Food

Sandy Kaplan,
Cher Kaplan,
Janisse Nagel and
Ken Marblestone
enjoy the wine.

ANNABEL COHEN

Special to the Jewish News

IV

hat there is to know
about kosher. wine can
be dizzying, even before
you ever take a sip.
That's what some 125 attendees
learned recently as they sipped and
snacked at a chilly Saturday evening
kosher wine-tasting event at the
Jewish Community Center in Oak
Park.
The wine tasting was the brain-
child of Huntington Woods resident
David Morrison as part of an effort to
offer social and educational programs
that bring members of the local
Jewish population together. "The idea
was to create an environment at the
Jimmy Prentis Morris Building where
people in the community could enjoy
interesting events," said Morrison.
"We weren't looking to target any
particular age group," he said. "We
really just wanted to touch every

pocket of the community in some
`hip' events:"
JPM staff assistant Andy Roisman
said, "Look around. There are young
people and older people. They're real-

Kosher wines are
improving, both for
holiday and general use.

ly from all parts of the community."
Rabbi Steven Weil of Young Israel
of Oak Park spoke about the religious
and spiritual aspects of wine. His dis-
course centered on three themes: the
definition of kosher wine, wine and
Purim, and the significance of wine
for Passover.
In the past, the consumption of
kosher wines, like all foods and drinks
that must conform to the laws of

kashrut, was a 'way of preventing Jews
from socializing with non-Jews. For
this reason, for wine to be considered
kosher, non-Jews were prevented from
participating in any part of the wine-
making — from the handling of
grapes to the production and bottling
of the finished wine.
Another method of ensuring that a
wine is kosher involves mevushal, or
the pasteurization — by boiling — of
the wine.
Does the pasteurization process
alter the flavor of wine? According to
Scott North, general manager and
sommelier at Southfield's Cloverleaf
Market, not much. "In the old days
the wine was actually cooked in the
boiling process," he said. "Now
because of advances in technology, the
wine is 'flashed' at 1,800 degrees, so
there's very little change in its flavor."
Rabbi Weil explained that all
Jewish observances and ceremonies
include wine, but the most — four
cups — is drunk during the Passover