By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Once upon a time, the only wine to appear on the majority of American seder tables was very sweet Manischewitz concord grape. Some folks continue to drink Manischewitz because, to them, that wine signifies Passover. (The same is true for those of us who are willing to try other types of charosets, but whose preference is for the one that we ate during our childhood.) Others, with more discerning palates, look for other wines to grace their holiday tables. However, there have not always been a great number of choices for those looking for a kosher for Passover wine. 
That has begun to change: more wine companies are creating kosher for Passover wines they hope will appeal to those seeking more sophisticated choices. That includes sending samples to food columnists, which is how my wine tasting dinner came about: I received two bottles of kosher wine to taste test and invited three friends to sample the wines with me because we all have different tastes in wine. One prefers dry wines (and refers to the ones I like as “sickening sweet”). The second and third will drink both sweet and dry depending on the occasion. After years of learning to drink the more “sophisticated” dry wines (at least, that’s what folks I knew called them), I reverted to sweet ones after one taste of Moscato several years back.
The wines I received were Baron Herzog’s California Cabernet Sauvignon (red) and Vera Wang’s Party Prosecco (white). We were surprised that all four of us – even those who prefer white wine – liked the Cabernet Sauvignon best, considering it good enough for a Passover seder. The Prosecco was not as sweet as expected and a bubbly wine seemed an odd choice for a seder, but we decided it would work for a Passover brunch, especially if mixed with fruit juice to make mimosas.
Of course, our decisions are purely subjective because none of us are wine experts. A different friend and I once sampled a wine during an event at our synagogue. My reaction: This is so dry, it’s almost bitter. Her reaction: This is way too sweet. The advantage now, though, is that people have more choices of kosher for Passover wines to use at their seders. I suggest readers hold their own taste testing events. It’s a great way to get together with friends.