How to Select Seder Wine
Symbolic glasses of wine make up four steps in the observance of Passover. To observe the holiday appropriately, select a wine that meets kosher requirements and complements your seder meal. There are far more options for kosher wine now than there were 20 years ago, so you can move beyond the traditional sweet wines to something that matches better with your menu.
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Instructions
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Plan ahead. Many liquor stores will ask you to special order kosher wine, especially if they do not normally have a large call for it. A benefit of special ordering is that you can typically get any wine that you select. Stores that do carry large selections of kosher wines, however, may create special kosher or Passover displays.
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Select only wine that carries a kosher "heckscher," a mark demonstrating that a rabbi has supervised the preparation of the wine. Usual heckschers include either the letter U or the letter K inside a circle and are found on the wine labels.
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Choose a wine that complements your meal. Traditionally, many families used Mogen David wine because it was the easiest kosher wine to obtain, but there are now many other types of kosher wine available for Passover. Most families choose red wines for the seder, although there is no specific requirement to do so.
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Purchase enough wine to provide each guest with the 4 cups of wine required by Passover tradition. The average bottle of wine will equal about 5 cups, so order four bottles for every five guests you expect.
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Buy kosher sparkling cider or grape juice for any children who will be attending but not drinking wine. Some families choose to give even young children tastes of wine while others do not provide wine to anyone under 21.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are having difficulty finding a store that carries kosher wine, try contacting your local synagogue. Most synagogues maintain a list of stores that provide the Passover necessities.
If you are planning a large seder and will be buying a significant quantity of wine, some liquor stores will provide you with opportunities to taste your options. However, for stores that must special order kosher wine, this option is rarely available.
