Getting to Know Kosher Wines

I have always thought of kosher wines as syrupy sweet and unrelated to "real" wines.

I was wrong, of course. Totally wrong. This I learned as I toured the largest kosher winery in the United States, Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard (at top). I had no idea this major winery was so close to home--only an hour from Los Angeles. It opened in this location on July 5, 2005.

The winery is set up so you can do a self-guided tour, looking down from the second floor into the areas where wines are fermented, aged and bottled (above).

This is how I learned that kosher wines use the same grapes, stainless steel tanks, oak barrels and winemaking procedures as other wines.

What makes the difference is the personnel. Only Sabbath-observant individuals who follow kosher dietary laws and are approved by kosher overseers can work in the winery, and non-kosher substances cannot be used in making the wines. Pruning and other vineyard work are not affected. Kosher rules apply as soon as the grapes are harvested.

The big surprise is that winemaker Joe A. Hurliman (above) does not keep kosher. This makes no difference, he says, because he works mostly in the lab. When he needs samples, authorized workers draw and bring them to him. Here, he's in the tasting room, which has an impressive wall of wine.

Hurliman has been with the winery since 1998. "The [Herzog] family allows me a lot of leeway," he says. "If I can make it work, they leave me alone."  

Making it work is a big job, because Herzog produces some 200,000 cases a year. The value line is Baron Herzog, which I can get at my neighborhood supermarket. Other labels are Jeunesse, Weinstock Cellars and Eagles Landing, plus special reserve and premium selections. Herzog also imports kosher wines. 

You'll end your tour in the spacious tasting room and wine shop. Prices there range from $8 for a Baron Herzog Chenin Blanc or White Zinfandel to $75 and up for premium selections. The top price is $200 for a Generation VIII Cabernet Sauvignon from To Kalon Vineyard in Napa.

Hurliman is experimenting with single vineyard-designated wines like the To Kalon Cabernet, making one a year. Above, he's showing the 2008 Trestle Glen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma. It's $75.

Tasting through 11 of the wines, I found quite a few I would like to have in my cellar, including the 2010 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40) and the Weinstock Cellar Petit Sirah 2011 ($20).

The 2010 Herzog Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah (right) combines grapes from two regions, Napa and San Luis Obispo. It's $38.

Buttery but still crisp, the 2009 Eagles Landing Russian River Chardonnay (at right, $40) comes from a small production line that, says Hurliman, "gives me an opportunity to play."

The 2010 Warnecke Vineyard, Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon was wonderful to taste, but a bit costly for my pocketbook--$90.

A good choice at the lower end of the price range is the 2011 Weinstock Cellars White by W ($9.99), a blend of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

And, yes, there are sweet wines. But these have nothing in common with overly sweetened grape juice.

I liked a lovely late harvest Chenin Blanc (right) and a late harvest White Riesling from Monterey County that is a little more edgy than the Chenin Blanc. They're both $20. 

If you want a hit for summer barbecues, get the Jeunesse Pink Moscato ($13) or the Weinstock Moscato by W ($9.99), a safe choice for partying because it contains only about 7 % alcohol.

Time your visit so you can have lunch in Tierra Sur, the kosher restaurant that opens off the tasting room (above). The menu offers  pan seared salmon, lamb birria, an Ensenada style tostada, house made fettuccine and many other dishes, with wine-pairing available. 

Some wines are made just for the tasting room, another incentive to visit the winery. The grapes come from a variety of California vineyards--Hurliman was taking off for Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County to look at a Zinfandel vineyard the day I was there--but all of the wines are fermented and bottled in Oxnard. 

Herzog Wine Cellars, 3201 Camino Del Sol, Oxnard, CA 93030. Tel: (805) 983-1560.