Some prohibitionist historians have leaned heavily on some quotations of ancient writers about the early women drinking grape juice - or an "unfermented wine."

(p. 175)

Women and Wine.

Women, apart from hetairai and flute-girls, seldom came to these parties, but some of the courtesans had strong heads, and from Nausicaa onward, Greek women generally drank wine - which is only to be expected in a country where it is the normal drink. A lot has been written by old writers about almost legendary times in Greece and the austere early days in Rome, when women drank nothing but innocuous sapa (unfermented wine) [grape juice! - ART]; but the women of a more sophisticated Rome drank with the men and sometimes got very drunk. As for the Greek rites of Dionysos, a fever which broke out originally in Thrace, women were the more numerous of the worshippers and the more violent - and even when the worship of the wine god had sobered down to a ritual without Maenad dances and destruction, women, as Mr. Charles Seltman has pointed out, still made Bacchic pilgrimages to Delphi.

(p. 265) Israel: Wine History. Gives a good overview of one of the richest wine-producing regions in the history of the world. Informative section.

General booklet about wines, including chapters called: History of Wine Making, Wine Tasting Made Easy, Popular Wines and Their Origin, The Chemistry and Romance of Wine, The Modern Winery, The Winemaker's Schedule, Wine Hints and Ramblings, Your Wine Cellar, Things to Come, Wine Cocktails Made Easy, The New Metric Sizes, California Winery Locations. The Nation's 100 Largest Wineries, Glossary.

(p. 6)

Since the grape skin naturally contains a good quantity of wild yeast on its surface, there was really nothing else to do, for once the grape was broken, the sweet grape juice and the wild yeast all came together and it would have been impossible to keep the mixture from becoming wine within a period of three days. It was as though God wanted to be sure that man would find wine; and so man did.

(pp. 60, 61)

At this point it must be obvious that I am about to compare the medically approved tranquilizers to wine. Amen. But, before I pursue this course let me state philosophically that the abuse of the mildest and most natural substances can make them all dangerous. Not enough food and we die of starvation . . . but too much food leads to obesity, which negatively affects the heart. Insufficient sunlight may cause rickets, and too much sun can cause sunstroke and death. The lack of water can cause dehydration and death, too much water can cause drowning. Everyone knows about these extremes, yet no one would think to do without these three basic requirements of nature because they fear the extremes. I contend we should adopt the same philosophy toward wine, for when it is used in moderation, wine is the best known natural tranquilizer, and the most complex substantive beverage devised by nature.

Bible and "Social" Drinking, The, William Dawson Jeffcoat, Robinson TypeSetting, Corinth, Mississippi, 1987.

Jeffcoat presents an organized argument for the Two-Wine Theory. An extensive bibliography is provided. Does not mention its use in the Lord's Supper. Author focuses more on logical arguments than on the substance of scripture and the scientific nature of wine.

Bible, The Saint, and The Liquor Industry, The, Jim McGuiggan, Montex Publishing Co., Lubbock, Texas, 1977.

Proponent of the Two-Wine Theory of Scripture. This theory is popular today among those who have done limited research into the question and generally holds that (1) when "wine" is praised or spoken well of, it obviously means grape juice, or some other non-alcoholic beverage. (2) When "wine" is condemned or spoken ill of, then it is an alcoholic, fermented drink. Takes the position that drinking anything alcoholic is wrong and that Jesus would not have done it nor encouraged others to do so. Two-Wine theorists lean heavily on the phrase coined by Thomas Welch - unfermented wine - a condition which cannot exist and is self-contradictory.

Some samples: (pp. 130ff)

Jesus may well have used the most common drink at the Passover, but it is not clear what the more common drink was, fermented or unfermented wine. There are those who are sure that Jews mostly used intoxicating wine - perhaps they did, it was common enough at Purim at which a man's "duty" was to get so drunk he couldn't tell the difference between "Cursed is Haman" and "Blessed is Mordecai.". . . . At the Passover board we hear of warming pots and kettles (Lees) and we hear of cups of wine being "mixed." It's common knowledge that at the Lord's Supper in the first centuries the use of water and wine was perhaps the prevailing practice. (I'll say a little on that later.) How that began we can only guess, but it surely isn't unreasonable to believe they borrowed it from the Jewish Passover. So common was the mixing of water and wine that the Talmud contains legislation about the responsibilities of the wine-vendors (see Isaiah 1:22), Baba Mazia 59-60a. Rabbi Bartenora speaking of the wine for offerings (boiled wines in particular) said, "People drink less of it."

