Kedem seeks mainstream position

Kosher wine distributor Kedem is aiming to further its business in the UK, marketing to both kosher and non-kosher consumers.

Speaking to the drinks business, Morris Herzog (pictured far left), director of Kedem Europe, said that he was hoping to replicate growing success in the US using a combination of French and Californian wines aimed more at Jewish consumers.

He also aims to place more imported Israeli wines in multiples or independents in an effort to attract a bigger non-Jewish audience.

He said that following an increased trade presence at last year’s tasting: “This year we decided to go bigger and better. We would like to move into the mainstream. We believe we can do this by providing niche wines that we like to call ‘crossover’ wines because they’re not only for kosher consumers.

“We’ve been very successful in the US after several years of moving in this direction and we’d like to repeat that in the UK. Having some of our wines in major chains would help us a lot.

“We’re not talking about 50 wines you understand,” he continued, “only three or four. We’ve already had success with two Israeli wines in a major multiple grocer. They’re not there because they’re kosher but because they’re from the Mediterranean.”

Two other categories that are growing in popularity on both sides of the Atlantic are Moscato and “chillable” red wines, already seen in Gallo’s Summer Red.

Meanwhile, Champagne Drappier has produced its first kosher cuvée that will be unveiled at Kedem’s tasting next week.

Herzog explained that Laurent-Perrier already produced a kosher wine but it was much more expensive than its standard brut.

The added cost of making wines kosher has caused difficulties in Bordeaux, where the influence of the Far East on pricing has meant that châteaux such as Pontet-Canet, Léoville Poyferre and Giscours, which have made kosher cuvées since the 1980s, have not always been able to in recent years.

However, Herzog was confident that kosher wines from Giscours and Pontet-Canet would be made again and Kedem has been sourcing wines from Burgundy as well, as “Jewish consumers develop a greater appetite for premium French wines.”

The tasting will take place at the Park Lane Hotel on 6 February. For more information visit www.kedemeurope.com