jerusalem | That there are the same number of mentions of wine in the Bible as there are mitzvot is no mere coincidence, for wine has had important sacramental functions in Jewish life for thousands of years.
Even though overindulgence is frowned upon except during the holiday of Purim (when we are told to drink so much that we cannot distinguish between Mordechai and Haman), a modicum of wine has long been acknowledged to be good for the health and the spirit. From the brit milah to the wedding and even to the funeral, wine has its roles.
At no time, however, is wine considered more important to traditional Jewish life than on the Sabbath, at the Passover seder and during festive meals such as Rosh Hashanah. Wine has been produced in Israel since pre-biblical times but, frankly, there was no reason to be proud of this until recently. The wines shipped to ancient Egypt, for example, were so bad that they had to be seasoned with honey, pepper and juniper berries to make them palatable. Those sent to Rome and England during the height of ancient Roman civilization were so thick and sweet that no modern wine lover could possibly approve of them.
So inferior were the wines of ancient Israel that it could be considered a good thing that the Muslim conquest of 636 imposed a 1,200-year halt to Israeli wine production. Even after Baron Edmond de Rothschild provided funding for the reestablishment of the local wine industry 120 years ago, most of the wineries continued to turn out wines that were coarse and syrupy-sweet on the palate and burned on the way down. Kosher wines, regardless of where they were made, became synonymous with “bad wines,” and no one with any sense at all took them seriously.
Happily, that picture has changed in recent times. Discriminating wine drinkers who used to scoff at Israeli wines are now beginning to treat the Holy Land’s Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs and Merlots with respect.
Although many people continue to drink coarse, unsophisticated wines during holiday or Sabbath meals, nowhere is it written in the wisdom of our ancestors that the wine we drink on sacramental occasions must be sweet. Certainly, not even the most minor of our sages would advocate drinking bad wine. The only requirement of the wine we drink on such occasions is that it be kosher, and with the exception of a few boutique wineries and Christian monasteries, all of the wineries in Israel, both major and minor, produce only kosher wines.
Temperatures at which to serve wine
Everyone knows that red wines are supposed to be served at room temperature but few people know what that means. Room temperature for Americans is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit, 68 degrees for the English and about 65 degrees for the French.
This does not mean that wine should be served at different temperatures in different countries; the ideal temperature for serving red wines is between 65 and 68 degrees. Below the ideal temperature, wines lose some of their better qualities. It is always permissible to place a bottle of wine in the refrigerator for half an hour to bring its temperature down if necessary, but never warm a bottle artificially. It will invariably ruin the wine. Better to pour it out cold and let it warm in the glass.
There are a few red wines that are exceptions to the room temperature rule that require chilling. Young, light wines such as Hiluleem or Golan Villages, for example, should be as chilled as whites.
White wines, champagnes and rosés should always be served chilled. As a rule, the sweeter the wine, the colder it should be. However, if a white wine has a light sparkle to it when it is poured, it means it has been over-chilled.
The most elegant method to chill a wine is to use a silver ice bucket expressly designed for this purpose. Remove the cork from the bottle, place the bottle inside the bucket and then add as many ice cubes as will fit. Finally, fill the bucket nearly to the top with water. (Remember to place a rubber band around the bottle to hold the label in place so that it will not float off after it has been soaked.)