Each year when thinking about the Seder wines, I try to come up with a list of wines that are both practical for each kos while being appropriate for the mitzvah, in that they are truly excellent wines that deserve to adorn my Seder table. In general, I am NOT makpid on all of my wines being from Israel for the Seder, and most years I end up with a mix of wines from various appellations. But in the spirit of the season – Why is this year different from all other years? While part of the answer is obvious, as with the Haggadah, there are also deeper reasons why we should be supporting Israel now more than ever. First and foremost, the current situation here in Israel from October 7^th onward has made farming in Israel VERY difficult across the board, but, of course, including vineyards. Yes, most of the harvest was complete by October 7^th, but wine production was far from completed – with most wineries likely in the middle of fermentation when the war broke out. With the massive callup of forces, most wineries were VERY understaffed and struggled to get the wines made for the 2023 vintage. Add to that the wineries in the North being severely impacted by the constant bombardment from Lebanon. Add to all of this the fact that the Israeli wine market was already suffering during the Corona years due to depressed sales to the restaurant sector. Add to that that last year’s vintage 2022 for the most part was NOT exported due to Shmita, and we have a REAL problem here in Israel. And so I will be doing my part to support Israeli wineries, and I encourage my readers to do the same if at all possible.

The Seder itself presents a number of challenges in terms of drinking. First and foremost, all of the four cups are drunk for the most part without food. Two cups prior to the meal on an empty stomach no less and two cups after the meal when we are already full and the hour is late. My Seder night strategy has served me well each year, and so I see no reason to change it up. So here it is, along with my choices for this year’s seder.

[My only criteria besides the wines being from Israel is that I have enough on hand to provide all of my Seder attendees with the same wine (we are about 15-20 people this year and most of them will be drinking wines, so 2-3 bottles of each. ]

1^st Cup

The first cup is really drunk on a totally empty stomach. I usually spend Erev Pesach cooking, and I barely have any time to eat; so come time for the Seder, I really can’t start with anything heavy at all. I always go for a rosé – light refreshing and not too austere:

2023 Flam, Rosé – 13% abv – This wine is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Carignan. It is exactly what I am looking for to start the Seder – light, refreshing, and fun. On the nose, you get some excellent floral notes, strawberry, and some nice citrus. In the mouth, you get raspberry, strawberry, and ruby red grapefruit, with some nice bright acidity. The finish is long and bright with some good slatey mineral thrown in, though just a touch.  I do believe that rosé tends to be more subjective than any other type of wine. Friends whose palates I trust implicitly sometimes have vastly different scores and rankings for rosés than I do each season. I can say that I almost always enjoy Flam rosé and more than that, it is my wife Michal’s favorite rosé year in and out – this year, we agree. 91

2^nd Cup

The second cup leads into the meal, and I often move to Pinot, which we can continue drinking with the poultry course:

2018 Gva’ot, Gofna, Pinot Noir – 13% abv – This is my favorite Israeli Pinot to date. While the Gva’ot Gofna PN always has an excellent profile, it is often simply too full bodied to really work for me. Not true for the 2018. This wine marries an appropriately weighted body to a varietally true flavor profile. You get cherry, strawberry, herb, and bramble. There is nice balancing acidity there as well. The finish is long with more herbs, a bit of cedar, more cherry, and some nice earthy mineral. 91.5

The Meal

We do have a meat course, and really at the Seder you should be drinking a “Moshiach” wine, a wine that you would be willing to serve Moshiach himself, were he to show up and start the Geula at the Seder:

2013 Yatir, Forest – 15% abv – Yatir consistently does a nice job with their flagship wine. It has been a while since I last tasted it, but looking at my old notes, I should be in for a treat. This is a big bold Israeli Bordeaux blend. I had noticed that, while the wine initially started out slightly hot on release, it had balanced out, and I am hopeful that that trend continued, as I now expect the wine to be fully at peak. The wine last presented with black fruit on the nose, with lots of spice coming through from the Petit Verdot, which is just under 1/3 of the blend, the rest being Cabernet Sauvignon. There is also some nice herb, some lead pencil, tar, and cigar box, with some violet and other floral notes as well. In the mouth, this is a very bold Israeli wine, but extremely well made with ripe blackberry, black plum, black currant, toasted herb, tobacco, loamy earth, and sweet oak. The acid does a very nice job of keeping what could be an over-the-top profile in check and last I tasted, the tannin was still remarkably firm. The finish is long and extracted with more rich, almost sweet ripe blackberry, earth toasted herb, tobacco, leather, espresso, and  dark chocolate. Last time I had it, it was a 92.5.

3^rd Cup

This third come after a huge meal with much excellent food and wine, and so I move back to rosé here as sort of a palate cleanser. As opposed to the 1^st cup, here I am looking for something very crisp and refined:

2023 Matar, Rosé – 11% abv – This is my second favorite rosé of the season, after the Flam, but just by a little. It actually is more elegant – and almost Provencal in presentation (thanks GG!). Nice crisp and refreshing, this wine a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Counoise. The nose starts off primarily citrus with a bit of strawberry. In the mouth, we have a bone-dry mineral driven wine with good slate and rock, pomelit, clementine, strawberry, and a bit of stone fruit – peach and nectarine — though really just a little. The acid is crisp and the finish is nice and long. Great stuff. 91

4^th Cup

The fourth cup is literally the last thing we consume as part of the Seder. And we do it after we finish the tefillot of Hallel and right before we start the singing in Nirtzah. As such I like to blast off into the stratosphere with the 4^th cup, and I like to finish off with a Port – or a port style wine – of excellent quality worthy of its spot as the closing wine of the holy Seder:

2012 Netofa, LBV – 20% abv – This wine has been a favorite of mine since its release five years ago. It has also held up remarkably well. It is a blend of 80% Touriga Nacional and 20% Tempranillo, sitting for about four years in oak, which has given incredible depth to this wine. The nose is rich with tons of red and black fruit, followed by deep notes of fig, nutmeg, chocolate, and pecan. In the mouth, the rich chocolate takes center stage, followed by the dried fig, blackberry, plum, and cherry compote, all balanced out by the wonderful acid. The finish is long and rich with more chocolate, black fruit, and spice. When this was released, I bought a ton of it and I am so happy I did, as I understand the Port program at Netofa may very well be a thing of the past. What a way to end the Seder. 93.5

Alternate for those who want a lighter finish for the 4^th cup:

2023 Mony Estate Winery, Tale of Rosé – 13% abv – For those at my table who really don’t want to journey to the stratosphere with me, here we have another very nice rosé by Mony wineries. Unfortunately for my readers in Israel, this wine is produced primarily for export – the winery kept only two cases here in Israel. Lucky for me I live only eight minutes away. I would have been totally unaware of this wine had not my friend David Raccah of Kosher Wine Musings tasted it in NY. I went to the winery, and the first two people I asked said that there was none in Israel. The manager (son of the owner of the winery) remembered holding  two cases back. It just was just in the warehouse, not out on the shelf. That took a while to find, but I am happy they were able to. This is a very  well-balanced wine made of Cabernet Sauvignon, with notes of strawberry, lime, and some tropical fruit, giving it a hint of sweetness. But the wine is really well balanced with nice acidity. A perfect fun end to the seder for those who want to go a bit more gently. 90

Well, there you have it. May this truly be the holiday of freedom for all of Am Yisrael.

Chag Kasher V’Sameach.