That a new winery opened in Berkeley isn't so newsworthy these days; many winemakers are discovering they can make just as good wine in an urban setting, even if they have no views of vineyards to wake up to every morning. But when Covenant Wines opened its doors a few months ago on Sixth Street, it definitely brought something new: the only kosher winery in the immediate area (Hagafen, in Napa Valley, has been around for over three decades).
And now, to complement it, is a new cookbook, The Covenant Kitchen: Food and Wine for the New Jewish Table (Schocken).
Jeff and Jodie Morgan are the couple behind the winery and the cookbook. They've collaborated on seven prior cookbooks, mostly for wineries and restaurants, but this one is more personal. It reflects their journey over the past 10 years, when Jeff Morgan set out as a non observant Jew to make kosher wine up to his standards.
It's not as easy as it sounds; given that wine is used for sacramental purposes in the Jewish religion, anyone who touches it while it's still in its fermenting stages must be fully Orthodox, which Morgan was — and still is — not. At first, he made his wine at an established kosher winery in Southern California, and now his associate winemaker, who is Orthodox, handles the wine. But making kosher wine has brought the Morgans back to their roots, and the fact that they put out a kosher cookbook is reflective of their journey.
The cookbook is a collection of recipes they make at home — always meant to be consumed with wine, as they do, of course — and some Jewish classics reimagined (gefilte quenelles, anyone?). And each dish has a suggested wine pairing.
"We believe that eating and drinking well on a daily basis not only improves our quality of life but also makes each day special," the Morgans write in the introduction. L'chaim to that.
Comments are closed.
