Kosher Wine

The Romans drank a lot of wine but not straight or quickly. “Diluting wine and drinking with restraint were ordinary courtesy. The purpose of a dinner party was relaxed

Wine, known as the beer of the mountains was first produced during the Neolithic period between 9000 and 4000 BCE. There were two factors in the Zagros Mountains that made the production of wine possible; an abundance of the Eurasian grape vine, Vitis vinifera sylvestris, and cereal crops. Grapes contain natural yeast that will convert the sugars in the juice to alcohol; that way when people started to store grapes they would eventually turn into wine. The earliest evidence of wine came from a jar from the village Hajji Firuz Tepe and dated back to 5400 BCE. Wine became important because it was a main part of religion, medicine, commerce, and became a

Wine is made of fermented juice of crushed grapes stored over time. “Natural yeasts, present on the grape skins, convert the sugars in the juice into alcohol.” Explains author, Tom Standage [page 47]. One-way wine was consumed, by the Greeks, was by mixing water with the wine before intake. In order to figure out how much wine to add, the Greeks used ratios to determine the amount of water to wine. Wine started out as a drink for the wealthy, which involved “drinking parties”, called Symposions. Eventually, it didn’t matter whether you drank wine or not. What mattered was which type of wine you

Since then, wine has become a staple in the christian celebration of Easter and other special occasions. It’s intriguing how one drink has not only formed a practice of it’s own, but is a critical part of a religion. Standage then moves on to discuss the practice of tea drinking in Britain which dates back to the Industrial Revolution. Around the world, Britain’s empire flourished with the acceptance of pristine tea drinking and the “historical impact of its empire [...] can still be seen today” (150). The drinking of beer in pubs, the use of wine in religious ceremonies, and the esteemed tea

The Jewish community is distinguished by a rich history, rooted in traditions that have been in place for thousands of years, many customs, and possibly the most are dietary in nature. Foods like potato latkas1, falafel2, and fried doughnuts are traditionally eaten during my favorite festival, Chanukah3, a Jewish festival that commemorates the miracle of the anointing oil that burned for eight days during the rededication process of the Temple in Jerusalem.4

Wine was used to symbolize wealth and power in Greece. In Greece, Men would gather at a symposion ( a room where men would drink equally together) and discuss social issues. In Greece drinking wine ( age of wine and what kind) determined how civilized you were. Since wine was made in only Greece ( for a period of time) it served as Greece main exports and major trade.Greeks believed that by drinking wine one would strengthened their body, also cause them to be modest. In Rome it was used for medicinal purposes.

The second chapter of the book called Cuisine and Culture by Linda Civitello, discussed the importance of grain, grapes and olives to Greece and Rome as well as other staple foods of those societies. One of the main discussion points within this chapter, was the history of wine. The book discussed how the Greek god, Dionysus, encouraged drinking wine for men only and how wine changed when the Roman God, Bacchus, took over Dionysus’s role. One interesting discussion the book featured was how Greeks believed “drinking purple wine from a purple vessel made of [amethyst] would cause the two purples to cancel each other out and negate whatever was in the wine that caused drunkenness” (Civitello 32). This theory of being able to drink and not get

Wine has been a part of Western history since the Neolithic Period (8,500-4,000 B.C.), when cultures first started to develop permanent communities, and stopped being nomadic hunter-gatherers (U. Penn, 2000). One of the earliest written records of the consumption of wine is recorded in the Bible and the impact of wine on Mediterranean cultures became more pronounced over the years as the geopolitical situation stabilized in the region under the Roman Empire. Roman Imperialism helped to spread the production of wine across most of the countries in the Empire, which included most of North Africa and Southern Europe (Britannica, 2000). During that same era, wine became ingrained in the Christian faith and is still used in Christian mass today. The close tie between wine and the Christian faith aided to the spread of wine production and wine consumption across Europe

Wine, to the many, is something that is drunk at a celebration; yet, to the few, a bottle of the best wine is worthy of ten thousand dollars. Despite beer and liquor being the predominant get together drink, wine is still prominent at formal gatherings. Just like the Greeks, a host would invite guests to a celebration, and more often than not serve wine. Similarly, the Greek way of drinking wine is mixing it with water and serving it out of a Krater. Although the practice of diluting wine is uncommon, guests usually share a common bottle of wine. In addition, the average Joe would be content with a fifteen-dollar bottle of wine; however, wine

This attitude of sex and drunkenness is often associated with the ancient Greeks and Romans, who Rochester makes reference to through Cupid and Bacchus. The wine serves as a tool to rid oneself of their grasp on reason. It often drives away the feeling of anxiety that often exist between a man and women during times of intimacy. It allows one to satisfy their bodily pleasure.

The ideal celebratory meal have a structure that start off with an appetizer, main course, dessert, drink, and along with story and discussion. We can see this in the Book of Exodus 12, the passover and unleavened bread. Passover is the day to remember the Israelite came out of Egypt. Eating unleavened bread is the reenactment of when the Israelite came out of Egypt in a hurry. Soon, manna is given to the people of Israelites because

Jewish people celebrate Passover with a ritual dinner called Seder, which represents the meal that the Israelites ate before fleeing Egypt (Oxtoby 123). In a Passover Seder, the head of the family begins the ceremony by sanctifying the holiday with a Qiddush, or benediction, over a cup of wine (Tobias 88). While reciting a prayer, raw vegetables dipped in vinegar, a shank bone and a hard-boiled egg are presented to the family members. Then, a second cup of wine is poured and at this time, the Passover liturgy, or Haggadah, begins (Oxtoby 124). The

Ephesians 5:18 states “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled

Both of these groups held high social statuses. Jews and Italians were both known to contribute to the introduction of alcohol. Jews used wine for their religious practices; however, Italians used wine for their culinary processes. Jewish were known to own businesses and play a major role in a commercial-agricultural industry same as Italians.

The relationship between alcoholic beverages and religion goes back thousands of years. The use of wine is at the heart of many Christian Religions and important Jewish ceremonies are marked by drinking a prescribe number of glasses. The Ancient Egyptians believe the much worship god Osiris. The ancient Egyptians made at least 17 types of beer and even more varieties of wine used for pleasure, nutrition, medicine, ritual and funerary purposes. In Babylon, the people worships wine deities,