the wine, among other restrictions.

They are typically served during Jewish holidays but are snubbed by some wine aficionados.

“Some people even refer to it as vinegar,” said Roee Madai, the consul for economic affairs at the Israeli government’s Houston office.

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I normally do not get too excited about kosher food, but there has to be something wrong with denying people the joys of a cheese burger. I would think Israeli wines would do well in the US. They get a lot of free publicity in the Bible.