- Ask someone to name a kosher wine,
and they'll likely say one of two things:
Manichewitz or Bartenura Moscato.
In recent years, Bartenura has found
a second life outside the Four Cups on Passover
thanks to a barrage of references to Moscato in rap music.
Some of Hip Hop's biggest names have become fans
of the blue bottle, so it begs the question:
how does Moscato, the oldest
and often least expensive wine varietal,
take over a music scene known for its pursuit of luxury?
Like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon,
Moscato is a wine varietal that comes
from a specific species of grape, Muscat.
It's believed to be the oldest domesticated family of grape,
with over 200 varieties.
While Muscat traces its roots as far back
as 3,000 years ago, the highly improbable connection
of Moscato and Hip Hop dates back to the early 1990s.
Between the early nineties and mid-2000s,
you'd often hear songs referencing a whole bunch
of high-end alcoholic drinks, including Cristal
and Dom Perignon.
Notorious B. I. G., Nas, and Jay-Z have all cited
the luxury champagnes in their music.
Jay-Z's 40/40 Club would regularly sell out of Cristal
at a premium of 450 to 600 dollars a pop.
Cristal even appeared in the top 10
brand lyrical mentions in 2005.
But that all changed in 2006 after an Economist interview
with the Managing Director
of Cristal's manufacturer, Frédéric Rouzaud.
In a section of the article titled "Unwelcome Attention,"
Rouzaud was asked if the association
between rap's bling lifestyle
and the illustrious champagne could hurt the brand's image.
He responded by saying that's a good question,
but what can we do?
We can't forbid people from buying it.
The article went on to compare Hip-Hop's love for Cristal
to notorious Congo dictator Mobutu Sese Seko's affinity
for Dom Perignon's Rose.
Yikes.
This did not sit well with Jay-Z.
He responded swiftly, saying that he would no longer
drink bottles of Cristal, or stock it at his club.
And when one of the greatest rappers alive
takes a stand against a rap staple, people notice.
Lil' Kim is generally considered the first rapper
to reference Moscato in her 2005 song Lighter's Up.
♪ Still over in Brazil sippin' Moscato ♪
♪ You must have forgot though ♪
♪ So, i'ma take it back to the block yo ♪
But the bubbly white wine didn't take over the rap scene
until after Jay-Z's boycott.
The references really started to pour in
with the Bar Mitzvah boy himself, Drake.
In his 2009 song "Do It Now" he raps,
♪ It's a Celebration ♪
♪ Clap clap bravo ♪
♪ Lobster and Shrimp and a glass of Moscato ♪
Just one year later, Waka Flocka put Moscato
front and center in the chorus
of his chart-topping hit "No Hands".
♪ DJ, turn me up ♪
♪ Ladies dis yo jam, (c'mon) ♪
♪ I'ma sip Moscato ♪
By 2011, Moscato sales rose over 70%
from the previous year,
crossing the 300 million dollar threshold.
Danny Brager, senior vice president
of beverage and alcohol practice at Nielsen,
a data and measurement firm,
told NPR that in his 10 years following the wine category,
he'd never seen anything like Moscato's
meteoric rise to popularity.
While Moscato could be found in a slew of rap songs,
it was very hard to find the varietal
at local liquor stores, and the kosher,
Italian-based Bartenura winery knew they could
seize the moment with their blue-bottled Moscato.
Jay Buchsbaum, executive vice president
at Royal Wine, Bartenura's distributor,
explained that once they started hearing rappers
name-dropping Moscato, they knew they had to go for broke.
Buschbaum explained that they spent a fortune
on advertising to fans of hip-hop.
They became the official Moscato of the LA Dodgers
and put massive billboards
with their "Out of the Blue" slogans
all over Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
It all paid off.
To this day, Bartenura remains
one of the most popular Moscatos.
And with an average price tag of around $13,
it's pretty accessible too.
And when Bartenura was being mentioned,
it was the distinct blue bottle that held the spotlight.
DJ Khaled sips, pours and poses with bottles of Bartenura
in his music video for 2011's "I'm On One".
More recently, in 2017, Lil' Wayne offered a piece of advice
to his male Facebook fans, telling them
to buy their girlfriends a bottle of Bartenura
for Valentine's Day.
Bartenura initially burst onto the kosher wine scene
in the 1970s as an alternative to the overly sweet,
syrupy Manischewitz, with a line of dry red wines.
After the success of their dry wines, they added a handful
of new varietals, including the famous blue bottle
of Bartenura Moscato.
And where exactly does the name Bartenura come from?
The winery is named for Rabbi Ovadiah of Bertinoro,
also known as The Bartenura, a 15th century rabbi
most famous for his commentary on the Mishnah,
the authoritative written collection
of Jewish oral traditions that forms the first part
of the Talmud.
The Italian rabbi first made his way
to the land of Israel around 1488, using donations
from Italian Jews to reinvigorate
the oppressed Jewish communities in Jerusalem and Hebron.
Following the Spanish Inquisition,
many of the Spanish Jews who came to Jerusalem continued
to support him.
As his influence grew, The Bartenura was able
to use his prestige to lobby the Muslim rulers
to remove some of the discriminatory laws of the time.
He was held in such high esteem
that he was frequently called upon
by the Muslim community to decide legal cases.
What's even more interesting are the parallels
between the Bartenura winery's namesake
and the path that brought Moscato into the spotlight.
At its core, this is a story about respect.
The Bartenura spent his life fighting
for the Jewish community of Israel
to get a little more respect, and used his reputation
to influence the world around him.
And that's exactly what these rappers did.
When they felt disrespected by the brands
they themselves helped promote,
they got their respect back by using their clout
to impact pop culture, and major brands.
In a world where anyone can set a trend
and change the world, the legacy of the Bartenura
and the influence of Hip Hop make for an excellent pairing.
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