Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vog Obam. Here. You know a product has become a staple when its brand name replaces the generic term within the public's vocabulary. Popsicles, crop pots, q tips, and Manischevitz as the de facto go to brand of kosher wine. The Manischevits Company has led the charge on traditional Jewish foods in America since the lady teen hundreds, when Rabbi Dov Beer Manischevitz opened a small Mazza bakery
in Cincinnati. Now a hundred and thirty years later, the Manischevitz Company does way more than produced sweet tart, low priced kosher wine. It's also king when it comes to kosher cookies, soup, skiffilter, fish, and way more. But how did it get into the wine making business? Manischevitz is typically shared during religious ceremonies and holidays like Passover, param Barnbot, Mitzvah's,
and weddings. The modern Manischevits as we know it now, the uber sweet Concorde grape derived drink, came to fruition in n when Brooklyn based Monarch Wine Company approached the Manischevits company and proposed licensing deal. Monarch Wine wanted to use the well known Manischevit's name on its new kosher wine. The Manischevit's company was uninterested in pursuing wine making on Zone, so it agreed to the deal, unknowingly cementing itself as
the purveyor of kosher wine. The manische of Its company is known for its Kosher standards and regulations and it applies them throughout to the wine making process too, from crushing the grapes to bottling the final product. But we spoke with Shanie seedman CMO of Kei Ko Kosher Foods and Manischevit's. She said, we have rabbis at each and every production to make sure all facilities are abiding by
strict Kosher standards. Along with strict rabbinical supervision. All bottles of Manichevits must be certified by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America before they're sold to the public. On top of this process, men Chevits wines go through a process called mavuchal that means the juice for the wine is cooked immediately after the grape has been crushed. But why that makes Mani chevits amvuchial wine, which according to Jewish dietary guidelines, means that it can be served
to observant Jews by non observant people. These days, it's accomplished by a process similar to flash pasteurization, so it doesn't greatly affect the taste of the wine. Mana Chevits is available in six flavors concord grape, BlackBerry, elderberry, cherry, extra heavy malaga, and medium dry Concorde, and the appeal has long expanded past its Jewish base to the rest of the world. Whether it's the five dollar price tag, the low alcohol content, or the sweet flavors, Mana Chevits
is classic tagline there's a sader in every bottle. Let the tradition flow now rings true for millions. Back in ninety four, an article in Commentary magazine reported on the then booming Kosher wine trend, noting how ten million gallons that's about their eight million liters of Manas Chevitz was
imbibed the year prior. Interestingly enough, the same article mentioned a spike in sales quote at Christmas and Thanksgiving several times higher than for Passover, even noting how a relatively minor occasion as Saint Patrick's Day causes a discernible rise. The Manischevitz company's early tagline man O manas Chevitz proved to be so popular that Apollo seventeen astronaut Gene Cernan set it on the surface of the moon in nine
But what about today? It seems the wine still has a big following, and not just by those who grew up drinking the stuff at Satyrs and other Jewish holidays.
USA Today reported in seventeen that the wine is a hit among Caribbean communities, especially around Christmas, and The Wall Street Journal ran a similar story in twenty sixteen that says the Constellation Manischevitz's parent company produced more than nine thousand cases of Manischevits that year, two hundred thousand of which were exported to its top markets in Latin America,
the Caribbean, and South Korea. It's sweet and fruity flavors clearly have a broad appeal, and that taste comes from, no surprise, a large amount of sugar that's added to offset the bitter taste of the Labreska grapes it's made from. However, when paired with salty passover foods, like mozza and can filta fish. This table wine shines seedmen added Mana Chevits
dishes are comfort foods. The wine is sweet, robust, and should be sipped with friends and family for those who have never had the chance to sip this sweet drink. You can find many Chevits in almost any liquor or grocery store, often in the kosher section, and you can use it for cooking any dish that calls for a fruity wine. If you're looking for an easy dish to pair with manischevit's try something like a hardy brisket, or take it to the dessert course and mix up a
Manis Chevits slushy or granita cheers. Today's episode was written by Jeremy Glass and produced by Tyler Clang. For more of this and a slurry of other topics of how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio or more podcasts. My Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.