Latest Channukah

I just finished a newspaper interview; the columinst wanted to know what wines were appropriate with traditional Channukah foods. Here's some of my recommendations.

There are three types of traditional Channakah foods. The first is latkes, potato pancakes, served with sour cream. I consider latkes with sour cream the best and most traditional of the Channukah foods — because thats what my family always served when I was a kid.

Balancing a wine against the sour cream flavor, and the flavor of fried potato and salt of the latke, is a bit of a challlenge. I recommend staying away from the heavy red wines and go for one of the lighter wines, such as the Etienne Bailly Beaujolais Villages. If you're up for a splurge, there's the Roberto Cohen Fleurie 2001, a classier Beaujolais.

The second traditional Channukah food is again the latke, this time with applesauce as a topping. In this category I include latkes made from other non-traditional ingredients, such as sweet potatoes, which make the latke intrinsically sweet. These fruitier latkes demand a more neutral wine than the Beaujolais, and I recommend a Sauvignon Blanc. The Barkan Classic Adulah Sauvignon Blanc — I haven't posted the review yet — is rather good and I think a bit of a bargain besides.

The final classic treat for Channukah is sufganiot — jelly doughnuts — which is very popular in Israel and gaining in popularity here in the United States. A really sweet wine would simply clash with the food, and so I recommend a lighter, sweeter Reisling (such as the ones from California) or a Gewurztraminer (I've always enjoyed Gan Eden Late Harvest Gewurztraminer).

The Alternative Strategy

There's another, simpler strategy: Channukah is a festive occassion, and almost any food will go well with some decent sparkling wine. If you must have a Moscato, I recommend Villa Santero Moscato D'Asti; the Bartenura version of this wine isn't worth drinking. I've enjoyed Bartenura's Asti Spumante in the past, but I see that Villa Santero produces an Asti Spumante and I'm going to try a bottle as soon as possible.

If you're really in the mood for a good dry champagne, and you're willing to splurge, my favorite so far is Roberto Cohen's Pommery.

Best wishes for a Happy Channukah from The Kosher Wine Review!

Last update: 2004