The most unusual question I've received to date is from Kehillat Beijing, the Jewish community of Beijing, China (with perhaps the best natural pun I've seen in a while: their web site is at "Sinogogue").

Given the difficulty of importing kosher wines, they can only choose one wine for Passover this year: The cost has to be reasonable; the wine must appeal to a wide range of palates; the prices must be reasonable; imports are available from only a handful of countries; and they can only choose one wine.

I'll reveal my selection here sometime soon. This is the closest I've ever come to the problem of "If you can only have one wine with you on a desert island..."

(Mostly) Light, Sweet Red Wines

Here's a list of mostly light, sweet red wines.

• Best Overall: Ohra Kal. "Kal" means "light," and this is a light, sweet wine from around the hills of Jerusalem. This wine is my top recommendation for a light, sweet wine, with only 3.5% alcohol and a taste of actual wine.
• One new wine — if you can find it — is the semi-sweet Cabernet Sauvignon from Layla Vineyards. This is a very good wine, which should be served chilled as if it were a white wine, and is not overpoweringly sweet.
• Wine is preferable over grape juice for the seder, but if you can't drink wine or can't stand the flavor, it's perfectly acceptable to drink only grape juice instead (despite the misinformation that you must have a half-wine, half-juice mixture). I recommend Golan Heights Grape Juice if you can find it. Instead of something horrifying and purple, you might enjoy this grape juice from one of Israel's best wineries.
• Bartenura Malvasia (no review available). A light red wine, and acceptable.
• Zakon Muscatini. Muscats are generally sweet wines, but usually they're high in alcohol. This one is about half the alcohol of the others.
• Conditon is very high in alcohol and very heavy, and far too sweet for me — but my wife and guests enjoy it a great deal, and who am I to argue?
• If you can find it, try Zimra. It's a non-vintage red sweet wine from one of Israel's best wineries.
• One wine that is not sweet, but often finds favor with people who prefer sweet wines, is Beaujolais Villages. Abarbenel's Beaujolais Villages is widely available.

If none of these wines suit you, take a look at the list of non-traditional choices to find some sweet white wines. It's quite easy to find very good light, sweet white wines.

Dry Red Wines

An important question is not just what wines to drink, but what order to drink them in.

I have a simple rule: the first cup of wine should be a lighter-bodied wine. A full-bodied wine, especially one that's very high in alcohol, is not very easy to drink on an empty stomach.

Of course, having said that, I've also been known to violate that rule to have a very special bottle of wine for the first cup — Chateau Giscours (no review available), for example, which is full-bodied and very complex wine indeed.

Some of these wines are old favorites; others are on the list for the first time.

First One or Two Cups

• My top pick this year remains Gedeon Cabernet Sauvignon, a medium-bodied red wine from the hills near Jerusalem. It's imported by Abarbanel; while it seems to unavailable in Illinois it's still available elsewhere.
  Not only is this a good wine in it's own right, but I've found that many individuals who won't touch a dry wine seem to enjoy this one. The wine is mevushal, which is a consideration at my seder, and is moderately priced.
• Tishbi Cabernet Petit Syrah. With any luck the current vintage is as good as the 2002 — which I thought was excellent. A light red wine, and a very inexpensive one to boot, this wine can be quite a bargin.
• Another idea for a lighter-bodied wine is a good Shiraz, such as the Teal Lake Special Reserve 2004. If you can't find this one, try a different Shiraz or a Petit Syrah.

The Next Cups

• Segal's Galilee Heights Cabernet Sauvignon 2000. This wine is simply excellent for the second cup, just before food. Also from Israel, Gamla Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 is an outstanding, delicious, and well-balanced wine.
• Two Abarbanel wines that I recommend very highly are from the hills of Jerusalem. One is Issac's Ram, a Cabernet Sauvignon (no review available); this is my personal favorite but has become hard to find in Illinois. The other is Pardess 2001, a Merlot. Both are excellent and are suitable for just before food (the second cup) or just after food (the third and fourth cups).
• For the second cup or for after the meal (or, for that matter, for enjoying with the meal), I would certainly consider a Pinot Noir if you like very dry wines. In recent vintages I've found that I enjoy the inexpensive Pinot Noir wines more than the expensive ones. Barkan Pinot Noir 2004 and Layla Pinot Noir 2006 are both inexpensive wines; I keep bottles of Barkan in my cellar for ordinary ocassions as well.
• Galil Mountain Winery Yiron is another excellent choice from the north of Israel.
• One new wine — if you can find it — is the semi-sweet Cabernet Sauvignon from Layla Vineyards. Served chilled, the sweetness balances the grape flavor but is not overpowering; this might make an interesting final cup.

To answer a question from one of my readers: These wines range in price from about $12 to about $30 (Pardess) per bottle. The Ohra Kal is only $5 or so per bottle.

Non-Traditional Choices

If we expand beyond red wines, we can look at a few non-traditional choices for a festive seder.

