Royal Wine Company
The Royal Wine Company, more commonly known as Kedem, is a Kosher food manufacturing and distribution company, incorporated in the United States for the last fifty years, started by the Pluczenik brothers in the 1940s and run by the Herzog family since 1958. Kedem currently sells over a million cases of Kosher wine and grape juice annually, in sixteen countries worldwide. Formerly headquartered in New York City, it is now based in Bayonne, New Jersey.[1][2] It is especially known for the Baron Herzog Varietals line of wines, as well as Kedem Tea Biscuits.
History
The Herzog family first operated a winery in Czechoslovakia. The winery was the exclusive wine supplier to Emperor Franz Joseph, who granted one of the early Herzogs the title of Baron. 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, the Herzog winery was seized by the Nazis. The Herzogs, who stayed in hiding, immigrated to the United States after the 1948 Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia. Living in New York City, Eugene Herzog began working for the Kedem, then owned by the Pluczenik brothers; and part of his salary was paid in company shares. By 1958, he was a majority stockholder and purchased the company and named it Kedem.
Grape varieties and wines
The Herzog varietals are Kosher versions of various wines, including Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Several of these have won various wine competitions. The company was also part of the collaboration that created the first kosher Rothschild wine, in 1988.
The company also retains the exclusive United States distribution rights for several Israeli wines and spirits.