I’ll post my updated comments (including some notes about Jewish law) for this year with my Passover wine recommendations later in the week. In the meantime, check out my recommendation last year and my great wine haggadah.

America may have its Maxwell House haggadah, a great marketing piece to remind American Jews that coffee is kosher for Passover, Israel has a wine haggadah - although no one needs a reminder that wine is kosher for Passover.

I previously posted this last year:

Passover: The Holiday of Wine

The upcoming holiday of Passover means just one thing: a chance to explore lots of excellent wine. The obligation to drink four cups of wine at the Passover seder, as well as during Shabbat and throughout the holiday is a great opportunity to explore some of Israel’s finest kosher wines.

While kosher wine has a bad name due to associations with the sweet sacramental Concord grape, better found in upstate New York than the chateaus of Europe or the moshavim of Israel, there is no reason to drink the sickly sweet stuff. Others wrongly associate Israeli wine that just happens to be kosher with ad campaigns from decades long past from Carmel touting sweetness and low-quality grapes that are not exactly known to make good table wine.

Yet, over the past decade, a plethora of new wineries (there are now over 200 wineries throughout the country, both kosher and non-kosher) have opened up throughout Israel and many older wineries have completely turned around and are making truly world-class wine that are enjoyed by Jew and non-Jew alike.

While most of the Israeli wines available in the United States are certified kosher (which merely means that they were handled only by observant Jews and, in the specific case of Israeli wines, that the agricultural laws were observed), a recent review of Israel’s top wines (both kosher and non) in Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate noted that “kosher wines are among the best in this report.” The article also noted that “The most important thing to understand is that those sickly sweet Passover wines Americans are used to have nothing to do with the types of wine Israel is bragging about these days. Now the mainstream wines are more likely to be bottlings of Bordeaux varietals, Chardonnay or Syrah that have typicity and will seem familiar to sophisticated consumers.”

Some wines to explore this Passover – and year round – come at all price points. The Galil Mountain Winery, near the Lebanese border, makes some of Israel’s “best value” wines. From excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Viognier, Pinot Noir at $13-$18 to the more complex Yiron (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, aged 16 months in French oak) and Yiron Syrah (100% Syrah, also aged in French oak) for around $20, there is something to suit everyone’s palate.

Other wines, only recently gracing wine aisles in the United States, are from the Tabor Winery (imported by Allied Importers) and Teperberg 1870. Tabor’s wines are very terroir-driven and are named after the soil characteristics in which they were grown. The high-end Mescha is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Shiraz, while the Adama series and Tabor series are also pleasant. Teperberg 1870, formerly called Efrat, is actually one of Israel’s oldest wineries but still a well-kept secret. Until recently, it was producing solely liquors and sweet sacramental wine of no interest to the sophisticated drinker, but they have engaged in a rapid turnaround in a short time. From the varied reds and whites in the Teperberg Reserve series, to the great blends in the Silver series (the Teperberg Meritage, a Bordeaux-style blend, is one of my personal favorites at around $14), and the value-priced “Israeli series” there is something for everyone. I’ve been enjoying Teperberg’s wines for the past several years, and am thrilled that the wines from modern Israel’s oldest winery are finally making their way into the United States.

Ever since Golan Heights Winery first produced their first bottle in the early 1980s, the secret was out that Israel could make excellent wines. Today, their Katzrin, Yarden (not including the Mount Hermon series, which are considered to be acceptable entry-level wines but not representative of the Yarden line), and Gamla series (of numerous red and white varietals) are excellent age-worthy wines, while their Golan series make nice young wines for early drinking.

Due to the tremendous growth in the Israeli wine scene, Israeli’s largest wineries – Carmel, Barkan, and Segal – have all significantly improved and expanded their higher end lines. In fact, Segal’s Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve was recently acclaimed by Gary Vaynerchuk (the millennial generation’s favorite wine host and host of Wine Library TV, a video podcast about wine) as significantly better than most Cabernet Sauvignons from California in its price-range (about $17).

You’ll be forgiven for thinking that wines from Recanati (one of my all-time favorites) came from Italy but in fact they are 100% blue-and-white. Founded by Leon Recanati, the winery has everything you could ask for – from the regular priced Recanati series (whose Shiraz is the best I have ever had) to the mouth-watering Reserve series and the Special Reserve blend. They cost anywhere from $10 for a great Chardonnay to about $30 for the Special Reserve.

For the more sophisticated connoisseur willing to spend a few dollars, there are also some tremendous boutique wines from Israel. Bazelet HaGolan (the name refers to the volcanic soil on the Golan Heights Winery, where this winery is based) makes some tremendous fruity Cabernet Sauvignons and has recently begun producing Merlot.

Domaine du Castel, a Francophile wines from the Judean Mountains just outside of Jerusalem, make what are perhaps Israel’s best wines that have been referred to as “more Bordeaux than Bordeaux.” Any of their wines — from the top Grand Vin (at about $55) to the second-label Petit Castel (around $35, I will be opening up the 2004 during the holiday) and their “C”, which is 100% Chardonnay (also around $35) was enthusiastically received as perhaps Israel’s best white wine by a Washington, DC-based wine importer upon a recent visit to the winery. They have been certified kosher since 2003, but were one of Israel’s first boutique wineries, releasing its first bottles in the early 1990s.

Those who truly believe in the Talmudic adage that there is no joy without wine should check out the wines from Yatir. With vineyards near Israel’s Negev, the Yatir Forest ($56) tied with the Golan Heights Winery’s HeightsWine (a tremendous dessert wine, which is actually a dessert itself) in the Wine Advocate report, as Israel’s highest ranking wine. For those with a smaller budget, Yatir has also recently released several new wines, which will hopefully find their way soon to North America.

While this Passover provides a tremendous opportunity to explore Israel’s growing wine scene, don’t let it be your last sip until next year. There is a tremendous wine scene in Israel, still only known to observers of the wine world and those of us in Israel, but the secret is slowly coming out. With over 200 wineries in Israel (including 150 wineries lacking formal kosher certification), perhaps it’s time for a travel through Derekh YaYayin, Israel’s Wine Route, on your next visit.

L’chaim!