Manischewitz Says Rival’s Ads Are Not Kosher

So, you think Coke and Pepsi are enemies?

They’re friends next to Manischewitz and Kedem, contenders in the growing kosher wine war that has erupted with new fury in the days before Passover.

The first attack was launched by Kedem Royal Wine Corp. in a new advertising and promotional campaign for concord kosher wine, the sweet syrupy stuff served at many Seders. Taking direct aim at industry leader Manischewitz, the Kedem ads claimed that “at the 1991 Kosher Concord Challenge, the majority of those asked chose Kedem Concord over Manischewitz for taste, bouquet and color.”

Manischewitz’s corporate parent, Canandaigua Wine Co., cried foul. In a lawsuit filed in federal court here, Manischewitz argued that the survey was invalid because, among other things, it was conducted in a kosher deli and didn’t reach a representative sample of consumers.

Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. agreed. In a preliminary injunction, he ordered Kedem “to immediately cease all dissemination, distribution, broadcasting, display or other use” of the ads. The judge also told Kedem to “recall and retrieve” printed ads from wine and liquor stores.

Mickey Green, a spokesman for Brooklyn-based Kedem, said the company is complying with the order. “We pulled the radio advertisement and we’re in the process (of) calling back the point-of-sale materials.”

Green said he doesn’t know what all the fuss is about. “The campaign was very tasteful, very cute,” he said. The radio ads featured two men with Yiddish accents. The point-of-sale ad showed a bottle of Kedem standing upright over a knocked down bottle of Manischewitz, and was headlined: “The Chosen One.”

Canandaigua, an Upstate New York winemaker that is the nation’s third largest after Gallo and Heublein, purchased Manischewitz in 1986. “We have not yet been able to ascertain the damages we’ve suffered because the Passover season isn’t over yet,” said Robert Sands, vice president and director of legal affairs.

The injunction, he acknowledged, “is a little late, but the wheels of justice turned as fast as they could.”

The kosher wine business is very small and highly seasonal, with over 50% of the sales of sweet concord kosher coming around Passover.

The sniping among kosher wine competitors is nothing new. For years, Kedem tried to make marketing points over the fact that Manischewitz’s kosher certification didn’t come from the respected Union of Orthodox Rabbis of America but from a lesser-known authority. (Manischewitz is currently “OU-certified.”)

Kedem spokesman Green also sought to question Manischewitz’s Jewish credential by noting that much of its success derives from the popularity of Manischewitz wines among non-Jews, especially blacks.

“They think that’s a derogatory thing to say,” said Sands. “Our product happens to be enjoyed by a variety of ethnic groups, including Jews, blacks and WASPS--anybody who enjoys a high-quality, sweet wine.”