Kosher Wines: Being Neighborly Is The Key to Profitability and Longevity

Kosher Wines
  • BelGioioso Burrata
  • Red Gold Sacramento
  • Day & Nite
  • Inline Plastics Safe-T-Chef
  • Atosa USA
  • RAK Porcelain
  • AyrKing Mixstir
  • DAVO Sales Tax
  • Simplot Frozen Avocado
  • McKee Foodservice
  • RATIONAL USA
  • T&S Brass Eversteel Pre-Rinse Units
  • Imperial Dade
  • Texas Pete
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Late in February a new piano bar lounge soft opened on the Upper West Side in the Wallace Hotel. Known as The Wallace Lounge, and operated by a local restaurateur, Andrea Loscalzo, who owns the nearby restaurant and deli, Salumeria Rosi, this was big news.

Not just because it’s the newest nightlife offering in a neighborhood with a legacy of being a haven for musicians and singers who currently have few places outside of venerated concert halls for them to perform. Not even because it’s a grown-up spot in a sea of neighborhood bars. Rather, what stands out is their wine list. It lists the standard options, sparkling, white, red… and then… kosher.

Kosher wines as a category?! On a wine list that coincidentally previews just days before antisemites around the country buzz on social media about plans to gather for a day of hate targeting Jewish people?! You can’t make up this intersection of the bad news about where this world is going and the good news about the fate of our nation – and a business – if you tried.

Thankfully, good triumphs here where a savvy operator really knows his neighbors and potential customers. But why is a kosher designation on a wine list such an anomaly?

This is not one of the four questions that Jews everywhere will be asking during their Passover seder on April 5th, but it is definitely a question that bar and restaurant owners should be asking themselves if they are looking for new pipelines for profitability and want to invest in their business’ longevity. Especially in a world that is very aware of, and engaged in, inclusivity.

Passover is next month, and obviously a time for enhanced sales of kosher wine on the retail side. But at the on-premises level the sudden rush for kosher wines isn’t as obvious. Sometimes the availability of kosher wines and spirits isn’t even known. Bars and restaurants are missing out. And they don’t even know it.

  • RAK Porcelain
  • Inline Plastics Safe-T-Chef
  • Red Gold Sacramento
  • Simplot Frozen Avocado
  • RATIONAL USA
  • Day & Nite
  • Atosa USA
  • DAVO Sales Tax
  • McKee Foodservice
  • Texas Pete
  • AyrKing Mixstir
  • Imperial Dade
  • T&S Brass Eversteel Pre-Rinse Units
  • BelGioioso Burrata

Recently a one-question survey about the availability of kosher wines and spirits used in bars and restaurants was presented to a group of 5,000+ bartenders via Facebook. Accounting for algorithms and the fact that not everyone logs onto social media all the time, the absence of response was astounding. Out of a group of potentially 5,000+ bartenders there were three responses. One from someone who had poured kosher wine and spirits at their restaurant bar in the past and had a few good products to recommend, one from a retailer dedicated to an educational and inclusive wine-buying experience, and one from a bartender building a new cocktail menu and realized that having kosher offerings might be an additional way to build business and loyalty.

They got it. And it is because of these few in-the-know/ahead of the crowd folks that kosher wine sales have doubled every year. The spirits category over the last four years has also seen a shift upward. Gabriel Geller, Director of Public Relations for Royal Wine, which is the leader in kosher wine and spirits in the United States, notes that growth in the kosher spirits sector is even stronger due to, “the introduction of new and expanded varieties.”

Translated, that means something new to offer customers! And what delights customers more than a new experience? It certainly intrigues them, as Geller points out when speaking directly about kosher wines and shares, “Restaurants are recognizing Israel as a new wine growing region to get quality wines, and recognizing Herzog Wine Cellars wines as being the leader in quality wines that are certified Kosher.”

He continues, “The selection of kosher wines from around the world is constantly expanding, with new wines this pre-Passover season alone from New Zealand, South Africa, Israel, and France. The quality is on a constant rise, and so is the number of grape varieties kosher wines are made of.”

“Israel, nicknamed the start-up nation, has even managed to get its wine industry on the world map with innovative wineries such as Nana Estate, located in the Negev desert. Nana has pioneered revolutionary viticultural practices to grow quality grapevines in an arid desert climate. It has become a source of inspiration to wineries worldwide and the agricultural industry as everyone is now looking for solutions to address the growing challenges posed by global climate change.”

