I received a gift of bottles of non kosher (atam yayin) wine as a gift. Am I allowed to regift it to a non-jew, or is it assur b’hano’ah?
Answer:
If the wine is manufactured by Muslims, it is permitted to derive benefit from the wine by giving it to a non-Jew.
If it is manufactured by Christians, there is a dispute among authorities as to whether it is permitted or not. Although some permit the wine, because the ways of idolatry have changed, and most non-Jews are not idolaters, others are stringent. Where a loss might be incurred, one may rely on the lenient opinions, but where there is no loss, one should be stringent.
Sources: See Tur, Shulchan Aruch, and Rema, Yoreh De’ah 123:1, where both opinions are cited; Shulchan Aruch 124:6 (concerning a non-Jew who we know does not worship idolatry); Taz 123:2 (permits where there is a loss); see also Shoel Venishal 6:142; Ben Ish Chai Balak 4; Yashiv Moshe 1:203. Although the prohibition of setam yeinam does not apply to wine that has been cooked (boiled or heated to a high temperature; see Minchas Yitzchak vol. 7, no. 61), in the case of non-kosher wine, the concern is that the wine was handled and poured by non-Jews before the heating process (for pasteurized wine), and the stringency would therefore remain.
