THE GRANDMA VISITS KOSHER VAULT IN CAPÇANES

The Grandma in Celler Capçanes, El Priorat

The Grandma is in Capçanes, in El Priorat, an important wine producer county in the south of Catalonia where since 1995, kosher wine has an important presence. The Grandma wants to talk to us about kosher wines which are a very important element in Jewish life.

Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of kashrut, Jewish dietary law. Food that may be consumed according to halakha, Jewish law, is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér meaning fit. Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is called treif meaning torn.

More information: Celler Capçanes

To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must supervise and sometimes handle the entire winemaking process, from the time the grapes are crushed until the wine is bottled and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher. Wine that is described as kosher for Passover must have been kept free from contact with chametz, examples being grain, bread and dough.

The Grandma visits the Kosher vault in Capçanes

When kosher wine is produced, marketed and sold commercially, it would normally have a hechsher, seal of approval, of a kosher certification agency, or of an authoritative rabbi who is preferably also a posek, decisor of Jewish law, or be supervised by a beth din, Jewish religious court of law.

Because of wine's special role in many non-Jewish religions, the kashrut laws specify that wine cannot be considered kosher if it might have been used for idolatry. These laws include Yayin Nesekh, wine that has been poured to an idol, and Stam Yainom, wine that has been touched by someone who believes in idolatry or produced by non-Jews. When kosher wine is yayin mevushal, cooked or boiled, it becomes unfit for idolatrous use and will keep the status of kosher wine even if subsequently touched by an idolater.

More information: Kosher Wine Guide 2017

While none of the ingredients that make up wine (alcohol, sugars, acidity and phenols) is considered non-kosher, the kashrut laws involving wine are concerned more with who handles the wine and what they use to make it. For wine to be considered kosher, only Sabbath-observant Jews may handle it, from crushing until the bottles are sealed or the wine is pasteurized, whichever occurs first.

One who eats slowly, lives long.

Talmud, Berachot 54b