From B'nai B'rith (Mother of ADL): http://bnaibrith.org/ijm/articles/wine/index.html (_link_ no longer active.) Vineyard Vanguard: The new taste of a well-aged tradition By Joseph Berkofsky [ ... ] (Excerpt used for educational purposes] Like all other kosher food or drink, kosher wine cannot contain any unkosher animal or fish products; to be kosher for Passover, it must also not come in contact with any leavened grains. But the law regarding wine extracts another, more pressing, demand: It cannot be handled by non-Jews. The roots of this law reach back to the ancient Land of Israel where, to prevent Jews from drinking wines used in idol worship, Jewish law forbade Jews to touch wine that had been moved in an open vessel by non-Jews, since it was likely used as a wave offering. The rabbis later went further in battling assimilation, declaring any wine handled by a non-Jew unfit to drink. Today, in order to ensure that a wine meets all the kashrut requirements, the entire winemaking process from grape-crushing to bottling is overseen by trained, Sabbath-observant Jews, or mashgichim, who handle all flow of the wine. And, as Ben Welton, a mashgiach for St. Supery and others, can attest, this kind of kosher supervision can mean as much toil as Torah. With help from nearby non-Jewish winery workers, mashgichim operate cranes to unload the grapes from trucks after the fall harvest. They run the crushers which break the grapes, and pipe the crushed grapes and juice into steel tanks. And they oversee the rest of the process from fermentation, when yeast converts the grape's sugar into alcohol, to filtering the wine and moving it into oak barrels to be aged. At times, says Welton, this is dizzying work - literally. Not too long ago, he recalls, he had to dig heavy heaps of stems from a huge fermentation tank at St. Supery - while wearing a lifeline to show that he was not inhaling too much alcohol vapor. Peak season for mashgichim like Welton is between August and January, when most of the winemaking occurs. And, although a mashgiach need not be on premises other than when the wine is being moved through the process, mashgichim will occassionally return to inspect the wine as it ages to ensure that it has not been touched by non-Jews. But those wineries that wish to involve non-Jews in the process can tap into a Talmudic ruling that makes this possible. Rabbinic authorities decreed that wine, even if touched by non-Jews, was fit for Jewish use so long as it was mevushal, or cooked. The idea was, in part, that cooked wine is far less palatable and no one would want to use it.     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.kashrus.org/kosher/supervis.html [ ... ] ... Wine, more than any other food or drink, represents the holiness and separateness of the Jewish people.  It is used for the sanctification of Shabbat and Yom Tovand at Jewish simchot. In the Beit Hamikdash wine was poured upon the Altar together with the sacrifice. However, since wine was and still is used in many forms of idolatrous worship, it has a unique status in Jewish Law, which places extra restrictions on the making and handling of wine. This includes wine used for non ceremonial purposes. The production and handling of kosher wine must be done exclusively by Jews. Wine, grape juice, and all products containing wine or grape juice must remain solely in Jewish hands during the manufacturing process and also after the seal of the bottle has been opened.  We are not allowed to drink any wine or grape juice, or any drink containing wine or grape juice, which has been touched by a non Jew after the seal of the bottle has been opened. [ ... ] <End of CUNI Archive Xref: http://groups.google.com/groups?q=&selm=ir4p4u07vodmuj2mbhhcamf0cit5s... Subject: Examples of How Jewish Teachings Imply that non-Jews are Defiled or Unclean