Being able to tell that new to market story and hit a customer’s value system simultaneously is a boon for any bar or restaurant looking to ramp up a potential clientele base and build guest loyalty. While Geller notes that it is important that the wine is judged on its quality and value, not on its kosher status, he recognizes the value of identifying wines as kosher as he comments, “Restaurants often recognize they may have kosher consumers who are dining with non-kosher clientele and will order that “kosher’ wine on the menu if it indicated. Often, we suggest that a simple k or OU be placed next to the listing. Kosher consumers will recognize it but those that don’t care will simply browse the wines based on the pedigree, price, etc.”

Eric Brass, founder of Tromba, a highly regarded tequila which just happens to bear a kosher certification, notes that the certification isn’t always a necessity for a brand or venue, but it really can help draw business. He explains, “Having kosher offerings allow an account to offer a significant variation of brands to their customers, especially those who are looking for brands that reflect their beliefs. A reliable kosher brand that is certified gives consumers signs of health, quality, and integrity as well as having a client base of devoted consumers. I wouldn’t say there is a specific profile of accounts that are inclined to take in a product that is kosher, however it can be crucial to doing business for several accounts with specific needs/consumer base and specific areas.”

In those places where it isn’t crucial, it is simply a bonus. One NYC-based bartender who has a strong familiarity with kosher wine and spirits knows that her fellow bartenders are missing out when she said recently that most bartenders would have no idea if a spirit was kosher or not. That’s a shame. And knowledge they should have at hand. It is easy to obtain, and the benefit is obvious; the knowledge and promotion of meeting guest needs can mean an increase in profitability and exposure to a wider swath of potential guests across the board.

Especially in a resort setting. Linelle Wright, Assistant Food and Beverage Manager of Cinko Asian Latino Grill at The Grand Hyatt Baha Mar remarks, “With Grand Hyatt Baha Mar having a kosher restaurant, we have more cultures visiting us than ever before.” She continues to share the tangible impact this new offering has, “Now that we have a kosher restaurant in the restaurant we are experiencing 50% observant Jews [joining us], and during Jewish holidays we have 90% or more, which also increases, our rooms occupancy as well.”

Making someone feel welcome in your space is all it takes. Whether you’re Jewish or not. It is just good business. In New Orleans Second Vine Wines, a Black-owned wineshop and tasting space that is strategically focused on the producers offered, shares the guest philosophy of Baha Mar. They also attribute their ongoing growth in part to a selection of kosher offerings. General Manager Roxy Eve Narvaez notes, “It is simply representative of access. As a community shop that sells wine, we are intentional about having wines that meet community wants and needs. When they find those wines it’s possible they’ll find a connection that brings them back. That feeds into our sustainability as a business.”

Sustaining a profitable business is every owner’s goal. Maybe calling out your kosher wine and spirits offerings – or at least having some on hand – will build a more robust customer pipeline. And build loyalty. Invest and see.

Meanwhile, wanted to share links of some of the businesses I mentioned:


Crimson AmaroSIPS TO SAVOR

When Claire Marin founded Catskill Provisions Distillery in Callicoon, NY in 2010 she was a trailblazer in the farm distillery movement as one of only five female distillers in the country.  She recently rebranded her products undere the Pollinator Spirits label in homage to the bees in her distillery’s apiaries that provide the honey which is infused in all of the spirits.

The latest offering is Crimson Amaro, an herbaceous spirit inspired by traditional Italian Amari.  The base is Pollinator Vodka that is then infused with a secret blend of more than 15 botanicals and naturally colored with Cochineal.  Like the rest of the Pollinator Spirits line Crimson Amaro is hand filled, sealed, and labeled and free of artificial flavors, colors and GMO grains.


Bottle photos courtesy of Royal Wine

  • BelGioioso Burrata
  • Inline Plastics Safe-T-Chef
  • RATIONAL USA
  • DAVO Sales Tax
  • AyrKing Mixstir
  • Red Gold Sacramento
  • T&S Brass Eversteel Pre-Rinse Units
  • Day & Nite
  • RAK Porcelain
  • Texas Pete
  • Atosa USA
  • McKee Foodservice
  • Imperial Dade
  • Simplot Frozen Avocado
Francine Cohen
Francine Cohen is an award-winning journalist covering the business of the f&b/hospitality industry, and a proud native Washingtonian (DC). In addition to her work as a journalist she keeps busy fundraising for Citymeals on Wheels, Les Dames d’Escoffier, NY Women’s Culinary Alliance, and the USBG Foundation and serves as chief storyteller and brand steward for clients in the food and beverage sector by providing them with strategic marketing and business growth guidance. She has never met a cheese or beverage she does not like, and lives with her husband in New York; leaving him behind to visit New Orleans every summer. (Except 2020. Darn pandemic.) You can reach her at francinecohen@mindspring.com