A hearty meat lover’s pizza calls for an equally hearty wine. Choose a Shiraz, Cabernet, Zinfandel, or a Merlot. Choose a wine you might choose with your typical steak dinner. Lighten up though for a veggie pizza. Try  a cool and crisp Sauvignon Blanc with enough acidity. A dry rose wine will also complement the flavors nicely. No sauce? For white pizza you could try a bubbly Champagne, a Pinot Grigio, or a Sauvignon Blanc as well. All are lighter just like the pizza. And for a Hawaiian slice, definitely go with an off-dry Riesling.

Keep in mind you shouldn’t spend more on your wine than your meal. Find a great selection of kosher wines from Chateau de Vin.

Ideal humidity is around 65-75%. Higher humidity will keep the cork from shrinking and allowing in oxygen. Darkness is just as important. Most colored bottles have a UV filter but this doesn’t always means it has UV protection. Wine should never be in direct sunlight because it can impact the flavor and cause premature aging. White wines are more sensitive than red, but red wine can still age from light.

Wine bottles should always be kept still. Placing them on the top shelf of the fridge not only exposes it to light, it will most definitely shake every time someone opens the fridge. The refrigerator also has a constant vibration regardless and this can keep sediment from settling in a red wine. Do keep the bottle sideways. The constant moisture on the cork will keep it from shrinking.

What about white chocolate? What kind of kosher wine should you drink? Because white chocolate has a mellower flavor, they are great with Sherry, Moscato d’Asti, and a Muscat. The first two will bring out the creaminess and the Muscat will bring forth fruit flavors to the palate. If you’re willing to take a bit of a risk, you can choose a contrasting pairing instead, such as a Zinfandel.

Milk chocolates taste wonderful with Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Merlot. You can always go the dessert wine route of course with a nice Port. It’s all about experimenting and trying new and different wines. Through a bit of trial and error, you can find delicious wines to pair nicely with a box of chocolates.

First and foremost, never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. A cheap wine will result in an equally poor tasting meal. You don’t have to go out and purchase a $100 bottle of wine but try to avoid that tempting bottle on sale for $5. Despite its name, cooking wine is actually terrible for cooking. Salt is typically added or other ingredients to add “flavor,” but in reality, it’s just gross. Kosher wine, such as Kedem wine, is perfectly fine to use.

The ultimate question is “Do I use red wine or white wine?” Red wine will give you bold flavors and is recommended for tomato sauce and red meats. White wine will give your food acidity and should be used for cream sauces, poultry, and seafood. The “rules” for food pairing are similar to cooking with wine. Don’t forget that not all the alcohol will evaporate from your dish! Wines with higher alcohol volumes should be cooked longer. Adding wine to a dish is the same as adding spice –the longer it cooks, the more mellow the flavor. Cheers to your next delicious meal!

The wine had been featured in a comic book about wine (yes, such a thing does exist), titled “The Drops of God.” The story follows Kanzaki Shizuku, son of the recently deceased, world-famous wine critic Kanzaki Yutaka who’s left behind a large collection of wine. In order to inherit the legacy, Shizuku must find 13 wines described in his father’s will. His main obstacle comes in the form of his adopted brother, Toomine Issei, another well-known wine critic.

The live-action television adaptation is what seemed to put people over the edge. It ran from January to March of last year, and shortly after the finale, when the final wine was announced, heaps of Japanese wine sellers started calling the maker of the wine. (All the wines featured in the story are real — no word on whether any of them are kosher wines.) Jean-Pierre Amoreau, owner of the Château le Puy in southwestern France, was baffled by the calls, until his agent explained about the comic and TV show.

According to Amoreau, “We immediately withdrew this vintage from sale through our agents across the world in order to avoid speculation because we wanted this wine, which had been chosen as a mythical wine, to remain within reach of everyone.”

We can only hope someone follows suit and makes a comic book about kosher wines.

The obvious solution is to go with a gift certificate. At OnlyKosherWine.com, there are dozens of kosher wines to choose from, as well as kosher spirits. Online gift certificates start at $10, and can be given in amounts of $18, $25, $50, $75 and $100. If you choose to give an online certificate, it will be sent to the person’s e-mail account, along with a message from you. You could include links to particular kosher wines or spirits you think he or she might like, or just let him or her explore the site on his or her own.

