We all know the trite joke about the old winery owner who gathered his children before his death - and told them: "You have been with me here for 40 years, you have seen all the ways of the wine industry and its secrets, but my dear children, there is one more important thing that you do not know. You can also make wine from grapes, although you have never seen it, but know that it is possible.".
In fact, this story not only accompanies us as a joke, but we live with a fairly clear feeling that the percentage of water in wine is high.
This is apart from the fact that we hear various whispers from all sorts of unauthenticated sources, with one saying: 20% wine, and the other saying: 30%. There are strict and lenient numbers in these numbers, and the eyes of the people are on someone who does not produce wine himself, and in any case it is likely that he will tell the truth, once and for all, reveal the secret.
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So I volunteer to do so honestly. But to do so, I will first tell a short and topical story.
A Jew approached the rabbi on Passover Eve and asked him: His wife suffers from diabetes and cannot drink alcoholic beverages. What should she do with the four glasses on Seder night?
The rabbi said to him: We are accustomed to drinking a quarter as much as possible, but the minimum is about 70 cc. You do not need to drink the entire fourth, but rather the majority of a glass is enough. That is, drink only 36 grams.
In addition, there is a rule that allows you to add up to a third of water to wine (there are more lenient opinions) and it is still called "wine." That is, from every 2 liters of wine, you can make three liters of a drink from a glass that has wine on it.
If so, take 120 grams of wine and another 60 cc of water, make 180 cc of a light wine mixture from it. Pour this into a small 70-gram glass at a time, and drink only 36 grams. Do this in all four glasses (a total of about 150 cc of wine poured into all four glasses).
This is the plan the rabbi outlined for the lady.
But here comes the interesting story.
The rabbi pointed out to the questioner that for this plan to be correct, one must take wine to which no water was added at the winery, and since he is not involved in the wine industry, he has no idea what happens in the wineries.
But, the rabbi continues, there is one winery that I know personally, and know that they certainly don't mix even a single drop of water there. "Flem Winery." With their wine, you can initially do this program (a visit to the Flam Winery - will be done soon).
Dear friends, that's the story - and it's true. But this rabbi doesn't know what's going on in the wineries!
In no winery, in a quality wine, does not even a single drop of water enter.
What remains for us is to know what the definition of a "quality winery" is? What is a "fine wine"? And what makes it one? Maybe the price?
uncertain.
But what is certain is that a wine that costs ten shekels a bottle cannot possibly be good. You don't have to be a great wine connoisseur to understand this.
Fine wine grapes cost the winery around ten shekels per kilogram.
Wine grapes are not like table grapes, which are juicy, large, and full of juice, but rather small and very sweet. To make good wine, you wait until they are fully ripe, until the grapes start to look almost like raisins.
This means that they lose a lot of fluid, and they have a high sugar level, which is supposed to ferment and turn into alcohol.
These shriveled grapes cannot be squeezed with great force, as this will break the seeds and spoil the wine with bitter flavors. Gentle squeezing of such grapes yields approximately 700 cc from each kilogram of grapes.
So it's very easy to do the math: a liter of grape juice costs the winery more than ten shekels while it's still in the vineyard!
Now we also have to remember that it undergoes dedicated, expensive, and responsible care for at least two years.
Without doing too much math, it's clear to any reasonable person that if the winery sells a bottle of wine for 40 shekels, it will lose money: either the grapes are cheaper or it's mixed with water.
Therefore, the question remains: "Does wine that costs sixty shekels contain water?""
The answer: "Probably not." And if it's a reputable winery, then "certainly not"!
But is wine that costs ten shekels mixed with water?
The answer: "Probably not." It may just be water, with some extracts and coloring.
Or this wine is made from extremely cheap grapes.
May we soon be blessed with the opportunity to drink from the wine preserved in its grapes from the six days of Genesis.
Happy and kosher Passover.
•Shraga Gebhard, consultant in the field of kashrut and professional wine.
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