A DIFFERENT KIND OF YEAR: The Fifth Annual Jewish Link Wine Guide
- moshek16
- Mar 18
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 21
The 2025 production of the Jewish Link Wine Guide was bittersweet for me. My husband, Alexander Kratz, z”l, passed away after a long illness on Tu B’Shevat, February 13, 2025, just as the blind tastings for the wine guide were beginning. While I sat shiva I hardly looked at and barely responded to emails about the magazine, and placed my world of trust into our managing editor, Michal Rosenberg, our contributing editor, Josh London and our copy editor, Cathy Fisher. These editors are not just colleagues; they are dear and cherished friends, and while I wish I hadn’t had to ask them for help, I know they did it without question and with a degree of kindness and sensitivity that I will not forget. I hope we will know no more sorrow, and I am grateful for the many messages of consolation I received from my colleagues and friends in the kosher wine community.
Due to my limited time during the shloshim and other various factors, we were unable to spend significant time creating special awards such as wineries of the year or innovator awards, but we plan to return to this model, along with our JewishLink Wine Guide Grand Tasting, in February 2026.
Looking at the finalized lists this year, we were pleased with the results and found them to be right on target. We know we are doing something right when we have had our five judges returning for five solid years, including Yossie Horwitz, our founding judge and the initial designer of our blind tastings which we still follow, as well as Greg Raykher, Daphna Roth, Yeruchum Rosenberg and Jeff Katz. A special thanks to Yeruchum, who helped move an incredible amount of boxes into our new tasting space across the hall and who took care of many of the technical details I was unable to complete. We are also glad that Tzvi Sabo returned to us for a second year as our wine guide staff assistant, to help catalog the wines, create the blind tastings, execute set-up and clean-up. He did an admirable job. Tzvi is also an excellent photographer, whose services we will hope to hire again for the Wine Guide Grand Tasting next year.
We are also glad to return to focus on our Israeli wine colleagues and friends with that lead article written by Josh London, with an article on the kosher wines of Burgundy written by Yossie Horwitz, another cover story celebrating Ernie Weir of Hagafen’s half-century of vintages, with pieces by Dr. Kenneth Friedman and Gamliel Kronemer about various new wines coming into kosher distribution from Georgia (in Eastern Europe), as well as a piece I wrote about an old kosher South African winery coming back to worldwide distribution. We are also glad to include a piece about Ya’acov Oryah’s special Israeli wines from Gregory Aubrey of KosherWine.com. While their wines were out of stock as our tastings were beginning, we are glad to include a feature on him regardless.
With best wishes for a kosher Pesach,
Elizabeth Kratz
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 @yossies_corkboard.
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.
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 and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 Award in Wines (with Distinction) and is currently a WSET Diploma Candidate.
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.
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 and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 Award in Wines.
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.
Yossie Horwitz
Yossie Horwitz is a founding judge and also a valued annual contributor to the guide.
Dr. Kenneth Friedman
Dr. Kenneth Friedman, WSETIII, is a wine writer, event curator, and consultant. He cohosts the "Kosher Wine Podcast" which can be found on all popular platforms and can be found on Instagram @kosherwinetastings.
Michal Rosenberg
Michal Rosenberg is a managing and production editor of the Jewish Link Wine Guide. Her husband Yeruchum introduced her to wine 20 years ago andshe’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 a leading voice in the world of kosher wines and spirits for over 20 years, working as a writer, consultant and speaker. A Northern California native, his passion for wine began in the late 1980s with a brief kosher wine venture in Davis. For over a decade, he wrote a popular weekly column featured in multiple Jewish publications, with his work also appearing in various Jewish and mainstream media. This year, he returns as a contributing editor for The Jewish Link Wine Guide.
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.
Channa Fischer
Channa Fischer is a wine enthusiast who has been writing for the annual Jewish Link Wine Guide for four years and counting, in addition to creating social media content for the publication. She and her husband enjoy trying new wines together and share a curiosity for all things wine-related; but she's mostly in it for the cheese pairings.
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