Do’s and Don’ts of Kosher Twittering

We’ve been trying our hand in Twitter recently.  Here are some do’s and don’ts that we have put together that we follow, as we’re sure you agree that Twitterring for business is a bit different than personal twittering :

Linking

• Do try to put out relevant links in Twitter.
• Don’t make every link about you.  It’s easy to find lots of other kosher news, and help spread it.

Keeping Current

• Do keep current.  People like active Twitter people.  Not every Tweet will be a magical moment.
• Don’t neglect Twitter, you may lose followers.

Following / Followers

• Do follow people back.  If the person following you has an acceptable ratio and doesn’t appear to be a spammer, follow back.
• Don’t auto dm new followers.  Nothing screams spammer like the dreaded “thanks for following and check out my site.”

Current Events

• Do watch for current trends / events.
• Don’t make self-promotion so strong that you delude yourself into thinking that you are creating a trend.

Retweeting

• Do Retweet others when they have a valuable thing to say and/or link
• Don’t Retweet yourself.  We heard you the first time.

Personal Chat

• Do talk about your daily life.  Work and personal is ok, within reason.
• Don’t overdo this point and tell the world about your cat sneezing every 2 minutes.

Following

• Do follow people that you personally find interesting.  @ back to them when you see something of value.
• Don’t follow people back just because they followed you.  See if you should be following them.

Anger Management vs. Conversation

• Don’t lash out.  There is no drafts bin on Twitter like in email…sometimes it’s worth taking a second before firing off a nasty @ reply to someone.
• Do get into a back and forth conversation, knowing when it’s time to take it privately or just stop with the conversation.

Being in the Community

• Do share in one another’s joys and relate to their sorrows.  Twitter, while limited in how much you can type at once, is a community.  We’ve actually met some friends in real life from it.
• Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter

Pour Out The Kosher Wine -Into a Glass of Course!

Kosher wine is traditional for the Passover seder, so what goes into that making that bottle? To keep with tradition, those who may not keep kosher will enjoy kosher wine, but not too many people consider all that it takes to create kosher wine. It all starts with Concord grapes, which naturally have a bitter taste, so bottlers add large amounts of sugar to sweeten the wine.

And then there is the difference between kosher wine that uses boiling to purify it (Mevushal), and the newer “flash pasteurization” method which does the same thing, yet preserves the taste. However, by not boiling it, the “non-Mevushal” wine can lose it’s kosher status if handled by a non-Jew. The Mevushal is exempt from this and can be poured and enjoyed by all, regardless of religion.

Just remember that just because it’s a kosher wine doesn’t automatically make it an award winning wine. Ask around, ask friends, ask your rabbi! Now that wine producers are hastily realizing the surge in popularity of kosher wines, and creating more choices, wine stores will be more than happy to assist your purchase. L’Chaiyim!

Taste ‘The Honey’ - Enjoy Israel

The Honey is a new Jerusalem-based email newsletter and website focusing on the best of things available in Israel (and sometimes in the U.S.). For The Honey, that means hotels, restaurants, sights, sounds, clothes and, of course, food and wine. In just a few months the site - modeled on the U.S. website and email network Daily Candy - has begun drawing thousands of readers. Kosher.com caught up with one of the Honey’s founders, Jessica Steinberg, between cooking and sampling some of the new gourmet goodies available in Israel.

Kosher.com - What is the idea behind The Honey?

JS - To talk about what’s fun to see, do and consume in Israel.

Kosher.com - Who is The Honey aimed at?

JS - English speakers in Israel, tourists and Israelis, from a wide range of ages, from somewhere around 25 to 85, although we would happily accept any older readers as well.

Kosher.com - How do you select the items, locations and tips you write up?
JS - It’s a fairly organic process, partially because all four of us are people who keep a regular lookout for what’s new and different in Israel. We find our finds mostly from our own treks around the cities in which we live and travel. In fact, we started The Honey because friends and family were always asking each of us where to find certain products, where to go to eat, drink and be merry. We love being in the know, and sharing what we know with others, in a sharp, hip and pithy format.

Kosher.com - Do you think a site like The Honey can improve Israel’s image by showing that “gourmet” products are being produced in Israel?

JS - We certainly see ourselves as a kind of hasbara for Israel, partially because we write about fun, lighthearted subjects that have nothing to do with politics, but also because Israel is such a destination for all things creative. There are many talented people here creating all kinds of things, whether they’re designing clothing, developing wines or inventing skins for the cell phone whose parts were designed in Israel. And if the worldwide search for everything that is gourmet and off-the-beaten path brings tourists to Israel, or, even better, reminds those of us who live here what there is to discover about this place, then we’ll be satisfied.

Kosher.com - Do you want to say anything else about The Honey?

JS - We’re always happy to hear from our readers, whether they have tips to share or comments to make about something we’ve featured or missed. Please keep in contact at thehoney.israel@gmail.com

Kosher wines

Like most American-born Jews born before 1980, I grew up associating kosher wine with sweet, Manischewitzkiddush wine. To me, Friday night still isn’t the same without it, but the kosher wine industry has taken huge leaps forward over the last two decades, and top quality table wines are available from just about every continent.

In Israel, most tourists are familiar with the Golan Heights Winery in Katzrin and Mizrachi Carmel Winery in Zichron Ya’akov, but dozens of boutique wineries have cropped up in Israel’s highland areas over the past decade, including more than a few kosher ones. Drive Israel features a self-guided driving tour of some of the finest ones in the northern region, and six out of the nine wineries are kosher. One place that didn’t make it onto the list, Dalton Winery just north of Tzfat, produces some of the finest kosher wine currently on the market.

In the Jerusalem area, the Gush Etzion Winery is located 15 minutes south of the capital, and features a classy dairy menu to boot (local tip: they also make one of the best cappuccinos in the area!). To the east, Hamasrek is located just off the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, on Moshav Beit Meir in the lush
Jerusalem forest. Domaine du Castel (Ramat Raziel) Tzora Wines (Kibbutz Tzora) also provide high-quality wines in limited numbers. In both Jerusalem and the north, larger operations offer regularly-scheduled tours and wine tasting, but those wishing to visit smaller operations are advised to call first.

On the internet, several portals have made international kosher wines accessible and affordable. The Kosher Wine Review is exactly what the URL says it is: a comprehensive review of virtually every kosher wine in the world. In addition, Finest Wine has a magnificent selection of kosher Italian and French table wines, and Australia-based Kosher Wine features information about Beckett’s Flat and Teal
Lake, the country’s two kosher labels. Another useful portal is Israel Wines (site loads in Hebrew, but there is a link to the English-language content on the right side of the page).

For newcomers to the intricacies of kosher wines, the high holiday period brought on a flurry of “introduction to kosher wine” articles, including several from unlikely sources. Oddly enough, the Twin Cities (Minnesota) Daily Planet featured an informative, well-written overview of kosher wine, and of kashrut in general for the uninitiated. The Jerusalem Post did the same a week earlier, as did a nifty-looking Atlanta-based e-zine called Creative Loafing.