Wine and Cheese Gets an Upgrade

By Arielle Adelman
Published on May 16, 2013

Pesach without wine

Published on March 21, 2013

How can we have Passover without wine? This is a question that is asked of me each year as Passover approaches. I always answer that the blessing is over the fruit of the vine and grape juice is perfectly acceptable. I then ask a different set of questions.

Sober seders spreading

Published on March 21, 2013

It’s rare that an Orthodox rabbi chooses to omit an important Jewish ritual in his holiday celebrations.

Not your grandfather’s Israeli wine

Published on February 20, 2013

You can’t go wrong with a bottle of wine from one of Israel’s big five wineries — Carmel, Barkan, Golan Heights, Binyamina, Teperberg — or from other well-known brands whose consistent quality has earned them a solid place on American retail shelves, such as Tishbi, Dalton, Galil Mountain and Recanati.

For California mountain man, road to God runs through kosher wine

Published on February 1, 2013

Producing wine atop a tranquil mountain in a remote area of northern California is quite a way to make a living. For Benyamin Cantz, whose one-man operation in the hills of Santa Cruz produces kosher wine from organic grapes, it's also a calling.

Real Housewives of NYC – She is Coma Toast!

By Ilana Angel
Published on August 28, 2012

RHONYC Hits a New Low

By Ilana Angel
Published on August 19, 2012

This year, more Angelenos than ever get Passover aid from local agencies

By Ryan Torok
Published on April 11, 2012

This year, more than 1,000 Los Angeles families in need received food from organizations that provide assistance specifically for Passover.

Day 715 - Murder at a Purim Feast

By Salvador Litvak
Published on March 1, 2012

Old land, new wines

Published on November 17, 2011

As Israeli wines win medal after medal in international competitions, their entry into the mainstream fine wine market is hardly news anymore.

Tasting with the Napa Wine Project

By Lisa Niver Rajna
Published on November 15, 2011

Kosher wine shop a spirited addition to Pico-Robertson

Published on July 13, 2011

Jewish wine enthusiasts in Pico-Robertson now have a specialty shop of their own where they can taste, talk about and buy kosher wines from all over the world. The Cask, which opened its doors in April, plans to offer more than 500 kosher wines and 125 scotches when fully stocked, in addition to other spirits. Although the store does not carry kosher certification, owner Michael Bernstein said he will not stock anything that is not kosher.

Shopping: Only by Israel

Published on April 25, 2011

Dive into all things Israeli this month in support of the country’s 63rd birthday. From the unique and creative beauty of Israeli fashion designers’ lines to Israel-based organizations that have made it their mission to help the less fortunate, these pieces reflect the Jewish state’s enduring and innovative spirit.

Golan Heights Winery takes Italian first prize

Published on April 8, 2011

For the first time, the grand prize at Italy's leading international wine competition has been awarded to an Israeli winery. The Golan Heights Winery, founded in 1983 in Katzrin, beat out 3,720 wines from from more than 1,000 producers in 30 countries to take home the so-called "Wine World Cup" -- the Gran Vinitaly Special Award granted ahead of Italy's annual Vinitaly wine trade fair in Verona, one of Europe's top wine events, which opens Friday.

Everyone is Suddenly Irish on March 17th!

By Julia Bendis
Published on March 18, 2011

Very random thoughts…

By Julia Bendis
Published on January 21, 2011

Montreal synagogue charged for importing wine

Published on May 25, 2010

A Montreal synagogue was charged with circumventing the government's liquor regulator by importing its own wines and spirits.

A Vineyard Blooms in the Negev

By Adam Wills
Published on April 2, 2009

“It is in the Negev that the creativity and pioneer vigor of Israel shall be tested,” David Ben-Gurion said more than 50 years ago.

Israel’s first prime minister expected others to follow after he moved into Israel’s southern desert in 1954, when he was still in office. He would live there for nearly two decades, but few would move to join him.

Finally —delicious kosher wine

By Jeff Smith
Published on April 10, 2008

"Quietly and without attracting much consumer attention," said wine critic Mark Squires, "Israel has developed a wine industry that will confound preconceptions."Only in the past 25 years has there been any real quality wine produced in the Promised Land that deserved attention. But now the plot -- though thankfully not the wine -- thickens. A growing number of boutique winemakers have turned the corner qualitatively and are making some superlative wines. Indeed, there is one Israeli wine that plays on the world stage and merits inclusion in any great cellar: Domaine du Castel.

Meet that little old winemaker, Ben-Zaken

By Meredith Price
Published on April 10, 2008

Profile of winemaker Eli Ben-Zaken, owner of Domaine du Castel winery, a family operation in the Judean hills in Israel.

