In many religions, wine plays an important liturgical role in worship. Since time immemorial, it has been used as a sacrificial offering pleasing to God and as a medium to enter into mystical contact with God or the gods. Many peoples had their own wine gods, for example Bacchus among the Romans and Dionysus among the Greeks. There are also numerous references to wine in the Bible.
A central belief of the Roman Catholic Church is the transformation of bread and wine into Christ's flesh and blood in the Eucharist. In fact (but not in appearance) and not just symbolically. The preparation of Mass wine has therefore been indispensable for the celebration of Mass from the very beginning and a key motivation. Many monasteries have therefore dedicated themselves professionally to viticulture and winemaking. Many vineyards that still exist today have their origins in monasteries founded in the early Middle Ages.
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Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi