Kiddush by Day When Wine Is Dear

The Taz is known for rulings that shaped customs we take for granted. In his time in Europe, kosher wine was hard to find and very costly, which raised the question whether beer, whiskey or brandy could replace wine for kiddush. The question is sharper for the daytime kiddush on Shabbos morning, which is a rabbinic enactment and not of Torah origin. On account of the hardship and poverty, the Taz ruled that where wine is available, one should certainly make kiddush over wine even by day. But where wine is expensive, as it was in his lands, one need not be strict, since the day kiddush is not a full obligation as the night kiddush is. That is why even the greatest sages in his region did not have the custom of making the berocha over wine by day. Whoever does make kiddush over wine by day, he adds, acts in a fine and worthy way.