Welcome to the 2026 Jewish Link Wine Guide

We want to express our thanks once again to our partners in the kosher wine community for sending wines for us to taste for the sixth year in a row. We feel that our participating distributors, wineries and advertisers value our readership and know that every wine that appears on these lists, whether it’s ranked number one or number 25, is a delicious and drinkable wine that is sure to be enjoyed. We want to note that we blind-taste hundreds of wines throughout February to create these lists, so every wine mentioned on these pages should be considered at the very top of their game. Sometimes the difference between wine ranked number one and a wine ranked 20 is a matter of two percentage points, or less!

This year’s coordinated tastings with our judges continue to improve and professionalize. Our judges now get right to work when they arrive, often tasting and scoring as many as 60 wines in one hour. We thank our founding judge and designer of our tastings Yossie Horwitz, as well as our returning judges Greg Raykher, Daphna Roth, Yeruchum Rosenberg and Jeff Katz. These judges are volunteers who spend a great deal of time with us each year, and we appreciate their dedication to this project.

We worked to improve our rankings and lists this year, as per reader request. For the first time we are presenting mevushal lists for those planning simchas (see pages 46-49) and we also divided our white wine lists into new price categories of under $30 and over $30, to reflect current economic realities. We are sorry to say that our unique varietal list has gone by the wayside, as many of our previously “unique” varietals now have many competitors in the kosher marketplace. However, we are adding wines each year from new countries, this year with many new wines from Georgia and Portugal, and are glad to alter our lists annually in an attempt to ensure we highlight the market correctly. We welcome reader feedback in this regard.

I am personally grateful to our deputy editor, Michal Rosenberg, who helps to produce the wine guide in addition to her full time job. We also welcomed back Tzvi Sabo who returned to us for a third year as our wine guide staff assistant.

We are also glad to return to great global wines this year in our editorial space, with a focus on the Spanish wine grape bobal by Josh London; and a high-end California winemaking article by Gamliel Kronemer. I also highlight a recent trip to Israel with two features I wrote about Israeli wineries Vitkin and Bat Shlomo, and Arnie Draiman highlights important women in Israeli wineries. We also have articles about Pesach wine pairings and new wines in kosher by Jules Polonetsky and Kenny Friedman, respectively. We thank our writers for their enthusiasm and professionalism.

With best wishes for a kosher Pesach,

Elizabeth Kratz

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Meet the JUDGES

Yossie Horwitz

Growing up in a tee-totaling household in Jerusalem, Yossie Horwitz didn’t have much early exposure to wine. That all changed one Passover night when he tasted his first quality dry red wine. A lifelong passion was stoked and by the time he was 30 and living in New York City, he was penning a weekly email blast to family and friends sharing his varied recommendations. Today, “Yossie’s Corkboard” goes out to more than 11,000 subscribers around the world and covers the ever-expanding world of kosher wine. Tasting more than 4,000 different kosher wines each year keeps this deal-making attorney-by-day quite busy. Sign up at yossiescorkboard.com and follow on instagram at yossies_corkboard.

Greg Raykher

Greg Raykher has been tasting, collecting and learning about wine for over 20 years. He met some of his closest friends through the old Daniel Rogov chat group and many wine tasting groups that followed. Greg is passionate about wine education and loves following the growth of kosher wine world, in Israel as well as in many other parts of the world. When not learning about wine, Greg works in finance, with a focus on zero-carbon renewable energy projects. He lives in Teaneck and shares his love of wine exploration with his wife Daphna, a fellow judge on The Jewish Link Wine Guide. Greg has received the Wine Spirits and Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 Award in Wines (with Distinction) and is currently a WSET Diploma Candidate (close to completion of Level 4).

Daphna Roth

Daphna Roth has been tasting and enjoying wine for over 30 years. She first introduced her husband, Greg, to wine with a gift of the “Wine For Dummies” book. They have been exploring exciting kosher wines together ever since. Little did she know that their wine journey would include being a judge for The Jewish Link Wine Guide. Daphna works as an adult neuropsychologist, specializing in evaluations, in private practice in Teaneck where she lives with her family. Daphna has received the Wine Spirits and Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 Award in Wines, passing with distinction.

Yeruchum Rosenberg

Yeruchum Rosenberg is a wine enthusiast who spends his days in the world of technology and finance. He has been involved in the kosher wine scene for over 20 years. He loves family, friends, food and wine—preferably together. He enjoys cooking and frequenting Rosh Chodesh clubs. He lives in Teaneck with his wife Michal and their family.

Jeff Katz

Jeff Katz has been collecting, tasting and sharing alcohol with friends for 20 years. With an original interest in mixology and spirits, Jeff’s appreciation for wine evolved 10 years ago when his wife handed him a glass of Russian River Chardonnay. Since then, Jeff has become a member of multiple kosher wine clubs and has made good friends with many oenophiles. Jeff enjoys speaking with winemakers and hearing about their journeys which led them to where they are today. When not entertaining friends and family, Jeff works in global supply chain and customs management and lives in New Jersey with his amazing wife Eva and two beautiful daughters.

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Meet the CONTRIBUTORS

Elizabeth Kratz

Elizabeth Kratz is associate publisher and editor-in-chief of The Jewish Link, and founding editor of The Jewish Link Wine Guide. In 2023, Elizabeth received the Wine Spirits and Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 Award in Wines, passing with merit. She is a WSET Level 3 candidate.

Dr. Kenneth Friedman

Dr. Kennet Friedman is a Baltimore-based kosher wine aficionado/connoisseur. He produces and consults on unique food and wine tastings, utilizing his years of experience to create memorable, exciting events. He maintains a column on kosher wine, food and spirits, and leads educational wine tastings on Instagram @kosherwinetastings.

Arnie Draiman

Arnie Draiman enjoys a great glass of wine, and is a philanthropic consultant helping people and foundations give their tzedaka money away wisely, efficiently and effectively for over 25 years. In addition, he consults to hitech startups, and is an expert in social media marketing and promotion.

Michal Rosenberg

Michal Rosenberg is managing and production editor of The Jewish Link Wine Guide. Her husband Yeruchum introduced her to wine 20 years ago and she’s joined him on his wine journey ever since. She’s learned a lot over the years, but still lets him pick out the bottles they drink.

Joshua London

Joshua E. London has been drinking, writing, consulting and speaking professionally about kosher wines and spirits for more than 20 years. He is originally from Northern California, and his love affair with wine began in the late-1980s with a relatively short-lived kosher wine venture in Davis. For over a dozen years London wrote a popular weekly column on kosher wines and spirits that appeared in several Jewish publications, and his writing has appeared in a wide variety of both Jewish and non-Jewish print and online media. In addition to writing for The Jewish Link Wine Guide, Josh joined us again this year as a consulting editor. More of his writing is available at joshuaelondon.substack.com/

Gamliel Kronemer

Gamliel Kronemer has been writing for more than 15 years about kosher wine, spirits, cocktails and food in a number of Jewish newspapers and magazines, including The Jewish Link. In 2005, when Gamliel started writing regularly on the subject, he recalled that “back then, most newspapers wrote about kosher wine at most twice a year, with headlines like ‘Kosher Wine: It’s Not Your Mama’s Manischewitz Anymore.’ Watching the kosher wine world blossom has been utterly amazing, and I feel fortunate to have had a front row seat.” Gamliel lives with his wife, Jessica, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Jules Polonetsky

Jules Polonetsky is a WSET 3 certified wine expert writing about wine when not busy with his day job as CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum, a global tech policy think tank.