Cheese and Wine

Asked by SS · October 24, 2002 · Kashrut

Question

1. I was told that the rennet of cheese is extracted and treated with strong chemicals. Shouldn't this make the rennet a davar chadash? If so, why would cheese need a hashgacha? 2. From reliable sources I hear that winemaking in the U.S. if fully automated. No human hand comes in contact with the wine from the time the grapes are put into containers and brought to the winery until the wine appears in sealed bottle. Therefore, these wines are not setam yenam. Shouldn't we be able to drink them?

Answer

Answered by Aaron Abadi

1) The Issur is a Gezera. There does not need to be any Treif. 2) Those reliable sources are not reliable. We went down in person and checked many wineries and found them all touching the wines. Maybe the $3 a bottle cheap brands are automated like that, but to set a general rule, no way! AA