Confessions of a kosher wine snob

By J.D. Smith
Published on March 29, 2007

Passover is finally here and while the family is wrangling over who will play host and who's invited, I'm wrangling with which wines to serve.

Just breathe: Herzog legacy lives on with new wines

By Amy Klein
Published on February 15, 2007

Herzog is just one of many kosher labels around the world that hope to change the image of kosher wine. It's a two-pronged battle: The first is to change the perception of kosher wines in the mainstream world; the second is to change the kosher wine drinker's palate to appreciate finer wines.

A dessert wine with a healthy finish

By Zev Stub
Published on September 21, 2006

Several years before pomegranates became a favorite of health food fans everywhere, a family in Israel's Upper Galilee region began working to create a tastier and healthier version of the ancient fruit, only to cross their way into yet another huge food market. Their product: the world's first pomegranate wine fit to be sold to international wine connoisseurs

7 Days in the Arts

By Keren Engelberg
Published on July 13, 2006

7 Days in the Arts

The Circuit

By Norma Zager
Published on May 4, 2006

Circuit

The Aftermath

By Caroline Cobrin
Published on April 27, 2006

I had prepped my boyfriend for what he was going to encounter. From a Hebrew 101 lesson the night before, to a quick 1-2-3 seder crash course in the car ride over.

7 Days in The Arts

By Keren Engelberg
Published on April 27, 2006

7 Days in the Arts.

The Ultimate Taste Test

By Judy Bart Kancigor
Published on April 6, 2006

While this was the third year for Kosher World, it was the first time the show joined with the ethnic and halal markets, under the umbrella of the World Ethnic Market.

7 Days in The Arts

By Keren Engelberg
Published on March 30, 2006

7 Days in the Arts

Wines to Test the Palate, Pocketbook

By J.D. Smith
Published on March 30, 2006

Kosher wine has got a bad reputation, some of which is justly deserved. Along with rabbinical supervision of the winemaking process, strict rules about cleaning barrels, the prohibition of animal products and other laws regarding viniculture, wine was actually boiled (mevushal) as part of the traditional koshering process.

Wine, Women, Song

By Jewish Journal Staff
Published on October 6, 2005

Judd's parents, Art and Bunnie, have been making wine in Napa Valley for 25 years, first creating the Whitehall Lane label, then Judd's Hill.

Let My People Merlot

Published on April 14, 2005

In the beginning, there was sweet wine. Really, really sweet wine. But as the kosher market broadened, a trickle of new wines targeted to a more sophisticated audience began to raise expectations among Jewish wine lovers.

Latin America Aims for Northern Palates

By Larry Luxner
Published on April 14, 2005

Guarding the entrance to Bodegas Barberis, a family-owned winery in western Argentina, is a small ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary, known locally as the Virgen de la Carrodilla.

Rogov’s Puts Israel on Oenological Map

By Todd Pitock
Published on April 14, 2005

At a seder last year, the host put out a few bottles of Israeli wine.

Make Menu Shine With Splash of Wine

By Judy Zeidler
Published on March 17, 2005

Purim is always a special celebration for the children -- they dress up in costumes, sing and dance. The grown-ups have their rewards, too, because it is the only holiday when everyone is encouraged to drink a generous amount of wine.

Winemaker Brings Kosher to Oxnard

By Carin Davis
Published on January 22, 2004

Fruity, oaky and sugary; I taste blackberries, vanilla and sugar, lots of sugar; full-bodied, strong finish, and very sweet; horrible and, yet again, very sweet. That was the kosher wine tasting of yesteryear.

A Culinary Surprise

By Judy Zeidler
Published on February 20, 2003

Recently, my husband and I traveled extensively throughout Vietnam, where we took several cooking classes and met talented chefs. But the chef that surprised us the most was Donald Berger at the
Press Club in Hanoi.

Medicine Cabinet in the Kitchen

By Wendy Elliman
Published on July 25, 2002

In some families, breast and ovarian cancers take an inordinately fierce toll, striking one generation after another, menacing mothers, daughters, sisters and cousins.

The Sabra Kosher Gourmet

By Mike Levy
Published on May 2, 2002

Having studied abroad in Jerusalem between intifadas, I thought I had seen the attractions and sites of the land, but the ministry offered a view a student on a budget never imagined: Gourmet Israel, eight days of cutting-edge kosher restaurants and winery tours.

Historical Sips

By Jewish Journal Staff
Published on March 29, 2001

For years, the makers and marketers of kosher wines have claimed that their products can stand up favorably to their non-kosher counterparts.

Beyond Ordinary

By George Medovoy
Published on November 30, 2000

Ernie Weir is owner and winemaker of Hagafen Cellars, one of California's three kosher wineries that exist in an industry dominated by hundreds of non-kosher wineries.