Q & A: What is Mevushal Wine?
If you’re having a kosher wedding, you might have heard the term “meshuval wine.” Mevushal wine (also known as meshuval wine) is not a brand of wine, but rather a process by which the wine is made.
The process of making any wine begins with the grapes. For kosher wine, the grapes may be grown and picked by any individual regardless of whether they keep kosher or not, but once the grapes reach the plant to be crushed and bottled, the wine-making process must be handled by Sabbath-observant Jews. This process is under strict rabbinical supervision, making sure every detail in the wine-making process complies with kosher law. Even after the wine is bottled, it must only be uncorked and poured by someone who is Jewish in order to remain kosher.
A mevushal wine is one that goes through the extra step of pasteurization. (Mevushal means “to boil” in Hebrew.) After the wine goes through the pasteurization process, it may be handled by anyone and not lose its kosher status. For instance, if a non-Jewish waiter were to open a bottle and pour your guests wine, the wine would still be deemed kosher.
The good news is that most kosher wines made in the US are mevushal, so you should have no trouble finding mevushal wine for your wedding!
Illustration by Sari Victoria
3 comments
“Even after the wine is bottled;it must only be uncorked and poured by someone who is Jewish in order to remain kosher.”Sounds like strict regulations are followed here. You go on to say,it is OK for someone who is not Jewish to open and pour the wine after is goes through pasteurization that”the wine would still be deemed kosher.” We’re talking Mevushal wine here aren’t we? It sounds as though only after pasteurization it’s keeps its kosher “status” and its OK for anyone to pour it without losing its kosher status. Is this what you are saying?
Without the you said she said you said, an open kosher wine that is not mevushal and is touched by a non-Jew is considered no longer kosher. The non-Jewish soul is not insignificant in Judaism and it has a strength to it. A wine that is mevushal remains kosher even when handled by a non-Jew. Some extend this law to apply even to non-observant Jews. Only mentioning this point to illustrate that the accusation that this laws “proves” Judaism is “racist” or “elitist” against non-Jews is obviously flawed.
being a goy named Sue, I’m verklempt by the boiling of the wine ….. sounds meshuge to me.
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