I am not Jewish. But... I am a Shabbos Goy. (which is pretty amazing for a girl from Maine). Some of my closest friends invite me every year for their Rosh Hashanna dinner. I love it. I love the closeness, I love the reverence, and I love the food. I will add that I loved the wine.
Gan Eden is/was the premier American Kosher Wine (I'm not sure if the vineyard is still in operation). It transcends any stereotypical kosher wine prejudice out there. It is a bright wine, with cherry & current overtones, and very fresh. It went with the fleisig (meat) meal very well. The wine would do well decanted, allowing it to breathe mellows the fruitiness and adds to the depth.
The menu was: Bread, honey, apples, chicken soup, roast beef, roast chicken, gefilte fish, kugel (noodle pudding two kinds, sweet (raisin) and Savory (onion)),salad, pickles and olives and a honey fruit bread were the spread for last night... with a finale of chilled, fresh strawberries..... What an amazing meal.
As I sat, sipping my wine, surrounded by 16 of Manhattan's liberal Intelligentsia, I felt like I had struck gold. I sat and listened as religion, history, politics and life were discussed - all at a level well over my head. These discussions will play out on stage, on the page and on the airways as the participants return to their daily lives. I was privileged to be in their company.
Being able to review a great wine and a great meal make me realize how truly blessed I am. After I complained to a friend that my life was like a puzzle, she replied "the puzzle you speak of, sounds like your edges are all done, but the middle is giving you hard time, because you have longer to put it together and no picture to go by." Last night I felt like some of the pieces came together, all over a great meal and a few bottles of great kosher wine.
I'm glad you enjoyed the wine. Alas, I closed the doors of GAN EDEN in 2005, after 20 years, and sold the facility to a nonkosher wine producer. I relocated to the Los Angeles area to give my youngest kids the Jewish education they couldn't get in the wine country. One of these days, I'd like to get back into the winemaking biz, only because I love doing it, but I'll no doubt be the winemaker for some entity which will make the business and marketing decisions, and I'll just implement the production end of things. Of course, I need to be offered a job, first. Meanwhile, I just apply for positions.
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