How is Kosher Wine Made?
Kosher wine is made like other wine, but must be made with only kosher ingredients and cannot come into contact with anything non-kosher. Kosher products are considered "fit to be eaten" in accordance with Jewish dietary laws, "kashrut." Most kosher provisions are to do with meat products, but for wine to be considered kosher, the grapes used must have been handled by a Jewish person, and the equipment used to process the wine must be rabbinically certified without previous contact with non-kosher products. Does this Spark an idea?
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Kosher Guidelines
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Kosher wine is made using grapes that have only been grown and processed by Jewse. Wine grapes that have been handled by non-Jews are not considered kosher because of the association with wine being used for pagan ritual or celebration, rather than in a religious sense that honors the blood of Christ. No preservatives or artificial colors can be added to kosher wine and wines certified as kosher for Passover must also not include certain additives, such as legumes and corn syrup.
Equipment Used
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All equipment and machines involved in the winemaking process must be kosher. The equipment used to make kosher wine cannot also be used to make non-kosher wine and it cannot have come into contact with any other non-kosher products. This includes the mechanical or manual presses used to crush the grapes, the vats used for fermentation, casks used for fermentation, filters, bottles and corks.
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People Involved
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The only people that can be involved in the kosher winemaking process are those of the Jewish faith. This includes the people who harvest the grapes for the wine, crush and de-stem the grapes for processing and those that conclude the process with fermentation, filtering and bottling. If anyone else is involved in the winemaking process, the wine is no longer considered kosher.
Wine Process
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Kosher wine production, just as normal wine, happens once or twice a year at the grape harvest. Grapes are picked and de-stemmed to prepare for crushing and filtered. If white wine is being made, the dark skin of the grapes is removed before the crushing process. The wine is then fermented for at least a year, then strained and bottled to be aged.
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References
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