E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Wine.
The French say of wine that makes you stupid, it is vin d’âne; if it makes you maudlin, it is vin de cerf (from the notion that deer weep); if quarrelsome, it is vin de lion; if talkative, it is vin de pie; if sick, it is vin de porc; if crafty, it is vin de renard; if rude, it is vin de singe. (See below.)
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Win of ape (Chaucer). “I trow that ye have drunken win of ape”—i.e. wine to make you drunk; in French, vin de singe. There is a Talmud parable which says that Satan came one day to drink with Noah, and slew a lamb, a lion, a pig, and an ape, to teach Noah that man before wine is in him is a lamb, when he drinks moderately he is a lion, when like a sot he is a swine, but after that any further excess makes him an ape that senselessly chatters and jabbers.
