Hi Rich, great insight and I enjoyed the post. I somewhat disagree though to the idea that there is something terribly wrong with drinking Manischewitz. Let me start off by saying that I do not enjoy Manischewitz wines and am sure that most wine drinkers would agree with me on this point. However, there are some people that love this wine and there is nothing wrong with that. We all have different taste buds and enjoy different wines and as a wine community we need to be aware of this. I HATE wine snobs who look down upon people with different taste profiles.

Agreeing with Dan. Indeed Manischewitz is not my cup of tea. Nor are sweet wines made from Concord grapes in general or other sweet kiddush wines. I think, however, it is important for us to realize that now all who do kiddush or other sacramental rituals are not going to "graduate" to drinking fine dry red or white wines or even fine sweet dessert wines and that this is their privilege.

I must say that I do wonder whether the author of the original article referring in print (via the internet) to Manischewitz as "blasphemy" is not just a bit libelous?

Best
Rogov

bsd

I agree with Daniel that this public charge against Manischewitz (can anyone answer me if they are still a family business?) on their Kiddush wine is a form of libel, and therefore probably a form of blasphemy itself to HaShem.

- E.Y.

I've learned recently that Mogen David makes MD 20/20, aka "Mad Dog", a low end sweet fortified.  This kind of rubs me the wrong way.  MD 20/20 I think, if anything, does perhaps cross into the territory of wine blasphemy.  Am I wrong?  Here's the article that first tipped me off to the Mogen David connection:

http://bottlegang.blogspot.com/2007/08/kosher-wine-if-its-good-enough-fo...

Doesn't bum me out in the least.  After all, some even say that MD 20/20 (the MD does stand for Mogen David)is the very best of all the "bum wines" that are available.  I don't think the people at BumWine.com will be angry with me if I quote their "tasting note":

"As majestic as the cascading waters of a drain pipe, MD 20/20 is bottled by the 20/20 wine company in Westfield, New York.  This is a good place to start for the street wine rookie, but beware; this dog has a bite to back up its bark.  MD Stands for Mogen David, and is affectionately called "Mad Dog 20/20".  You'll find this beverage as often in a bum's nest as in the rock quarry where the high school kids sneak off to drink.  This beverage is likely the most consumed by non-bums, but that doesn't stop any bums from drinking it!  Our research indicates that MD 20/20 is the best of the bum wines at making you feel warm inside.  Some test subjects report a slight numbing agent in MD 20/20, similar to the banana paste that the dentist puts in your mouth before injecting it with novocain.  Anyone that can afford a dentist should steer clear of this disaster.  Avaliable in various nauseating tropical flavors that coat your whole system like bathtub scum, but only the full "Red Grape Wine" flavor packs the 18% whallop."

What the heck, everybody's got to make a living. To read about other, albeit non-kosher, bum wines see the fascinating site at http://www.bumwine.com/ 

Best and Chuckling

Rogov

But making a wine that's supposed to be kosher that caters largely to the wino market?  To me that's like making a vegan cookbook bound in leather.