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The Kosher Terroir
The Kosher Terroir
Author: Solomon Simon Jacob
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© 2026 The Kosher Terroir
Description
We are enjoying incredible global growth in Kosher wine. From here in Jerusalem, Israel, we will uncover the latest trends, speak to the industry's movers and shakers, and point out ways to quickly improve your wine-tasting experience. Please tune in for some serious fun while we explore and experience The Kosher Terroir...
www.TheKosherTerroir.com
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TheKosherTerroir@gmail.com
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Thursdays 6:30pm Eastern Time on the NSN Network
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119 Episodes
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Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Start with a blank hillside and imagine building flavor from the ground up. That’s our approach as we step into the vineyard and treat terroir like architecture—every choice about climate, soil, genetics, and geometry locked in for decades, with no cellar fix to save a bad foundation. With the added weight of Orla delaying fruit for years, kosher wine demands that we get the blueprint right before a single root touches the soil. We zoom out to Macro ...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir What if the most important flavor in your glass isn’t because of the grape variety, but the choices made in the cellar? We pull back the curtain on the winemaker’s toolbox and walk through twelve pivotal moments that can turn identical grapes into wildly different wines—one a velvet cloak, another a sharp suit of armor. From the first clip at harvest to the final stir of lees, we map the forks in the road that define aroma, texture, and age-worthiness...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir A vineyard can tell the truth faster than a headline. We sit down with David M. Weinberg to uncork a deeper story of Israeli wine—one that runs from Jacob’s blessing and Solomon’s vines to modern terraces in the Judean Hills and the Galilee. David is a veteran columnist and WSET Level 3 wine professional who has walked rows with growers, tasted through the country’s microclimates, and wrestled with narratives like “winewashing.” Together, we explore w...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Light a candle and pour a glass—this is the story of a Sephardic family reclaiming Spanish terroir through kosher wine, one amphora at a time. We head to the high hills outside Valencia with Armando Caracena-Molco of Viña Memorias to taste old-vine Bobal and Macabeo that wear history on their sleeves and clay on their skins. Unico, their flagship red, comes from pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1903 and is raised entirely in tinajas—handmade clay vesse...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir A desert can teach you patience, and in the Negev that lesson tastes like lifted acids, fine textures, and wines that refuse to be rushed. We sit down with winemaker Ya'acov Oryah of Pinto Winery to explore how short ripening windows, careful skin management, and precise oak work can turn heat and dryness into elegance on the table. We start with whites—Chardonnay that drinks with Sauvignon-like snap, Chenin that grows more aromatic with time, and Ge...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir A wrong turn on a long road trip led to a tasting room door, a harvest job, and a life reset. Meet Gideon Marcus, a 23-year-old Oleh who traded the Manhattan Shabbat table for punch-downs, press cycles, and vineyard dust—first at Covenant in California, then across Israel from the Judean Hills to the Negev’s high-contrast desert. We dive into the kind of winemaking you only learn by doing: sorting fruit at dawn, pulling samples of fresh Viognier juic...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Your glass should tell a story before you take the first sip. Today we pour three: a newly disgorged, boutique kosher champagne from a 10th‑generation house; a rare white Bordeaux from Pessac Léognan that lets Semillon sing; and a Right Bank red from a renegade winemaker who refuses to bow to classifications. This isn’t hype and hashtags—it’s the honest calculus behind flavor, freshness, and why some bottles feel alive. We start with the bubbles. Bru...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Pepper, olives, violets, and a flash of smoke—one swirl is all it takes to see why Syrah might be the new heartbeat of kosher red wine. We follow the grape from Hermitage’s granite slopes to Israel’s basalt and limestone and then to Australia’s sun‑drenched valleys, mapping how climate and terroir turn one variety into a chorus of styles. Along the way, we dive into cellar choices—whole cluster or destemmed, French or American oak, mevushal or not—and...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir A drought year wasn’t supposed to reward restraint—but 2025 had other plans. At Vitkin Winery, we walk the rows with winemaker Assaf Paz and discover how a parched winter, scrambled ripeness windows, and a nation holding its breath forged wines with unusual clarity and nerve. When irrigation couldn’t fix stressed vines, an old, dry-farmed Carignan did: deeper roots, stronger canopies, and, shockingly, higher yields. The lesson is simple and radical—le...