Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit

presents

SUMMER SUNDOWNERS

co-sponsored by the Discovery Room and Jewish Experiences for Families

A Chance for Parents & Pre-schoolers to
have a Night on the Town

Jewish Fairytales

Creative Dramatics, Storytelling, Crafts and lots of fun!

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday evenings
June 7 and June 14

For more information please contact

Cheryl Kane at 661-5092 before June 1.

Fine Kosher Wines
For Special Events

JUDITH B. SEWER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

A

man hath no better thing
under the sun than to
eat, and to drink and to
be merry," according to
Ecclesiastes (8:15), and we Jews
take this advice seriously in cel-
ebrating special occasions. Al-
though we have generally been
modest drinkers, wine is a piv-
otal element in most Jewish life-
cycle rituals and enjoys a long
history among the Jewish peo-
ple — from the beginning, with
references in Genesis.
Kosher wine production in
Europe dates back to the Mid-
dle Ages when Jews, like every-
one else, drank wine because
the water was impure and vile
tasting. In the peak periods of
Jewish immigration to North
America, kosher wines became
characterized as sweet and
sticky because our ancestors
used the available tart Concord
grapes, adding large amounts
of sugar to make the wines
palatable — even for a sip at
kiddush. In the last dozen
years, however, kosher wines
have emerged as eminently
drinkable, even sophisticated,
winning medals and trophies

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WERE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE

— including best-of-show
against their non-kosher peers
in international competitions.
Some attribute this-turnaround
to the growth of bcualei t'shuva,
formerly assimilated Jews who
appreciate gourmet food and
wine and want the same while
observing kosher dietary laws.
Whatever the cause, the result
is an impressive selection of
kosher wines, from the world's
leading wine-producing regions,
to accompany fine food at a spe-
cial event.
Of the more than 400 differ-
ent kosher wines now available,
more than 250 are semi-dry to

very dry dinner wines. How do

Judith Sellner is a freelance
writer living in New York.

you choose the right wines for
your dinner? The most impor-
tant criterion is the menu, with
the price and the taste and/or
wine sophistication of the guests
as further considerations.With
so many choices, it will be fair-
ly easy to accommodate the

guests' wine sophistication and
the budget while selecting
wines that complement the
food.
As a guideline, think of wine
as you might think of a condi-
ment. Would you serve jelly on
roast beef? Or mustard on ap-
ple pie? Probably not. Neither
would a sweet wine comple-
ment a hearty red meat or a dry
champagne, dessert. As a rule
of thumb, to avoid food-and-
wine clashes, match similar
tastes — a knowledgeable wine
merchant or caterer can offer
advice specific to your menu.
Let's take a general look at
some appropriate wines for each
course in a typical gourmet din-
ner — adaptable to lunch or
brunch.
To start in a festive mood, ac-
company hors d'oeuvres such as
caviar, vegetable tarts and
gravlax (cured salmon) with a
relatively dry sparkling wine
(or Champagne). Among the
kosher French Champagnes are
Bokobsa Cuvee du Centenaire,
Deutz, Royale Brut de Blanes
and Roi David.
Good Israeli choices include
Yarden (Brut or Blanc de
Blanes), Gamla Sparkling Rose,
and Carmel (Galil Sparkling
Brut Reserve Cuvee or Presi-
dent's). Spain's Codorniu fami-
ly winery introduced Parnas, its
first kosher Cava, in 1992.
Some American options are Ke-
dem's New York State white or
pink Champagne and Baron
Herzog California Brut Cham-
pagne.

Semi dry and dry sparkling
wines work well with white

-

meat, light fish and poultry din-
ners as well as hors d'oeuvres.

KOSHER WINES page 106