• Weinstock's Sonoma County Chardonnay 2003 is an excellent choice for a dry white wine that presents interesting flavors. Segal's Galilee Heights Chardonnay Special Reserve 2002 is another very nice choice.
• If you prefer something sweet, one very good white is Herzog Chenin Blanc. Another possiblity is the Golan Moscato 2007, which (unlike some other Moscatos) actually tastes like wine.
• If you want to clear your palate after the meal, Abarbanel makes a very dry sparkling wine that's light and very lively, Cremant d'Alsace Brut.
• Any good Gewurztraminer ought to be acceptable to someone who likes sweet wines. Another good white wine that might appeal to a sweet tooth (but without being very sweet itself) is Hagafen Napa Valley Johannisberg Riesling 2002, a favorite of mine for over twenty years.
• Both the Kraemer Blanc des Blancs and Bartenura Prosecco are inexpensive dry sparkling wines that work surprisingly well. I suggest that the Blanc des Blancs be taken in moderation.
• Laurent-Perrier Champagne is certainly not inexpensive, but is very much the best kosher champagne I've tasted. I must ask my local rabbi if I'm allowed to put a strawberry into the fourth cup! (Remember: champagnes are dry wines.)
• Weinstock White Zinfandel is recognized as an excellent wine by non-kosher experts — for example, by the Wall Street Journal. It's semi-dry and light red (orange?) in color, so it can be argued that it's really a traditional choice after all. Don't foist it off on your guests as a "sweet" wine, however; if your guests prefer sweet wines, pour them the Herzog Chenin Blanc (or ask them to try the Zinfandel sometime in advance).

Allergic to Grapes?

Some individuals are allergic to grapes and cannot drink wine or grape juice. To participate in the seder and the Four Cups, those individuals should drink non-grape drinks that are "drinks of the country," that is, beverages that are recognized by the general population as celebratory drinks. I suggest Pomegranate Dessert Wine from Rimon, made entirely without grapes, as an excellent choice for people with grape allergies.

Personal Picks

So, do I follow my own advice? I have to admit that I tend to stray from my advice simply because I enjoy certain wines. Here's a list of what I actually purchased for the seder. And let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy and Kosher Passover!

I'm going to cover three subjects here:

• What does "kosher" mean?
• What is a kosher wine? What's a "Mevushal" wine?
• How can I tell if a wine is kosher?

What does the word "kosher" mean?

The word "kosher" means "fit." Kosher food is "fit to eat" because it passes certain technical requirements. Kosher food is often certified by rabbinical authorities, but it is not "blessed" by them.

What is a kosher wine? What's a "Mevushal" wine?

Wine has special rules and regulations that are unlike any other kosher food. With an important exception, kosher wines must be created, bottled, opened, handled, and poured only by Jews. If a non-Jew handles the wine — e.g., pours a cup of wine, or passes the bottle — the wine becomes not kosher.

There is an exception. If the wine is heated to near boiling, the wine can subsequently be handled by non-Jews — heating the wine affects the taste, as you might imagine. Wines that have been heated in this fashion are called "mevushal," and are so marked somewhere on the bottle (a few bottle have these notes only in Hebrew). Sometimes the abbreviation "Mev." is used. Almost invariably wines served at catered celebrations (e.g., a wedding) are "mevushal," since both Jews and non-Jews can be present or handle the wine.

You may want to look at this list of mevushal wines.

Of course, there can be other problems from time to time with wine; for example, the (thankfully infrequent) practice of adding ox blood to wine. Wines that are certified kosher will not have blood addded!

How can I tell if a wine is kosher?

Here on my wine rack in my office I've got a bottle of wine with the word "kosher" on it. But anyone can put "kosher" on a bottle of wine; the word is meaningless without testimony as to who put the word on the bottle. Since I don't know who — if anyone — certified the wine, I have yet to drink it.

How do I know who certified a bottle of wine? The bottle will be labeled with a trademarked symbol of an organization that certifies food as kosher.

Reliable kosher certification comes from many different organizations in all corners of the world. Much of the wine in the US is certified by either the OU or the OK. The OU's trademark is the letter O with the letter U inside; their web site is here. The OK logo is, similarly, the letter O with the letter K inside; their web site is here.

There are many other reliable certification organizations; for example, any bottle of wine marked "certified by the Chief Rabbinate" of a city in Israel is generally acceptable to most people in the Jewish community. Unfortunately, not all organizations are acceptable to all individuals, as might be imagined in a religious community which has no central authority (or, rather, many competing central authorities). The OU and OK are predominant in any case.

As I noted just above, a non-Jew may not open, pour, or handle an open bottle of wine. A non-Jew may give a Jew a sealed bottle of kosher wine. However, if that wine is not mevushal, the receipient would find it difficult to share the wine with the giver. Therefore, any kosher wine is perfectly acceptable as present; but as a host gift for a dinner invitation, a mevushal wine is a wise choice.

Again, to find mevushal wines, use the Guided Search or this list of mevushal wines.