Manischewitz: The Jewish Wine for Chinese Cuisine!

Chanukah (or Hanukkah if you prefer) and Christmas are colliding this year!  What is a Jew to do?  How can we “marry” both holidays together?  Oy Gevalt!  Such a dilemma!  Of course, I have the easy peasy solution.  Have Manischewitz wine with your Chinese food on Christmas Day!  What better way to celebrate both holidays, while still paying homage to your roots and traditions?  

Manischewitz wine you say?

Let’s delve deeper in to this seemingly incongruous marriage, shall we?  Manischewitz wine, which is often mocked among Jews for its overly sweet taste, has found a new set of customers — Asian Americans.  Surprised?  Me too!  But why?

The Kosher beverage, which apparently resembles a fermented grape drink from northern China, is becoming a household staple in Asian households across the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Huy Trieu, who manages an Asian supermarket near Los Angeles, remarked that Manischewitz wines are popular among Chinese and Vietnamese customers. “I don’t see any Caucasians buying it,” he said.

Many Jews, reared on Manischewitz wine, have come to loathe it. To me it really tastes like cough syrup.  Medicinal studies to the effectiveness of Manischewitz as a cough remedy have not, to my knowledge, been performed.

Jews who have a soft spot for the wine, but prefer beverages less reminiscent of cough syrup, can follow one of the many innovative recipes by chef Amy Kritzer, of the blog “What Jew Wanna Eat,” which feature Manischewitz as an ingredient.

Manishewitz goes particularly well, they say with Chinese dishes such as roast chicken.  It goes well with boiled chicken too, but you will never find THAT on a Chinese restaurant menu!

Though sales are particularly brisk for Manischewitz wines around Passover, it can still be found year round in most Wine Stores.  Can you believe that last year over 900,000 bottles of Manischewitz wines were sold?  I wonder how that compares to sales of Robitussin?  😉

So, who amongst you is going to bring a bottle for Manischewitz wine with you to the Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day?  Sound off in the Comments section below.

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

—Mee Magnum  (“Chop!  Chop!”)

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