Celebrate Passover with six delicious reds and whites by Joanne Camas

Covenant Chardonnay "Lavan" Napa Valley 2009

Jeff Morgan is rightly proud of his Lavan ("white," in Hebrew), an unfiltered, full-bodied white wine with a fine blend of mineral, stone fruit, toast, vanilla, and citrus flavors. "It's barrel-fermented for richness and complexity," he says, "and it's got bright acidity and can stand up to all sorts of rich dishes. But it also has enough elegance to pair well with light-textured seafood and soups."

This chardonnay is an olive branch between toast-loving and pure-fruit-driven chardonnay drinkers. The nose on the 2009 Covenant Chardonnay Lavan ($38) shows toasty richness along with its fresh apple and pear fruit. Take a sip and you drink in lots of citrus — tangerine, lemon, lime — with the rich red apple flavors on the palate. There is a touch of oak spice on the finish.

Covenant is made by two vintners intricately woven into the Napa Valley wine industry, Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd. Yet this wine is less about its famous vintners and all about the creation of a great wine — a wine that just happens to be kosher.

Covenant is made in the same way any fine wine is made today. Although the producers can’t use certain yeasts and a number of non-kosher items to make their wine, that all seems irrelevant when you taste the wine. It is just a great wine.

It is relevant, however, to the Sabbath-observant Jewish community. This is a kosher wine, but it is non-mevushal. For more information on kosher and mevushal wine, visit covenantwines.com. For those celebrating Easter, this is a perfect wine to serve for a diverse group of guests on Easter Sunday.

A sophisticated Chardonnay that has both power and charm. Light gold in color with a nose of peach and vanilla notes against a floral background. Refreshing notes of peach and pear on the palate mixed with pockets of oak and spice. Full bodied with bright acidity and long spicy finish. Still a bit on the young side and will improve with age.