The Kosher Wine Making Process
At Zandwijk, the home of Kleine Draken Wines, and the only fully kosher boutique wine farm in South Africa, everything involved in the winemaking process is done under strict supervision of the Cape Beth Din and the American Orthodox Union (OU), and nothing is done without the presence of a mashgiach (certified kosher supervisor).
The equipment and machinery used to make the wines at Zandwijk are used exclusively for the production of kosher wines. Only certified kosher products such as yeast are used.
From the grape crushing to the sealing of the bottle, the mashgiach supervises the process. One of the reasons why kosher wine consumption is increasing non-kosher markets in places like the United States of America, is because wine consumers know that there is extra supervision in the bottling of the wine.
At Zandwijk all our wines are mevushal (cooked). This is where the unfortunate stereotype of kosher wines come into play. Innovations in the making of kosher wine have seen this process having an increasingly limited impact on the flavour profile of the wine. At Zandwijk we do not cook the wines. The wines are flash pasteurized where the juice is heated to 85 degrees Celsius and then cooled down prior to fermentation. Up until the mevushal process the juice may only be handled by the mashgiach.
The wine tanks are always sealed by the mashgiach when they leave the winery to ensure that no additions can be made without their knowledge. All work in the cellar, the bottling process and labelling is done under the strict supervision of the Cape Beth Din.
All Zandwijk wines are kosher for Passover.