The Wine Saga

Hey all,

    So I have been told that you want some of my crazy Jew stories since this is, after all, jewinalabama.blogspot.com. Ok. Here is my wine saga and I promise that it has a happy ending.

Part 1. The Grocery Stores et al.

            You can’t find Kosher wine in the Southeast Corner of Alabama. The only orthodox Jewish synagogue (not counting chabad in other parts of the state) is outside of Birmingham Alabama. They get their kosher meat from the Piggly Wiggly. Not a joke.

However, in what we lovingly call UCLA (Ugly Corner Lower Alabama) you can find non-kosher wine in the grocery store, in liquor stores, in pharmacies, in brown paper bags, at a friend’s house etc. You can also find products that are illegal elsewhere, such as FourLoco. Yup, the drink that caused hospitalization and death can be found in your local grocery store, but non-imported well-liked wines by brands such as Baron Herzog = big no no.

Oh wait though. I can get manischewits. And magen dovid. I do not count these as wines although I think they are great for Havdalah where you take one sip and end up pouring half of the now wax filled wine down the drain.

Part 2. Importation?

            So what did we do, well, I do? I looked up liquor stores in the area. What did I find? Bel Vino. Crazy person that I am, I emailed the owners and asked them if they had Kosher wines, or could get kosher wines. The answer was YES! I had to order 3 bottles at a time and had two choices. Baron Herzog and randomly, imported Sion Creek Red. They also told me I could get Bartenura Moscato but I have never seen the fruits of that promise. It would take 2 weeks and please don’t ask how much I spent, but we did in deed get 3 bottles of wine. Lots of effort, little reward, but I did manage to import Kosher wine into the UCLA. Win.

            The Class 6. So on a military base, you may notice a store called the Class 6. This is a liquor store with a fancy code-name. Now I was told that the army tries to provide anything its soldiers might need. I must say, kosher wine so that we can fulfill the basic mitzvah of Kiddush (because we also can’t get kosher grape juice down here) is a great need. Also, everything on an army base is usually cheaper. So we went to the Class 6 and asked them if they could order some wine. Cashier to manager to a “we’ll call you once we’ve heard from our distributers.” It is now 6 months later and we have yet to receive that phone call.

Part 3. I became a rumrunner

Now don’t you fret and don’t you frown because we spent winter break in the Northeast! We did what any desperate couple would do. We got in my car and drove into the Bronx. (I HATE driving in New York and my husband can’t drive stick shift. Well.) I faced the angry drivers and the awful parking and we made our way to Riverdale, NY. We had lunch at Carlos and Gabbys (Kosher Mexican food and the way I convinced my husband to come with me). Then we made our way across the street to Skyview Wine and Spirits. Now, it looks a little rundown and small on the outside, but their staff was really helpful and their prices were really great! We walked away with 3 cases of wine. Now with my math skills, and 1 bottle a week, I figure that will last us until October when we will see where we will be living next. I did manage to forget how much wine we go through on Passover, but I figure we’ll manage. 

Oh right, the rumrunner part. I also drove those 3 cases of wine from Connecticut to Alabama on my 22 hour roadtrip with all my stuff. With my mom. I felt like I was back in the 1920’s bringing the kosher fruits of happiness down to my speakeasy in order to fight the man and prohibition! (These kinds of thoughts help me get through my boring days of laundry, file folders, and trying to find a hobby.)

So that is my wine saga. Living in the middle of nowhere, without a Jewish community, I have learned that sometimes you just have to get creative.