Wines of Israel & Kosher Wine

At London Wine Fair, we learned, from two jolly gentlemen, John and Josh, that Israelis were pioneers of drip irrigation.

Their vines did not suffer from phyloxera, which devastated French, Spanish and European vines in the last century, and attacked our vines in London this year, 2025. However, Israel's vines had a virus, so the growers replanted.

Vines have been cultivated for wine since the time of The Temple, and Jesus served wine at the Last Supper. But what about recent times?

Very interesting to hear about the vineyards and the past. But what sort of wine can you buy nowadays?

Sparkling moscato with pink foil, brand Bartenura, at only £16 retail.

Even better value the Moscato D'Asti. Popular for a party.

The Asti of course is from Italy. That's not from Israel. Not all kosher wine is from Israel. £12, sometimes even £10 on discount.

Lychee wine in cans. Buy from Tesco, Wembley and online in Amazon.

When would you need it? At a family or business or club event with even only one person drinking kosher wine, or just adventurous drinkers, cans of lychee moscato, only 5% alcohol.

From a wine shop in Hendon called The Grapevine.  1848 winery, Modem mountain winery, Carmel.

For a special occasion, birthdays, an 80th birthday celebration, you have lots of options of unusual kosher wines at all alcohol levels and prices.

Legal, odor mountain winery

A Prosecco, at retail about £18 to £20, sells as a party drink. Label Verawang, green label glows in the dark!

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmel_Winery

https://londonwinecompetition.com/en/entry-info-251.htmCarmel_Winery

https://www.kosherwine.co.uk/

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Thanksgiving in the USA; Christmas in Europe: Passover

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving in the USA, not observed in the UK, except at events run by Americans, is giving thanks for landing safely in the USA after the perilous sea crossing from the UK and Europe. (Remembering the Titanic, you can see why. You would also feel the same on a ferry from the west coast of England to Ireland or in the old days on a ship across the choppy Bay of Biscay.)

Thanksgiving is the major holiday when offices shut so that families can get together for a festive meal.

The meal may start with a prayer, followed by festive food, turkey.

Christmas
In the UK, the equivalent festival is Christmas. Christmas day is a national holiday. Most attractions and shops close. Increasingly restaurants serve Christmas Day lunch at very high prices, usually served by staff who do not have children and are glad of the money. Families at home get together with special foods is Christmas day lunch. Hospitals and emergency services are provided by others of other religions or none, by singles, or on a rota system so that everybody gets free time every other year.

UK Christmas dinner is turkey, followed by Xmas pudding (US plum pudding). You will find this offered for lunch and dinner as an option in most restaurants in London, England and throughout the UK in December.

Scotland
In Scotland New Year's eve is celebrated rather than Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated on different days in Scandinavian and Latin countries in Europe, eg Jan 6th.

Seder or Passover
The Jewish equivalent is the Seder night or passover, a thanksgiving for surviving the great plagues inflicted on Pharaoh and the long, dangerous journey through the sea and parting of the waves. You see this thanksgiving meal depicted in medieval paintings in national galleries of Europe, showing Jesus and the Last Supper. In paintings you see wine in silver goblets (before wine glasses became both affordable and classy and became the way to drink celebratory drinks).This festival takes place around the time of Easter.

BBC report on Black, Mexican and other thanksgiving.
Seemed a bit thin to me, but I liked the picture of trying not to tread on others' shoes around the doorway. I have never understood why the Chinese, Singaporeans and Asians who are so disciplined and fussy about rules and religion do not put their shoes neatly in pairs, parallel to the wall or door, or facing outwards for exit.

Useful Websites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-34922821

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)

http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/what-is-thanksgiving-when-and-why-americans-celebrate-turkey-day-a3118576.html

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Passover - what's the connection with Easter?

Passover -
Festival time celebrating the Angel of Death passing over the houses of the Hebrew slave class who were building the pyramids (according to the Bible or Old Testament, which many will know from MGM movies). The Hebrews were spared from the deaths which struck the firstborn sons of the homes of the Egyptian overlords.

Discovery Channel called in forensics experts and concluded that deaths were from contaminated cereals. The result was that rulers introduced using up old crops before the new harvest, hence Spring Cleaning, giving up foods for Lent, and cleaning the house for Passover, banning bread with raising agents, eating only dry crackers called matzoh, even using a special new set or crockery if you are religious during the festival of passover.

Seder Night
Jews celebrate a Seder night. Seder means order. The tradition is to celebrate every holiday for two days so that despite world time differences, wherever you are, your celebration or observance coincides with Jerusalem and Israel.

So in many families one woman will hold the first night at her house. The second night is held at another, her younger sister or sister-in-law's house. The leftovers, or a second portion, will be taken from the first house to the second. It's a bit like some families in the UK where one family makes Christmas day lunch, and the next day they go to a friend or relative for Boxing Day.

For a Seder night you need to have bought or made the festival foods which are eaten in order. You use a book which tells the story of the Passover. (Americans might like to think of it as a forerunner of Thanksgiving). Jewish bookshops and online bookshops and gift shops sell plates and paper napkins.

The festival meal involves fun and games for children, who are given portions to read, are sent playing hunt the matzoh, and the ceremony ends with joyful singing of traditional songs.
The last words are 'Next year in Jerusalem'.

Just like Christmas Dinner, people who might be alone and not celebrating will be invited to a festive meal by the better off or bigger families. If you are travelling, you get a letter of introduction sent in advance if you are hoping to be invited to a Seder. For example, one year I went to Israel and was invited to a Seder night at the home of a relative of a friend.

Nowadays some Liberal synagogues organise a communal Seder. If you are not religious, or are a young mother in a mixed faith marriage, or have a small family, it is easier for mother and more fun to be in a large group where older people organise the food and a Rabbi leads you through the Haggadah which is the book. In the USA and Israel and probably other places you can go to a hotel. They will print their own Haggadah for that year, often in both Hebrew and English, with the name of the hotel or synagogue on the back.

The foods
Matzoh! Unleavened bread. Various stories account for this. The tradition is that the Hebrew Slaves were allowed to leave by Pharaoh. (Remember the song, 'Let my people go'.) But they left in such a hurry there was no time to let the bread rise, so they carried with them the dry flat crackers.

Finally, it is said that the "Last Supper" depicted in the famous paining of Jesus and his disciples, is a Seder meal. So if you go to a Seder, you are attending the most recent version of a festival going back    hundreds of years.

Nowadays a Seder night in most of the English speaking world is a family occasion, like Christmas Day lunch, celebrated with women and children, unlike the men only Last Supper depicted in the painting centuries later.

If you are not religious but you are invited to partake in a Seder night, what can you expect. This is getting long so see my next post.

Travel At Passover and Easter
From a traveller's point of view, the downside is that flights will be full and hotels will be booked. The plus side is that you can enjoy booking a Seder night and seeing families and friends.

Angela Lansbury BA Hons, author, writes about travel, food and drink. See more of her and about her on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon.co.uk books and Lulu.com