Is Wine Kosher For Passover?

For all my fellow members of the tribe, Passover starts on Monday. For all my non-members of the tribe, that's when Jews don't eat any leavened bread or a number of other foods for eight days. Obviously not eating bread for eight days is a drag, but not eating bread is only the tip of the iceberg. There's no pasta, no legumes, and certain types of alcohol are not allowed, either. Any grain alcohol is considered chametz, or not kosher for Passover — not that I would recommend drinking grain alcohol at a seder. But what about our beloved vino — is wine kosher for Passover? The short answer is some are, but you'll have to read labels carefully.

We all know that Manischewitz makes kosher for Passover wine, but if you don't want to get a sugar hangover (no shade, I love wine that tastes like grape juice until I get a headache the next day), there are other options. You'll have to read your wine label to make sure it's produced using real cane sugar instead of corn syrup, because corn syrup is a no-no — that's the same reason you may have eaten special kosher for Passover candy as a kid.

While you're reading the labels, you'll also want to make sure the wine is certified as kosher for Passover — that's the easiest way to tell. If a wine is deemed kosher for Passover, it means it contains no leavened food or grains and has been declared as fit for Passover consumption. It's important to note that a food that has the kosher label does not necessarily mean it was blessed by a Rabbi; according to myjewishlearning.com it simply means that there was rabbinic supervision of the production of the food.

So there you have it. There are tons of good kosher for Passover wines out there, and since you're going to drink at least four cups during the seder, I'd say that's as good a reason as any to stock up on a bunch of different ones and try them out.

Happy Pesach!