Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Mevushal (Imported by Martin Sinkoff Selections/Pasternak Wine Imports, Harrison, N.Y.; about $40)
Hanukkah begins next Wednesday. Most people think of this as the festival of lights, when candles are lit in menorahs to commemorate a miraculous event in which a bottle holding enough oil to light the temple candles for just one night lasted eight.
The food-obsessed, like myself, think of it as the festival of fried foods. The latkes and jelly-filled doughnuts of northern European tradition; the fried fish, fried chicken, and fried cookies of Mediterranean Jews – it’s an endless parade of foods made crispy and delectable by submersion in hot oil.
And what goes best with fried foods? Sparkling wine, of course. Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte offers a kosher, mevushal version of its crisp, racy Brut (look for “mevushal” on the label). Its dry honey and apple flavors are delicious whether or not you’re keeping kosher.
– Tara Q. Thomas