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Sweet can be serious, as we look at Moscato’s long road from ancient Muscat vines to Piedmont’s low-ABV sparkle, and the cobalt-blue bottle that took kosher wine mainstream. Along the way, we explain why this fragrant style became a first-love wine for so many people who once felt intimidated by tannins, tasting notes, and cellar talk—and how it still manages to honor religious tradition all while elevating the mood of the moment. Muscat grapes harve...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir The Slichot prayers rise like mist from the terrace of Beit Yisrael Synagogue in Yemin Moshe, carried skyward by the Solomon Brothers Band as Jerusalem's ancient walls stand witness. This rare recording captures repentance transformed into celebration—a spiritual vintage worth savoring. Rabbi Yeres offers profound wisdom about tears and prayer. From the Talmud, he shares that when the Temple was destroyed, the gates of prayer were locked—but the gate...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Nestled in the rugged hills of Montserrat, Spain, lies a winemaking story so unlikely you might think it's fiction. Jürgen Wagner, a German-born winemaker who now leads exports for Capçanes winery, takes us through an extraordinary journey of transformation, tradition, and unexpected salvation. This small cooperative of just 55 farming families was on the brink of collapse in the early 1990s. Having been downgraded from bulk wine producer to mere gra...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Alessandro Cellai speaks with the gentle confidence of someone who has transformed Italian wine over three decades, yet he carries his accomplishments with remarkable humility. As we journey through his winemaking life – from early mentorship under the legendary Giacomo Tachis to his current leadership at multiple prestigious estates – a philosophy emerges that transcends technique. "In all great wines we must recognize terroir. In top wines we must ...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir The pop of a cork, the swirl in the glass, the scent of fruit, earth, and time captured in a single sip—wine has been the centerpiece of Jewish tradition for millennia. Yet something remarkable has happened in our lifetime: kosher wine has transformed from sweet ritual necessity to world-class luxury, collecting international medals and commanding respect from the most discerning palates. This transformation couldn't come at a more paradoxical moment...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Nestled in the ancient hills where Jacob once dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven, Hillel & Nina Manne have created something extraordinary, a boutique winery that transforms biblical terroir into world-class kosher wines. This episode takes you to Beit El Winery, where tradition meets innovation in every bottle. With disarming candor and refreshing pragmatism, Hillel shares his journey from agricultural studies at UC Davis to establishing vin...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir There's something magical about beginnings—especially when they're rooted in volcanic soil under sweeping Golan skies. Join me for an unforgettable visit to Sha'al, where Sam and Rivka Baum are writing the next chapter of Israel's wine story with their Family Baum Winery. After years at prestigious Castel Winery, Sam identified this northern Golan location as "the best area in the whole Levant" for viticulture. The evidence is compelling: deep soil w...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir The somber days leading to Tisha B'Av bring us face-to-face with profound loss and spiritual yearning. Why do we refrain from wine during this period of mourning? The answer lies not just in ancient texts but in the very soil of Jewish history and practice. Wine flows through Jewish tradition as a symbol of both celebration and sanctification. When we abstain before Tisha B'Av, we're acknowledging the absence of true joy without the Temple service, w...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir We take a behind-the-scenes look at Shiloh Winery's beautiful new visitor center for an exclusive first taste with Itay Metzger, VP & Winemaker at Shiloh Winery, of two groundbreaking wines that represent bold new directions for one of Israel's premier wineries. What happens when traditional winemakers become students again? The answer lies in these two remarkable bottles: Shiloh's first-ever Tannat varietal and their inaugural Pinot Noir, b...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Step into the sun-drenched vineyards of Anava, where founder Nadav Jesselson transforms traditional winemaking into a community adventure. Fresh from their inaugural harvest, Nadav shares the triumphs and challenges of nurturing vines through Israel's demanding climate – and the unexpected honor of having their first vintage selected by prestigious Yatir Winery. What distinguishes Anava from other vineyards is its innovative approach, allowing wine e...
Send a Text Message to The Kosher Terroir Nestled among the rolling Judean hills sits Anava Vineyards, a place where passion, personal connection, and profound terroir converge to create something truly extraordinary. More than simply producing wine, Anava offers individuals and families the rare opportunity to craft wine from their own plots of land in Israel, guided by a world-class winemaking team. Returning to our podcast, Nadav Jesselson shares how Anava has evolved through challenging ...























