Manischewitz wine Image by iStock

By Josefin Dolsten May 2, 2016

Manischewitz wine, which is often mocked among Jews for its overly sweet taste, has found a new set of customers — Asian Americans.

The kosher beverage, which apparently resembles a fermented grape drink from northern China, is becoming a household staple in Asian households across the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Huy Trieu, who manages an Asian supermarket near Los Angeles, remarked that Manischewitz is popular among Chinese and Vietnamese customers. “I don’t see any Caucasians buying it,” he said.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Manischewitz joins Bartenura Blue, a kosher moscato wine that has also found success among non-Jewish clientele.

Bartenura has embraced its new customer base — African Americans — placing billboards in predominantly black neighborhoods and launching advertising campaigns featuring black actors, such as the one below.

Manischewitz has also gained traction in recent years among Christians, with some churches choosing to use the kosher wine to represent Jesus’ blood in the Holy Communion service.

Jews who have a soft spot for the wine, but prefer beverages less reminiscent of cough syrup, can follow one of the many innovative recipes by chef Amy Kritzer, of the blog “What Jew Wanna Eat,” which feature Manischewitz as an ingredient.

The wine can be used to flavor chocolate truffles, to poach eggs, or in a variety of other delicious recipes.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount