I must start this post by fessing up that my husband and I are not big drinkers. On rare occasions, he’ll do a l’chaim at the Shabbat table, mostly out of peer pressure. The truth is, we just prefer the taste of grape juice, so 99% of the time, that’s what we serve for kiddush. In other words, take all my suggestions about wine with a big grain of salt.
Now despite the fact that we don’t drink a lot of wine, we do like to have a few bottles in our wine rack to bring as hostess gifts or to crack open on Shabbat – if our guests would like.
Unfortunately, in Kansas City, the selection of kosher wines is somewhat limited and the prices seem a bit high. There are a few local stores that carry some kosher wine, but after enjoying the virtually unlimited number of choices (and price points) we had in Israel, we didn’t want to fall into the rut of always serving one of the same three wines – for $14.95 a bottle.
Enter Kosherwine.com. For far less money than six bottles of the “cheap” wines available by us, we can order a half-case of higher end wines, including the cost of shipping.
We placed our first order two years ago and split a half-case between two of our Israeli favorites, Yarden Mount Hermon Red and White, both of which are on sale this month for $8.99 a bottle.
Once or twice a year, we place another order from Kosherwine.com, either picking up a few bottles of something new that’s on sale, or going with one of our favorites from Israel — like the Yarden Gewurztraminer, a sweet white wine that is in stock and on sale at $11.99.
It’s been nice to pay 30-50% less than the liquor store prices. And even nicer knowing that their Price Guarantee means I don’t have to worry about over-paying at Kosherwine.com. (If you find the wine your ordered for a less expensive price online, just send customer service an email and they’ll refund the difference.)
Plus, I like to be able to bring something to our Shabbat hosts other than the same ole’ bottle of Bartenura Moscato (not that there’s anything wrong with the blue bottle).
If you’re thinking about placing an order, one word of warning: Beware of shipping charges. Multiple bottles in a single order is the way to go, since shipping starts at $12.09 for one bottle, but increases only incrementally with each additional bottle up to 12. If you get a half-case (6 bottles), for example, your shipping total will be $15.36 – which breaks down to a more reasonable $2.56 per bottle.
You can also check out Kosherwine.com’s newest special — free shipping on select wines by the case.
L’chaim! Have you ever ordered from Kosherwine.com? Or do you have another favorite source for kosher wine on a budget?
We are purchasing from kosherwine.com for our wedding! (And now we’ll use your affiliate link to do so.) A few wine tips from our recent “tasting” at at Shabbat dinner:
Tierra Salvaje Cabernet Sauvignon 2010: This wine is $4.99 and was universally disliked. (Actually, from the facial expressions that some people made right after kiddush, everyone decided to try it.) Six sips (total, by six people) later, and it was determined that the wine was not worth saving even for cooking. Ouch.
As a fan of all things Moscato, I wanted to try Primo-V Moscato, which is wayyyy cheaper than Bartenura or Rashi. Delicious! Perfect! Our winner for the evening!
Living in NYC where there are local retailers who carry almost all the kosher wine commercially available has resulted in my under usage of kosherwine.com who have a great selection, are OK on pricing but its the shipping.
The best QPR on kosher wines comes from those available at Trader Joes and Israeli wines. For a list of value kosher wines, I’d suggest taking a look here (http://goo.gl/uLV5e – you need to scroll to the end for the cheaper wines although the higher-end ones are also excellant) and here: http://goo.gl/HQM4E.
For my thoughts on the BEST kosher wines of 2010, you can also see here: http://goo.gl/VR5XU.
Best,
Yossie Horwitz
http://www.yossiescorkboard.com
my sister got wine from here for her wedding also. cheap and went over well. also its great if you need that many bottle for pesach.
We are kosherwine.com regulars. I love that it comes straight to my front door.
Hi, we are introducing a new brand of Kosher mevushal wines from Argentina. El Secreto wines are available in Cabernet -the classic red wine-, Malbec, and Tri-Varietal that is a blend of cabernet, merlot and tempranillo, very light for those that don’t like the strong taste of tannins.
As Croline above cleverly suggested the best way to buy online is to buy in bulk, either to keep for your future use or to share with others, because the shipping costs are crazy!. I feel bad if customers want to buy just a bottle because they would pay almost as much for the shipping as for the wine! Buy with a family member, friend or neighbor and everybody will be happy.
By the way if you want to try our wines, take a look at our webpage and email me and I will be glad to arrange a shipping to your front door.
Cheers! Ana
There are some new kosher wines which are now available in Trader Joe’s for Pesach 2011. The wines are exceptional values.
Terrenal Blends Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon $3.99 (Spanish) Tempranillo/Grenacha $3,99 (Spanish)
Terrenal Cabernet Sauvignon $3,99 (Spanish) in California
Terrenal Chardonnay/Macabeo blend (Spanish) $3.99
Terrenal Chardonnay $4.99 (Chilean) in California
Sara Bee Moscato $5.99 sweet fizzy white (Italian) Everywhere
Banero – Prosecco $7.99 (Italian).
The wines are certified kosher by the OU and the London Beit Din and are kosher for Pesach. I don’t see then on the TJs website and I like them. I especially like the prices.
I’d like to TJ’s keep the wines in stock as they are always discontinuing things. They are such a bargain.
A happy and a kosher Passover.
Wow, thank you so much for posting. $3.99 for a kosher bottle of wine?!?!?!? CARAZY!!!
We are getting a Trader Joe’s in Kansas City – slated to open sometime this spring. Wouldn’t it be great if they opened before Pesach?
Thanks again for your post.
Last year at Pesach we had Altoona Hills Shiraz, purchased from kosherwine.com, and I was pleased with it.
One of the best times to buy Kosher wine is after Tishrei and Pesach at the supermarket markdown tables. One of the local stores marks things down 50% and sometimes runs 20% off that. My wine cabinet is well stocked. (And I scored Chalav Yisroel chocolate bars the same way, my kids are thrilled.)
Trader Joes still has these great bargains. Also they now have a mevushal Malbec under the Terrenal brand. It’s from Argentina. Good for large gatherings and simchas, etc. Banero Prosecco is discontinued on the West Coast and shows no sign of returning. If you want a great inexpensive Italian sparking wine, that is kosher and K for P, you’re all gonna have to ask for it if you are on the West Coast cause you missed it the fist time.
Trader Joe’s still has the best deals in town when it comes to kosher wines. Most of the price reductions in the kosher stores are for close out wines. The Trader Joe’s stuff is at least fresh and their prices are untouchable by anything of similar quality.