Kedem Winery is a

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

food and beverage manufacturing and distribution company, incorporated in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

since 1958, established as Royal Wine Corporation in June 1948 and run by the Herzog family since 1958. Kedem currently sells over a million cases of

kosher wine Kosher wine () is wine that is produced in accordance with ''halakha'', and more specifically ''kashrut'', such that Jews will be permitted to pronounce blessings over and drink it. This is an important issue, since wine is used in several Jewi ...

and

grape juice Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a juice, liquid. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7–23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as ''must''. The sugars in grape juice allow it t ...

annually, in sixteen countries worldwide. Formerly headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, it is now based in

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey, in the Gateway Region on Bergen Neck, a peninsula between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York ...

. Vineyards for wine and grape juice are based in

Marlboro, New York Marlboro is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,669 at the 2020 census. Marlboro is in the southeastern part of the town of Marlborough, located in the southeastern corner of the ...

. It is especially known for its grape juice and NY state wines, as well as Kedem Tea Biscuits. Kedem Foods is a sister brand that also produces other food products, and has merged with Kenover Marketing and B&W Foods to form the largest kosher food conglomerate, Kayco Kosher, which in turn owns other kosher food brands, such as

Manischewitz Manischewitz (; ) is a brand of kosher products founded in 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and best known for its Matzah, matzo and kosher wine. It became a public corporation in 1923 but remained under family control until January 1991, when it was ...

, Hadar, and Gefen.

History

The Herzog family first operated a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. The winery was the exclusive wine supplier to Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, who granted Philip Herzog (1843-1918) the title of

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

. Though the wines for the emperor were not necessarily kosher wines, all of the other wines were produced under the full scrutiny of kosher law. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Herzog winery was seized by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

. The Herzogs, who stayed in hiding, immigrated to the United States after the

1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état In late February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ), with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia through a coup d'état. It marked the beginning of four decades of the party's rule in t ...

. Living in

, Eugene Herzog—Philip's grandson—began working for the Royal Wine Corporation and part of his salary was paid in company shares. By 1958, he was a majority stockholder and purchased the company and started doing business under the name Kedem. The current CEO of Royal Wine Corporation is Mordechai Herzog. Kedem wines are part of the Royal Wine Corporation, the largest importer of

Israeli wine Israeli wine is produced by hundreds of Winery, wineries, ranging in size from small boutique enterprises to large companies producing over ten million bottles per year. Wine has been produced in the Land of Israel since biblical times. Wine was ...

s and spirits in the US., which is in turn owned by KayCo, the largest Kosher food distributor.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Kedem Winery Official Website
Wineries in New Jersey Companies based in Hudson County, New Jersey Bayonne, New Jersey Drink companies of the United States Kosher wine

History

See also

References

External links