This past week was the Jewish New Year. I am not particularly religious and actually consider myself Buddish but I did decide to ring in the New Year with a Kosher wine. I chose Vespertino Chianti 2006 from Borgo Reale and I actually enjoyed it much to my surprise. It had a touch of that barnyard character which I favor although many do not and a whole host of layers of flavor from red fruits to leather and oak notes, with touches of spice and tobacco. I thought it was relatively well-integrated although the alcohol felt much higher than the declared 13% on the label. I have since done some research on the wine and have found out that it is a label of the Giordano Family, a very large wine company located in Piedmont but that has wines from all over Italy. If memory serves, I used to get direct mail offers from Giordano when I lived in Milan.

The Borgo Reale gave me courage about Kosher wines and I may try a few. I noticed a post on Alder Yarrow’s blog Vinography from 2006 about his Kosher wine tasting experiences and was interested in his comments. I may bring that list along the next time I want to buy a Kosher wine.