Sacramental wine

• 1. Early Church Wine Practices

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  Paul the Apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:16 about wine being used in the earliest celebrations of the Lord's Supper. In the Early Church, both clergy and laity received the consecrated wine by drinking from the chalice after receiving a portion of the consecrated bread. Many factors influenced changes to this practice over centuries. Northern European countries had climates unsuitable for viticulture which made obtaining wine difficult. Drinking from the chalice became largely restricted in the West to only the celebrating priest while others received communion only in the form of bread. This restriction also reduced the symbolic importance of choosing wine with red color. The twentieth century brought significant changes especially after the Second Vatican Council. This council saw a return to more widespread sharing in the Eucharist under the forms of both bread and wine in the Latin Catholic Church.

• 2. Doctrinal Purity Requirements

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  The majority of liturgical churches such as the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church require that sacramental wine should be pure grape wine. The use of pure grape wine is normative in the Lutheran Churches. Other Christian churches like some Methodist Churches disapprove of alcohol consumption and substitute grape juice instead. Canon 924 of the present Code of Canon Law from 1983 states that the wine must be natural and made from grapes of the vine without corruption. An 1896 directive of the Congregation of the Inquisition allowed adding spirits of wine to conserve weak wines during transportation. The added spirit must have been distilled from the grape and quantity combined with natural fermentation could not exceed eighteen percent of the whole. Wines with additives like retsina or high fructose corn syrup are strictly forbidden in Eastern Christianity. Sacramental wine used in the Divine Liturgy must usually be fermented pure sweet red grape wine.

• 3. Ritual Water Mixing

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  In most liturgical rites such as the Roman, Byzantine, Antiochene, and Alexandrian a small quantity of water is added to the wine when the chalice is prepared. The Armenian Rite consecrates the wine without previous mingling of water. In the Byzantine Rite some hot water referred to as zeon meaning boiling is added to the consecrated wine shortly before Communion. Originally common practice in the ancient Mediterranean this ritual has multiple symbolic meanings attached to it. These include the mystery of Christ's human and divine natures and his unity with the Church. The flow of blood and water from Christ's side at his death also holds significance here. White wine is sometimes used in Western Christianity for practical purposes to avoid stains on altar cloths while red remains standard elsewhere.

• 4. Denominational Consumption Methods

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  In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church communion is administered under the form of wine either by drinking directly from the chalice or by intinction. Intinction involves the priest partially dipping the consecrated bread into the consecrated wine then placing it in the communicant's mouth. Editions of the Roman Missal issued between 1970 and 2000 envisaged use of a silver tube called fistula functioning like a straw to drink from the chalice. The Byzantine Rite uses a spoon to give the communicant some of the consecrated wine together with bread placed in the chalice. Lutheran Churches and the Anglican Church normally consume wine with each person receiving a small sip as the chalice is offered. This method is often referred to as the common cup. Other Protestant denominations use small individual cups presented to communicants on a tray though a larger chalice may still be used by the presiding minister.

• 5. Sacramental Winemaking Industry

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  Throughout the world there are wineries that exist solely for producing sacramental wines or with them as an auxiliary business. These wineries are small and often run by religious brothers priests or dedicated laity. Australian Jesuits founded the oldest existing winery in the Clare Valley in 1851 to make sacramental wines. This winery produces over one million liters of wine annually supplying all of the Australian region's sacramental wine needs. The oldest vineyard founded for sacramental wine still producing in the United States is O-Neh-Da Vineyard in the Finger Lakes wine region of New York State. Bernard John McQuaid bishop of Rochester founded this vineyard in 1872. Similar patterns appear globally where religious orders establish production facilities to ensure compliant wines reach their communities worldwide.