Our Story

Invei is a story of resilience, dedication, growth, learning and discovery. 

It all began in 2014, when a local family vineyard offered a ton of Zinfandel grapes to Rabbi Dovber Berkowitz, director of Chabad of Contra Costa, to try and produce a Kosher wine.

At a loss of what to do, Dovber reached out to his longtime friend, Michael Kaye, who had worked in multiple wineries and had made his own batches of wine. Michael assured Dovber that making wine was pretty simple and offered to help Dovber and produce the wine together with him.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, making wine was not so simple, especially in a non insulated garage with temperatures reaching above 100 degrees and all the wine went bad, ending in a total failure and disaster.

However, instead of giving up, Dovber and Michael were even more determined to figure it out and succeed. With a sense of resilience and strong resolve they returned to the drawing board. After much research and learning they decided to focus on producing a white wine and settled on the Malvasia varietal, an aromatic and delicious grape which the local vineyard had in stock and few Kosher wineries produce.

That next year they succeeded in producing a dry, semisweet and dessert Malvasia, their hard work, dedication and perseverance was rewarded - or more accurately, awarded. After tasting their wines a friend suggested that they submit their wine to the California State Fair. They were absolutely delighted to win both, a Double-Gold and Silver Award! They finally felt they were on to something.

We spent the next few years experimenting, expanding to Muscat Canelli and Gewurtztraminer as both offered something we love: floral bouquets with crisp palettes. We continued to win gold, silver, and bronze awards for our creations, which only fueled our attempts at more.  We eventually added a Malbec Rose and our Kuf Reserve blend of Petit Sirah/Petite Verdot.

Finally, they got our commercial license to make their wines available to you.  We hope you enjoy our unique, award-winning varietals!

About your winemakers:

Dovber Berkowitz, Rabbi and Director of Chabad of Contra Costa, has an insatiable desire to learn, discover and try new things. Producing wine gives him a unique opportunity to emulate his maternal grandfather, a famous Rabbi who also took great pride in being a home winemaker. He loves getting his hands in the soil, walking the vineyards, and most importantly, making great wine.

Michael Kaye worked at the Hagafen Cellars Winery for five years in Napa, did a wine-making internship at the Shiloh Winery in Israel, a brief stint at Four Gates in Santa Cruz, and a number of years at Gallo Wines before committing full-time to Invei.

Our Philosophy

We gravitate toward making unique, kosher wines that no one else is making, made in the Alsace style.  We like complex fragrant, varietals that complement with a delicate experience on the palette.  We don’t go for big, massive punches; we choose the road of elegance instead.  Our wines are very approachable, easy-to-drink, and yet surprisingly interesting and complex. Typically made on the higher end of the alcohol spectrum for whites and the mid-range for reds, you and your guests will be very satisfied.