K A S H R U T . C O M_©

March 23, 2026 from JTA:

"On Friday nights, in Jewish homes around the world, a familiar ritual unfolds: a blessing over wine, poured into a cup and passed around the table.

"That ritual, multiplied during Passover, may help explain why kosher wine is holding steady even as the broader wine industry struggles.

"Across the United States and globally, wine consumption is declining. Baby boomers, long the industry’s most reliable customers, are aging out of peak drinking years. Younger consumers are drinking less alcohol overall and are more likely to reach for craft beer, spirits or ready-to-drink cocktails when they do. In California, wineries have begun laying off workers, cutting production and, in some cases, shutting down altogether.

"But in the kosher wine market the downturn looks more like a slowdown.

"Royal Wine, the largest distributor of kosher wine in the United States, is used to seeing year-over-year growth in the double digits, according to Jay Buchsbaum, a vice president at the New Jersey-based company.

"'By that standard, we did not have a great year,' he said in an interview. 'But we did have an increase, whereas the industry has declined by as much as 12% so we’re bucking the trend.'

"'Passover for us is what October, November and December are for the rest of the industry,' said Herzog’s winemaker David Galzignato, describing a seasonal surge that mirrors the year-end rush in most wineries.

"Jewish life, by contrast, has long been structured around wine — not as a lifestyle choice, but as a ritual obligation."

"Another broader trend is generating optimism among industry insiders: the growing demand for kosher wine outside the Jewish community.

"Perhaps the best example is Royal’s Bartenura label, which is the best-selling premium Moscato, a sweet, aromatic white wine, in the United States, selling nearly 10 million bottles a year. Buchsbaum estimates that as little as 15% of Bartenura buyers are Jewish, with the blue-bottled wine developing a particular fan base among Black consumers."