Kosher wines complement your meal

We asked Eric Taylor, general manager of Bottles in Providence, for his recommendations of what to drink with Rosh Hashanah meals of all sorts. Here’s what he had to say:

“It’s no wonder when I mention kosher wine people scoff. Growing up on the cloying sweet Manischewitz or Mogen David would make me scoff too. However, with so many more people drinking wines in the United States, the availability, quality and affordability of kosher wine has increased dramatically in the last four or five years. Of the kosher wines that I’ve tasted, the conclusion that I come to is that these are really great wines that just happen to be kosher. For the coming holidays I recommend the following for lighter meals like fish or roasted chicken:

•             Terra Vega Chardonnay, Chile $8.99. Full bodied with flavors of apples and pears. A great value.

•             Ariel Riesling, Israel $12.99. A dry-style Riesling with lots of ripe peach and honeysuckle flavors.

•             Barkan Classic Pinot Noir, Israel $13.99. Lighter style red with gentle light fruit flavors like ripe raspberries.”

“For richer dinners, with foods like brisket or  lamb, I recommend these wines:

•             La Tour Pavee Bordeaux Superieur, France $16.99. Big bodied red with concentrated dark fruit flavors like black cherry and currants with hints of violet and licorice.

•             Teal Lake Chardonnay, Australia $15.99. Rich, creamy and luxurious with big ripe apple and tropical fruit flavors that can stand up to richer foods.

•             Gabriel Cabernet Sauvignon, Israel $21.99. One of the finest bottles of wine to come out of Israel, deep dark color with very complex and rich flavors of red berries, smoke, leather and cocoa.”

“While I have made some specific recommendations, remember: The first rule of wine pairing is to drink what you like regardless of what is being served. Also, there are many kosher Champagnes and Prosecco available – they make a great way to begin or end a special meal as they pair well with anything from light appetizers to desserts and everything in between.”