In-store gift certificates also start at $10, and can be given in amounts of $18, $25, $50, $75, $100 and $180. If you choose an in-store certificate, it will be mailed via USPS to the address of your choice.

• Wine Aerator
  Take the waiting out of letting your wine breathe, a process that could take hours. A wine aerator allows air to mix with the wine just by pouring it. There are two types of aerators: one that you hold above the glass, and one that rests on the top of the glass. The second one is recommended.
• Wine Preservation Spray
  Used to remove the oxygen from an opened bottle, this spray is the easiest way to keep your wine as fresh as possible.
• Instant Wine Chiller
  Keep this baby in the freezer until you’re ready to use, then insert into the bottle and pour for maximum chill. Be sure to give it a good cleaning between uses, especially if you decide to use it with other beverages.
• Wine-infused Chocolates
  The perfect dessert for any wine enthusiast, especially for wine-tasting parties. Just make sure the kids don’t get into them!
• Rogovs 2010 Guide to Kosher Wine
  This comprehensive guide provides an extensive look at the 500 best kosher wines in the world, as described by Daniel Rogov, “the world’s premier critic on both Israeli and kosher wines and is the first book ever to focus specifically on Kosher wine.”

Amaretto Mango Juice:

You’ll need: 2 oz amaretto*, fill mango juice and ice — shaken, not stirred.

*Try Amaretto Disaronno Originale or Spirit of Solomon Amaretto.

The Triple Recipe:

You’ll need: 1/3 shot of vodka*, 1/2 of Goldschlager and 1/2 shot of Jagermeister. Fresh out of the freezer, pour the vodka into a double shot glass, followed by the Jagermeister, then the Goldschlager.

*Try Absolut’s original flavor, or mix it up with their peach or berry acai. For a bit of dramatic flair, go with the Dan Aykroyd’s — yes, that Dan Aykroyd — Crystal Head Vodka.

Blue Chili:

You’ll need: 1 oz vodka, 2 oz Blue Curacao*, 1/2 oz white rum, 1/2 oz gin*, 1 oz ice, 1 dash Sprite. Shake the spirits and ice, and shake ‘em good. Strain into a cocktail class. Add the dash of Sprite, and garnish with cherry and lemon reel.

*Try Herman Jansen Blue Curacao Liqueur and Gilbey’s London Dry Gin.

Not all wine varieties come by the case, so you have to make sure you’re desired wine is available to purchase int he case form. If you aren’t already aware, the said kosher wine cases contain 12 bottles of wine, a wonderful idea if you want to stock up. It truly is a money and time saver, because you only pay the shipping on the case instead of each individual bottle of wine you would order, and you get a month’s worth of wine (or however long you plan on keeping the 12 bottles) in one clean sweep.

I always order my wines by the case. I drink red wine with my meals, and cook with it as well, so I am always opening up a fresh bottle. That’s where OnlyKosherWine.com comes in: I order my case, and never have to worry about making an unplanned trip to the liquor store, or even worse–having to go without my kosher wine!

If you’re unfamiliar with the original Faberge eggs, here’s a little history lesson:

-The House of Faberge, a renowned Russian jewelry firm, created the jeweled eggs from 1885 through 1917.

-The majority of the eggs made were miniatures that could be worn on necklaces, but 65 made were the larger eggs, several of which were made for Alexander III and Nicolas II.

-Out of the 65 made, only 57 have survived to present day.

- Stalin sold many of the eggs off in 1927 as a means to obtain more foreign currency.

-The eggs are so valuable because of the precious metals and gems used in it’s decoration.

-The term Faberge egg has become synonymous with luxury and decadence, and in the jeweler circle they are regarded as masterpieces of art.

So back to the Faberge inspired vodka–the carafe is made of Venetian glass adorned with 18k gold and comes with 4 crystal and gold shot glasses tucked neatly inside of its velvet interior. The Imperial Collection vodka is distilled from selected grain and has an unrivaled smoothness that can be found in no other vodka.

Get the Imperial Collection Faberge Egg, Kosher wine, and even some Manischewitz wine, all for less at OnlyKosherWine.com!