
"They have no wine".
John 2:1
In keeping with the Advent season I thought I would pay homage to perhaps the greatest winemaker of all time. No offence Vinomaker!
Most people have heard the story of how Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana. His mother was mortified that the guests had run out of vino, (much as my mother would encourage me to nip down to the cellar and open another case, or two), and urged her Son to do something about it. Voila! JC's tenth miracle.
What I hadn't heard of, until fairly recently, was that there are people out there that insist biblical wine was non-alcoholic and mis-translate the Greek word oinos as...grape juice. As if the ancient Palestinians had forgotten the art of wine making passed on by the Greeks! At least the naysayers, with their heads in the sand, would like us all to think so. All those amphorae, regularly unearthed in archaeological digs, must have contained Evian water.
Now Vinogirl likes a bit of chemistry and marvels at the little miracle that happens almost as soon as grape juice introduces itself to the native yeast on the grape skin. Fermentation, and it's byproducts, numero uno being alcohol, (CO2, SO2, H2S etc.), is going to happen with the intervention of a winemaker or not. These ancient people did not have the means to arrest fermentation, by using copious additions of potassium sorbate, or the technology to remove yeast, sterile filtration, or alcohol, reverse osmosis, so it is without a doubt that biblical wine got people tipsy.
Thank God I am Catholic!!! We imbibe. Take no notice of religious fundamentalists, science is good.
So please, "use a little wine for thy stomach's sake." Timothy 5:23. And people, wine happens!