In Vino Veritas

The quote “in vino veritas” attributes a magical quality to wine. From Latin to English, it translates as:

“In wine lies the truth.”

The common understanding of this phrase is that people under the influence of wine are more likely to speak their mind and tell the truth.  For me, far more interesting, the quote also implies that while drinking wine one will find the truth - quite a different proposition. However, both interpretations tend to give wine a mysterious, almost supernatural, quality.

The primary effect of wine, causing people to speak the truth, does not always yield positive results…some people, under the influence of wine, often say things about their hidden thoughts  and desires… in other words, they lose their inhibitions, which does not always end very well. The ancient Greek poet, Homer, said it best:

“The wine urges me on, the bewitching wine, which sets even a wise man to singing and laughing gently and rouses him up to dance and brings forth words which were better unspoken.”

I’ve seen wine engender good times and great affection. On the other hand, I’ve seen it promote argumentative behaviour and, in limited examples, even seen over consumption lead to physical fights. The evidence clearly shows wine (and other forms of alcohol) to be a double-edged sword… something that could help or hurt you.  In moderation it has been shown to be healthful, and promotes good feelings and, in the best cases, it seems to give one an element of intuitive understanding of other people and, dare I say it, insight into the human condition.

In excess it leads to disease, dysfunctional relationships, forgetfulness and, at times, inflammatory remarks which sometime end in violent events.

 Wine is definitely a substance which needs to be handled with care.  The New Testament seems to endorse its use (remember the first miracle of Jesus, the last supper, communion and sacramental wine). Perhaps one of the wisest prescriptions comes from Ecclesiastes:

“Wine was created from the beginning to make people joyful, and not make them drunk.” This is a plea for moderation if I ever heard one!

My interest has always been focused on the history of wine and the good things it brings.

In the beginning, thousands of years ago some person found a few bunches of grapes and brought them back to their dwelling, storing them in a container. Then they proceeded to forget about this cache of grapes. A few days later they remembered the grapes and they discover that they have gone rotten. Being frugal people, they still eat the grapes only to discover that their sweetness is gone. Nevertheless, they drink the juice collected in the container which is also not sweet like normal grape juice. What happened? Turns out that the natural yeasts on the grape skins attacked the sugars in the grapes causing the pile of grapes to convert into alcohol and carbon dioxide, creating wine. After eating and drinking the remnant of juice, to their surprise, they felt a little giddy and had a feeling of joy. Voila the birth of wine! 

From this fortuitous “accident” there began a determined effort to replicate the process and enjoy the “rotten” grape juice. Today wine technology is at its height and quality wines are being produced all over the world…a golden age of wine production. 

The history of wine is littered with breakthroughs which included improved storage containers (such as clay amphorae, glass bottles with corks and screw caps), various techniques pioneered by monks in the Middle Ages, the discovery of yeast molecules and bacteria by Pasteur, cool fermentation, etc. Eventually preferred locations for making good wine became evident and countries like France, Italy, Spain and Germany led the way in defining the best of the best. With this proliferation of fine wine came the hordes of wine critics and writers… who often ruined the little pleasures of wine by taking an elitist approach and creating jargon-filled articles that alienated the common person. It was too bad, because wine is a natural and simple product which should be enjoyed responsibly by the masses. Period.

My comments above are not meant to diminish the magic and greatness of wine. For me it’s like a gift from the gods. Grapes are the only fruit that can create an alcoholic beverage, with no addition of sugar or the use of special techniques (for example, the malting process required to make beer).  Grapes have just the right amount of sugar to convert them into a relatively stable beverage of 12-15% alcohol, which allows it to age, when stored properly, and develop over the years. All other fruits require additional sugars for them to ferment to a stable beverage (for example cider, mead, sake…etc.).

The key to the production of good wine is abundant sunshine… the role of the sun and proper drainage cannot be exaggerated. It is essential to harvesting properly ripened grapes. As with food dishes, it is the quality of the ingredients that yields best results. Ripe grapes make good wine.

In certain parts of the world growing conditions and sunshine conspire to produce grapes of excellent quality… often with little intervention by humans. These regions are known for making wine of the utmost quality, with complexity and flavours that often defy description. Reverence for these special wines are worthy of some of the greatest odes ever written!

The following are some of my favourites:

“I had to cook a dinner glorious enough to complement the Lafite*. It took four days.” Gael Greene

“Montrachet** should be drunk kneeling, with one’s head bared.” Alexander Dumas

“Wine…the blood of grapes.” Genesis 49:11

“To enjoy wine…what is needed is a sense of smell, a sense of taste, and an eye for colour. All else is experience and pleasure.” Cyril Ray – who believes, as I do, that wine is for everyone!

I’d like to finish with my favourite quote of all: 

“The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.” Gallileo said, describing the magic and the power of the sun.

* Lafite is one of the top 5 wines from Bordeaux, France

**Montrachet is a top wine from Burgundy, France