Bible Q&A
I have been searching for info on the wine recipe. Is there one? Also is there a way to determine when they speak of wine to determine if it is fermented or not. Such as communion?
Thanks for the question,
Sorry, I've never heard of a recipe for wine. There is really no way to determine if the wine mentioned in the scriptures was fermented or not other than from the context.When someone is getting drunk on wine, then it is obvious. But when someone is having wine with a meal then it is not obvious. They definitely knew how to ferment grape juice into wine. It was an art, much as it is today.
There is also some evidence from Homer's Odyssey that shows that they could concentrate the juice down to a syrup by boiling it and then sealing it up in a wine skin for future use. They then cut it with water to reconstitute it. There are a lot of references to this practice in the commentaries, that it was common at dinners, feasts and even the Passover. In our own day, most of the grape juice you buy in the stores is reconstituted from a concentrate. Read the label.
That could be why the wine that Jesus made at the marriage feast in Cana was praised as the "best" wine. It wasn't reconstituted, but fresh.
"Grape Juice" [Must], "Regular Table Wine" [commonly cut with water] and "Strong Drink" [high alcohol content and mixed with spices] are all called "WINE" in the scriptures.
It is my viewpoint that it doesn't matter much which kind it is. The scriptures never say it is wrong to drink wine. The only prohibition is "not to be drunk with wine" (Eph.5:18) Drunkenness and revelings (booze parties) are not of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:21)
There is a lot of information in the book, Bible Wines and the Laws of Fermentation by William Patton [Challenge Press]. It is a Baptist publication supporting the view that the Lord never drank an alcoholic beverage. I don't think they prove the point, but it has a lot of good information.
Hope this helps.
Larry White
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