Just a week before Hanukkah, one of the world’s leading experts on kosher wine will be at the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) to help people learn and taste the difference between kosher and non-kosher wines.

On Monday, Dec. 12, Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz will be at Brock to give the talk “Demystifying kosher winemaking,” as well as a tasting featuring several varieties of wine.

Rabinowitz is senior wine and liquor supervisor with the Orthodox Union, the New York-based organization that is the largest kosher certification organization in North America.

Rabinowitz will talk about the history of kosher wine and dissect some misconceptions people have about it.

An expert with many years in the field, Rabinowitz performs site inspections and oversees the kosher supervision of wine in 12 countries. Canada has not had a certified kosher wine producer in more than 25 years. The LCBO imports kosher wine from more than a dozen countries.

The Rabinowitz lecture is open to the public and starts at 5 p.m. in lecture room H313, near Inniskillin Hall at the University.