Halal Wine

Halal Wine

I began my quest in Mitchell’s Wine & Liquors Store On 86th & Amsterdam by first seeking a ‘red wine from a region that I didn’t know made wine’. I stumbled upon this Syrah wine from Israel, which caught me by surprise. Typically, you’d think of wine coming from France, Italy, Spain and Germany. The reason this wine caught me by surprise is because not only is it considered “kosher”, it is from a primarily Islamic are, where drinking is considered ‘Haram’.

($63.99)

Shelf talker

Next, I captured a picture of a ‘shelf talker’. This shelf talker is basically a review from the Wine Enthusiast guide, critiquing a Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. A 94, according to the Wine Enthusiast guide means the wine is a wine of superior character and style. The red colored bold font is source, the date the source was issued and the score. I’m not entirely sure what the ‘En Route’ meant but I do know that ‘Les Pommiers’ means apple tree. I do not know the significance of the apple tree to this region or wine.

Cava

This is a sparkling wine from a region other than France- Barcelona, Spain. The Vintage of this wine is 2015. This a Spanish Champagne (Cava), using the Traditional Method.

($45)

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  Rioja

  

  Rioja

This is a red wine from Spain. The region in which the wine came from is the Rioja region. The The climate of this region is Mediterranean with much rainfall. The grape variety of this wine is Tempranillo and the vintage is 2014.

($23.99)

Overall, I must say my experience was mediocre. The manager of the shop was indeed present but did not know much English, therefore it was very hard for me to ask questions. I even tried to call  before visiting to inform the shop workers that I was going to visit and our phone call was cut short due to the language barrier. I asked if there was a cellar on site and the answer was no. One of the employees, who know some English told me that there was just large wine fridges in the basement and that the small retail area would not allow for a cellar. Another question I attempted to ask was, “which factors were present when selecting their wines?”. As I suspected, the answer was trends. For example, since 86th Street is primarily known as a Jewish community, there you will find he “Halal Wine”. When I asked how the Halal wine was made, the employee could not inform me.