WINE RICHARD EHRLICH Kosher wines that beat the apocalypse

I DON’T suppose there are many observant Jews among the vignerons of France, but if there are any, they must be finding it hard to celebrate Succot. Recently, I spoke of the distinguished areas of Burgundy which were devastated by hailstorms that looked to one winemaker like “the apocalypse”.

Now it is the turn of Bordeaux, especially the Entre-Deux-Mers appellation, where at least 7,000 hectares were stripped bare. So violent was the storm that all the damage occurred in just 10 minutes.

For these people, the idea of celebrating the harvest, “when you gather in your crops from the field” as it says in Exodus, must ring hollow this year.

In the vineyards of England and Wales, by contrast, things are looking good. After a washout (literal) in 2012, when the wet weather meant some producers didn’t have a harvest at all, this year’s heat promises to produce a generous crop of healthy, ripe fruit from Kent to Cornwall.

But of course, those growers read the papers. They know what happened across the Channel. Whichev- er gods they pray to, they must be praying regularly.

This week’s wines begin with two bottles from the 1848 winery in the Judean Hills. Their Reserve wines fetch highest prices, but I’m taken with the lower-priced Fifth Generation Cabernet Franc 2010 and Fifth Generation White Blend 2010. The Cab Franc is nicely leafy, and the white – an unusual blend of predominantly Chardonnay with Chenin Blanc and Sémillon, is a beguilingly complex mix of nuts, tropical fruit, and much more besides. Both are non- mevushal and sell within a few pounds either side of the £20 mark. For stockist info, ring 020 8802 8889. Or just go to Kosher it ain’t, and unusual it is, but I have become a serious fan of Visciolata del Cardinale cherry dessert wine. This is sour cherries, dried with sugar and then mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes before fermentation. Use it in Kir, in a vodka-based fruity cocktail, or on vanilla ice cream. Around £17-£18, and go to their website (

for stockist info. This might sweeten the new year even for hail-afflicted vignerons.