1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vog Obam. Here. You know a product 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: has become a staple when its brand name replaces the 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: generic term within the public's vocabulary. Popsicles, crop pots, q tips, 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:23,320 Speaker 1: and Manischevitz as the de facto go to brand of 6 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:26,439 Speaker 1: kosher wine. The Manischevits Company has led the charge on 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: traditional Jewish foods in America since the lady teen hundreds, 8 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: when Rabbi Dov Beer Manischevitz opened a small Mazza bakery 9 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,879 Speaker 1: in Cincinnati. Now a hundred and thirty years later, the 10 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: Manischevitz Company does way more than produced sweet tart, low 11 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: priced kosher wine. It's also king when it comes to 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: kosher cookies, soup, skiffilter, fish, and way more. But how 13 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,839 Speaker 1: did it get into the wine making business? Manischevitz is 14 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: typically shared during religious ceremonies and holidays like Passover, param Barnbot, Mitzvah's, 15 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,560 Speaker 1: and weddings. The modern Manischevits as we know it now, 16 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: the uber sweet Concorde grape derived drink, came to fruition 17 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: in n when Brooklyn based Monarch Wine Company approached the 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:13,319 Speaker 1: Manischevits company and proposed licensing deal. Monarch Wine wanted to 19 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: use the well known Manischevit's name on its new kosher wine. 20 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: The Manischevit's company was uninterested in pursuing wine making on Zone, 21 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: so it agreed to the deal, unknowingly cementing itself as 22 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: the purveyor of kosher wine. The manische of Its company 23 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: is known for its Kosher standards and regulations and it 24 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: applies them throughout to the wine making process too, from 25 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: crushing the grapes to bottling the final product. But we 26 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,840 Speaker 1: spoke with Shanie seedman CMO of Kei Ko Kosher Foods 27 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: and Manischevit's. She said, we have rabbis at each and 28 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: every production to make sure all facilities are abiding by 29 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:52,320 Speaker 1: strict Kosher standards. Along with strict rabbinical supervision. All bottles 30 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: of Manichevits must be certified by the Union of Orthodox 31 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: Jewish Congregations of America before they're sold to the public. 32 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: On top of this process, men Chevits wines go through 33 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: a process called mavuchal that means the juice for the 34 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: wine is cooked immediately after the grape has been crushed. 35 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: But why that makes Mani chevits amvuchial wine, which according 36 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 1: to Jewish dietary guidelines, means that it can be served 37 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: to observant Jews by non observant people. These days, it's 38 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 1: accomplished by a process similar to flash pasteurization, so it 39 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,560 Speaker 1: doesn't greatly affect the taste of the wine. Mana Chevits 40 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: is available in six flavors concord grape, BlackBerry, elderberry, cherry, 41 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: extra heavy malaga, and medium dry Concorde, and the appeal 42 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:37,920 Speaker 1: has long expanded past its Jewish base to the rest 43 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: of the world. Whether it's the five dollar price tag, 44 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: the low alcohol content, or the sweet flavors, Mana Chevits 45 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 1: is classic tagline there's a sader in every bottle. Let 46 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: the tradition flow now rings true for millions. Back in 47 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: ninety four, an article in Commentary magazine reported on the 48 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 1: then booming Kosher wine trend, noting how ten million gallons 49 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: that's about their eight million liters of Manas Chevitz was 50 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: imbibed the year prior. Interestingly enough, the same article mentioned 51 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: a spike in sales quote at Christmas and Thanksgiving several 52 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: times higher than for Passover, even noting how a relatively 53 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: minor occasion as Saint Patrick's Day causes a discernible rise. 54 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,239 Speaker 1: The Manischevitz company's early tagline man O manas Chevitz proved 55 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: to be so popular that Apollo seventeen astronaut Gene Cernan 56 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:27,320 Speaker 1: set it on the surface of the moon in nine 57 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: But what about today? It seems the wine still has 58 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: a big following, and not just by those who grew 59 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: up drinking the stuff at Satyrs and other Jewish holidays. 60 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: USA Today reported in seventeen that the wine is a 61 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: hit among Caribbean communities, especially around Christmas, and The Wall 62 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: Street Journal ran a similar story in twenty sixteen that 63 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: says the Constellation Manischevitz's parent company produced more than nine 64 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: thousand cases of Manischevits that year, two hundred thousand of 65 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: which were exported to its top markets in Latin America, 66 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: the Caribbean, and South Korea. It's sweet and fruity flavors 67 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: clearly have a broad appeal, and that taste comes from, 68 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: no surprise, a large amount of sugar that's added to 69 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: offset the bitter taste of the Labreska grapes it's made from. However, 70 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: when paired with salty passover foods, like mozza and can 71 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: filta fish. This table wine shines seedmen added Mana Chevits 72 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: dishes are comfort foods. The wine is sweet, robust, and 73 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 1: should be sipped with friends and family for those who 74 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: have never had the chance to sip this sweet drink. 75 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: You can find many Chevits in almost any liquor or 76 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 1: grocery store, often in the kosher section, and you can 77 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: use it for cooking any dish that calls for a 78 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: fruity wine. If you're looking for an easy dish to 79 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: pair with manischevit's try something like a hardy brisket, or 80 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: take it to the dessert course and mix up a 81 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: Manis Chevits slushy or granita cheers. Today's episode was written 82 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,160 Speaker 1: by Jeremy Glass and produced by Tyler Clang. For more 83 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: of this and a slurry of other topics of how 84 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of 85 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio or more podcasts. My Heart Radio, visit 86 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 87 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.