QUESTION: I made a pitcher of fruit punch using non-mevushal wine, orange juice concentrate, and ginger ale. The wine is about a third of the recipe. Must this drink be treated like non-mevushal wine?

ANSWER: Shulchan Aruch (YD 123:4) writes that if one mixes their wine with honey and pepper, such that the taste of the wine is considerably changed, it is no longer viewed as non-mevushal wine. This mixture is called “konditon.” The Talmud Yerushalmi states that it is made from one third wine, one third honey, and one third pepper, and the prohibition of yayin nesech does not apply to it. The Beiur HaGra (123:8) cites a disagreement between the Ramban and Rashba as to whether one must specifically add one part honey and one part pepper, as mentioned in the Yerushalmi, or whether any significant amount of honey and spices is enough to change the status of the wine. The Gra infers that Shulchan Aruch follows the lenient ruling of the Rashba, since Shulchan Aruch makes no mention of how much honey must be added. The only requirement is that it be enough to cause a considerable change in taste. The Shach (123:8) points out that the added ingredients need not specifically be honey or pepper. Any ingredient that will give the wine a completely different taste is adequate for it to be treated like mevushal wine. Since orange juice concentrate and ginger ale will impart a very different taste to the wine, this mixture can be considered mevushal. The more difficult question is whether the beracha will be borei pri hagafen or shehakol. The Mishnah Berurah (202:6) writes that if one mixes wine with one part honey and one part pepper, even though wine is the minority, the beracha remains borei pri hagafen. This is because the other ingredients are only added to improve the taste of the wine. However, in our case, since the intended result is a fruit punch and not a flavored wine, the beracha would be shehakol.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.