THE GRANDMA VISITS KOSHER VAULT IN CAPÇANES

The Grandma in Celler Capçanes, El Priorat

The Grandma is in Capçanes, in El Priorat, an important wine producer county in the south of Catalonia where since 1995, kosher wine has an important presence. The Grandma wants to talk to us about kosher wines which are a very important element in Jewish life.

Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of kashrut, Jewish dietary law. Food that may be consumed according to halakha, Jewish law, is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér meaning fit. Food that is not in accordance with Jewish law is called treif meaning torn.

More information: Celler Capçanes

To be considered kosher, Sabbath-observant Jews must supervise and sometimes handle the entire winemaking process, from the time the grapes are crushed until the wine is bottled and any ingredients used, including finings, must be kosher. Wine that is described as kosher for Passover must have been kept free from contact with chametz, examples being grain, bread and dough.

The Grandma visits the Kosher vault in Capçanes

When kosher wine is produced, marketed and sold commercially, it would normally have a hechsher, seal of approval, of a kosher certification agency, or of an authoritative rabbi who is preferably also a posek, decisor of Jewish law, or be supervised by a beth din, Jewish religious court of law.

Because of wine's special role in many non-Jewish religions, the kashrut laws specify that wine cannot be considered kosher if it might have been used for idolatry. These laws include Yayin Nesekh, wine that has been poured to an idol, and Stam Yainom, wine that has been touched by someone who believes in idolatry or produced by non-Jews. When kosher wine is yayin mevushal, cooked or boiled, it becomes unfit for idolatrous use and will keep the status of kosher wine even if subsequently touched by an idolater.

More information: Kosher Wine Guide 2017

While none of the ingredients that make up wine (alcohol, sugars, acidity and phenols) is considered non-kosher, the kashrut laws involving wine are concerned more with who handles the wine and what they use to make it. For wine to be considered kosher, only Sabbath-observant Jews may handle it, from crushing until the bottles are sealed or the wine is pasteurized, whichever occurs first.

One who eats slowly, lives long.

Talmud, Berachot 54b

REPUTATION: FAME AND RECOGNITION FOREVER

Juanjo and Miriam Bond ready to sing

Today, The Bonds are practising some aspects of Social English and grammar. The family is talking about kosher food and how important is for the Jewish community, in general and Capçanes, in particulary.

More information: BBC Learning English

After some exercises, The Grandma is explaining some stories about Oscar Wilde and Rosalía de Castro two incredible authors who wrote in their native languages: Irish and Galician and François Aragó, a French scientific who studied the timezones.

The Bonds want to participate in the next Eurovision Song Contest in Ukraine. For this reason, they're creating some songs based on the Coplas of Jorge Manrique, the famous Castillian writer.

More information: Eurovision.tv

Finally, the family is talking about the future and about how to prepare it looking for some connections between the past and the present which can be very useful to success in an interview.

 What I like to drink most is wine that belongs to others.

Diogenes

ORCHIDS, KOSHER WINE & JAPANESE SAKE

Today, The Poppins have studied Present Continuous in both forms: Present and Future.  

They have been talking about the evolution and changes in the languages.

More information: 

Present Continuous

They’ve read two more chapters about Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and they’ve started to think in their cooperative. 

They’ve taken some successful examples like Kosher Wines in Capçanes (El Priorat) or Sake in Delta de l’Ebre and The Grandma has remembered an old friend, Raymond, aka Perry, who bought a little island in the Pacific and grew orchids.

Tomorrow, they’re creating some plans for the new cooperative and for their next travel to Brazil. They’re also talking about the Black Virgins in Europe and their possible origin and about the Bubo Bubo, an incredible animal who was a symbol of culture and knowledge during the Middle Age.

My greatest satisfaction in acting on television is to have the opportunity to communicate with the world. 

Raymond Burr

A GREAT PROJECT: CELLER DE CAPÇANES (PRIORAT)

Origami

This morning, The Holmes have continued their classes.

First, they’ve revised Present Simple doing some exercises.

Second, they’ve listened to a beautiful story about kosher wines in Capçanes, Priorat.

Next, they’ve played a little with a black ball and a bomb.

Then, they’ve learnt something more about the position of the adjectives and about imperative and invocative tenses.

Finally, they’ve made an origami and they’ve described themselves.

This afternoon, they’ve received terrible news: Luisa is missing! 

Now, all The Holmes are elaborating a rescue’s plan managed by Genara. 

Tomorrow, The Holmes are going to rescue her. The plan is going to start at 12:00 am.

As you teach, you learn.

Jewish Proverb