Covenant also produces another label called The Tribe. It’s a little less expensive that The Red C and it’s still Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd (with occasional input from David Ramey) making the wine.
https://www.covenantwines.com/purchase-wines/the-tribe-red
Hai is an Israeli producer that is fairly easy to find and their red The Patriot is very good and $15ish.
Jeff makes very good wine!
Same as halal wine? 
I have a fair amount of kosher wine. What is your price range? Covenant Red C is very good. They have the red and white. They also have two lower level wine lines, the Tribe and Mench.
Capcanes is also excellent. There is a lot of choice. Again, what price range.
I’m guessing that for a luncheon, there are going to be A LOT of people; if price is no object, well then, good on you, Petit Castel will work out great.
If money is a consideration and you want ready to drink, Tulip, has a red, white, and rose, all good for a celebration of this sort.
Howard
Forgot about Tulip - some really nice wines there.
What makes a wine kosher? And kosher for Passover?
Does it have to do with fertilizer?
Since there is no such thing as Halal wine as alcohol is not Halal.
It has to with handling the grapes and how it is processed:
Answer: L’Chaim, David! Answering this question requires a nice glass of vino. You don’t mind if I type and sip, do you?
In order for wine to be kosher, of course it has to contain only kosher ingredients. And according to traditional Jewish law, once the grapes are picked and brought to be crushed, only Shabbat-observant Jews can be involved in making the wine. From crushing to bottling, kosher wine must be handled exclusively by observant Jews.
Why the strict rules about only Jews? Because in the past wine was often used by pagans in their offerings to idol gods. When something good happened, you’d pour some wine out on the ground as a symbolic thank you (if you were an idol worshipper, that is). The rabbis who set up the rules for kosher wine wanted to make sure that Jews never got a glass of wine that had been associated with an idolatrous offering, so they required that only Jews be involved in handling kosher wine.
Even after these rules were set up, some people worried that if you had a nice glass of kosher Chardonnay at a Jewish wedding, it’s possible that the non-Jewish waiter or waitress might have spilled some of your Chardonnay in an idolatrous practice, while your back was turned. The solution: Mevushal wine. (Shulhan Arukh, YD 123)
Mevushal (literally “cooked”) wine has been heated to the point that idol worshippers wouldn’t use it for their nefarious purposes. It turns out even idol worshippers had standards for their wine. They wouldn’t use wine for an offering if it had been boiled because boiling wine removes much of the flavor. So the rabbis ruled that in order to avoid the possibility of a Jew ever drinking wine that was idolatry-associated, only cooked wine could be served to a Jew by a non-Jew.
Today, people don’t do a lot of pouring wine out for the gods. Still, because of the previous rulings by various halakhic authorities, some people are uncomfortable with a non-Jew pouring them a glass of kosher wine. So mevushal wine is often served at events where non-Jews will be doing the pouring and serving of wine. This stance, of only serving mevushal wine when non-Jews will be serving, is the norm among Orthodox Jews, and those who follow the regulations of the Conservative Movement‘s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards.
By chance does anyone have experience with Molon Lane from Virginia? (Yeah, I was surprised too when I heard there was Kosher Wine in Virginia!)
I may head down there for a tasting this weekend – they make several Kosher wines, but it looks like the Chardonnay and Cab are the only two currently available:
Alicia,
You may want to PM Matthew (Matty) Brown. He’s the resident Virginia wine expert.
Little known fact: When he was 9 years old, Matty was crowned the Cribbage champion of his summer camp.
I like the Hagafen wines too.
The Peraj Petita by Capcanes is a good wine for the price.
Castel is great but the wine isn’t usually fun to drink young.
Also agree with the recommendation of all the Tzora wines—particularly the Misty Hills. They’re warm climate new-world style wines to be sure but well made.
You’ll pay a significant up-charge for the kosher version as compared to the non-kosher one, but Drappier makes a kosher version of its yellow label champagne and it’s very good.
Also expensive in light of the up-charge are the kosher label versions of Chateau Pontet Canet and Chateau Guiraud, but those can certainly be lovely wines.
The best place to buy kosher wine in the NY area is Skyview Wines in Riverdale—they always have a big sale before Passover and they will deliver in Manhattan (subject to some minimum order size). Other places that have wide kosher selections in town include Beacon Wines and Gotham Wines.
Edited to add the following: If you are looking for something inexpensive to pour for a large crowd, the Ramon Cardova Rioja is very good choice in the $10-$15 range.
Any kosher wine is also kosher for passover.
Not true.
I’ve never seen a kosher wine that wasn’t kosher for passover.
Thanks for the tip, Corey!
Gamla wines are supposedly sourced from the same winery as Yarden for about half the price. Take a look. I would also second Dan’s recommendation of Barkan if you’re looking for value priced wines, or David’s recommendation of Tzora if you’re looking for something a little better.
Most kosher wines tend to be kosher for Passover, but not all:
Bruce
Corey overstated a bit. Only got a participation pin in cribbage. Top marks for crossbow and .22 pistol, however.
I have not tasted their wines before. Having family in the Warrenton area and been in the biz since beore they open, I can honestly say I have never had a request, inquiry, mention, or testimonial on their wines, and I find it telling that their web site states the Virginia ABC as the only retail placement for any of their wines (and a 2010 at that), considering the VABC has been actively diminishing their wine placement in their stores since that vintage was placed. Either they are really bad at updating the web site (not unheard of) and are way under the radar, or just not exciting. There are some very good VA wineries in the mountainous areas of Fauquir County, along Rappahannock County and up near the I-66 corridor (a pretty drive as well), but I have yet to have anything from the flatlands of VA that I find of much interest. If I am wrong and they turn out to be quality PLEASE let us know, I would love to represent anyone doing exciting and reasonably priced wines, and if it also happens to be Kosher, all the more reason to have some on hand.
Thanks, Matthew! Only two of their wines are Kosher, but I’ll probably taste through the lineup and will be happy to report back here with what I find. (When I spoke to the owner’s daughter on the phone, she mentioned they make a greek extra virgin olive oil, too).
Here’s how I found about them in case you’re curious for more background: Connect with Others | DC MD VA