KFWE Event Registration Area
KFWE LA is an annual event where various kosher wine companies and kosher restaurants come to showcase their wine and food. I was really happy to attend, because it was held at the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA’s Miracle Mile.
KFWE LA is the sister event to KFWE London, New York and Miami – bringing world acclaimed wine and spirits to Los Angeles from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. This exclusive event features a selection of more than 300 wines.
The event generated a lot of excitement. Many arrived early and were anxiously waiting for the staff to open its doors.. I overheard one guy on his cellphone saying “call me back, I’ll be in a much better mood after I have some wine.” The majority of the men were wearing yamakas and sporting some nice beards. Not being Jewish and not having either a beard or a yamaka, I felt a bit out of place.
Wine station next to a Jaguar XJ220
At the Psagot Wine Station – another Israeli winery.
Food and wine stations were nicely distributed throughout the museum. This arrangement allowed the crowd to nicely disperse and kept lines down to a minimum. In fact, the longest line I waited in that evening only had 3 people in front of me. This afforded me the ability to converse with vendors.
I was impressed to see the diversity in kosher restaurants. Onsite establishments included: Beverly Hills Thai Kitchen, La Gondola, The Chocolate Girl, O’Woks, Schwartz Bakery and Deli, Tierra Sur, Meshuga 4 Sushi, Ditmas Kitchen and Rita’s Ice Custard. Even more than that were 30 wine stations featuring a total of more than 300 wines available to taste.
I tried a number of samples from different restaurants. The wines were already open and begging to be tasted
Some of my impressions:
- I was blown away by the beauty and the taste of the pastries from Schwartz Bakery.
- The majority of the wines are very drinkable and in the affordability sweet spot of $8-$20 per bottle.
- One of my favorite wines was the Barkan 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is imported from Israel.
- Ditma Kitchen’s Kansas City Sundae was a layer of barbecued beans, creamy cole slaw and topped with smoked beef short ribs. It was so good, I went back for seconds. .
- The Braised Beef Filet with Balsamic Caramelized Onions drizzled with Chipotle Truffle Sauce was lean, tender and delicious.
This event is well organized and they distribute the vendors across the museum so that lines don’t get out of control. I was especially impressed by the number of different kosher wines available. Even if you aren’t Jewish, this is a fun event to attend. I did not expect to see this much variety in food and wine and I walked away extremely satisfied and impressed.
Kosher Food and Wine Experience
http://kfwela.com/