I'm not Jewish, so I've never had any reason to try either brand until now. I subjected both Manischewitz and Mogen David to our usual rigorous, comparative tasting process. The result is a clear knockout win for Mogen David, and it wasn't close. Mogen David's nonvintage Concord grape wine ($4.50) smells like grape juice and grape candy. It's quite sweet, but has a powerful, lingering essence of Concord grape through a very long finish. It's a little too sweet for me to drink, but I would be perfectly happy to pour it over ice cream. In contrast, nothing smelled or tasted natural about Manischewitz's nonvintage Concord grape wine ($4.50). There's a strong, unpleasant metallic note in the aroma. It attacks the palate with a sugar and chemical rush that tastes like candy from a Day-Glo wrapper, with the barest hint of artificial grape flavoring. I wanted to brush my teeth immediately. The moral of this story? If your parents insist on Concord grape wine at this year's seder, take it from an objective gentile: serve them Mogen David. Consider it a mitzvah. E-mail W. Blake Gray at wbgray@sfchronicle.com

ah, yes, the lake erie appellation by the above pro who should know...

sure i've enjoyed some of the world's best beverages:

'big 23' 'tiger piss' 'bom de bom' 'o b korean potato beer (in the authentic rusted steel cans), a warm south african strawberry riesling pushing the cork out in agadez (this is only a partial list of asian and african who deserve this post) and finally mogen david 'merlot' .

now, i'm not (duh!) stupid, i know that the article was about kosher table wines which my family used to decant at the christmas and thanksgiving holidays (don't have a clue...most of them were nazis).

then i was a 'guest' in la jolla and a friend introduced me to mogen david 'merlot' (she ran out of box wine!).

it was much more than a religious experience!

i've had some great leftover cough medicine in my day, but the way this shit penetrated my tooth enamel, regrew my tonsils and finally pulled my small intestines onto the floor of my mouth; lifted my tongue to my palate so it could both escape the relentless flow and prevent projectile vomiting; and the long, long finish that complimented both the texture of the shag rug and cat hair on the sofa...let me tell you -- it just doesn't get any better!

the jews are on to something...and it all tastes like lake erie to me (that's an appellation by the way).