It’s not just orthodox Jews who are pushing up global kosher wine sales by more than 15% annually over the last five years, making this one of the fastest growing segments of the wine market. Kosher wines are bought by observant Jews who have become increasingly sophisticated in their wine enjoyment; non-observant Jews who think that kosher wines are as good as non-kosher wines; and the general wine consumer who couldn’t care whether a wine is kosher or not as long as it’s half decent. Although these last two categories must feel rather challenged in a Darwinian context, the overall standard of kosher wine is certainly improving. The Royal Wine Corporation, North America’s leading kosher wine distributor and importer, estimates that over 35 percent of Royal’s sales are to the general wine-consuming public. These days Georges Duboeuf produces a line of French kosher wines while even Laurent Perrier makes a kosher Champagne. In 1999 Normans produced 10,000 cases of kosher chardonnay and shiraz for sale under its Teal Lake label to the US and should double production by 2000.