Why am I bothering with all this? To make it clear to you that even if Jesus used the common drink at the Passover (and I've no reason whatever to doubt this), it doesn't at all follow that he used intoxicating wine. [Say, "what?" - ART]

I think he used non-intoxicating wine because I see a moral problem in the Savior drinking about 3 pints of alcoholic wine! The Talmud tells us (Pesahim 10:1) that every person partaking of the Passover must drink 4 cups of wine. But what if he is extremely poor? "They should give him not less than four cups (of wine) and even (if he receives relief) from the Charity plate." . . . . We are told "Each of the four cups should contain sufficient (undiluted wine) to make a quarter of a log (of diluted wine)." Nazir 38a. We are then told "wine was usually diluted with three parts water."

I think he used unintoxicating wine because the fermented was forbidden at the Passover and the ferment in bread and the ferment in wine is chemically the same. See Exodus 12:19, 20. It is true that when the Bible talks of leaven in this matter, bread is always the thing under consideration. This is not surprising since wine was not a part of the original passover feast. If the unleavened bread was the only bread to be eaten because it reflected the haste with which they left Egypt, what would you think of unleavened (unfermented) wine? Grape juice does not begin to ferment immediately upon leaving the grape . . . . In the Passover meal, leaven was forbidden. The fermenting of wine is a leavening process. I think therefore, fermented wine would have been excluded.

As many have done before and since, McGuiggan mixes up unleavened with unfermented. They do not mean the same thing at all. Likewise, fermenting is not a leavening process. Leavening is a thing, a noun - it is yeast - not an action! I am puzzled at his meaning of "I think he used unintoxicating wine because the fermented was forbidden at the Passover and the ferment in bread and the ferment in wine is chemically the same."

First: By nature, wine is intoxicating. There is no unintoxicating wine! Our Lord either had intoxicating wine or He had no wine at all!

Second: The "fermented" was not forbidden at the Passover. Yeast / Leavening / Leaven was forbidden. Yeast / Leavening / Leaven causes things to ferment; it is not ferment itself. To ferment is an action. Yeast / Leavening / Leaven is a thing.

Third: If by "ferment", he means yeast, then he is only partially correct in the above statement. Bread Yeast and Wine Yeast are of the same strain (Saccharomyces cereviseae). This yeast is the most frequently used because of its powerful ability to convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This happens in bread and in grape must (juice, skins, seeds, stems). However, leavened bread and grape juice have yeast still in them. There is no yeast in wine and no yeast in unleavened bread.

Bible Wines: or, The Laws of Fermentation and Wines of the Ancients, William Patton, D.D., Star Bible, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1976.

A prohibitionist and a proponent of the "two-wine" theory. It is difficult to tell, but Patton may have been the original author of this theory. This booklet became a handbook used during the prohibition movement in the United States. Because of renewed interest, it was republished by the Star Bible Company. Mr. Patton deals "fast and loose" with fact. A winemaker, contemporary with Patton, published A Lay Thesis On Bible Wines, to refute Patton's factual errors about the winemaking process.

Patton also misapplies quotations from ancient historians. Using partial quotations, he makes it appear that the people of the ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Babylonian cultures drank grape juice instead of wine. Patton applies this erroneous interpretation of activities to "The Ancients," then he assumes - with no documentation - that the Jews of Jesus' time did not drink wine, but rather, grape juice.

The most unfortunate thing about Patton's book is that his ideas have been believed and refined by good men such as McGuiggan and others. Even though McGuiggan does go back to original sources and give many quotations in context, which Patton does not, the two-wine theory is thus carried on to still another generation.

Gives excellent history of wine, description of fermentation and processing of wine from ancient times to present.

Video tour of a vineyard and winery with a description of wine making, showing some modern equipment. Visits several vineyards for tastings. Internal views of wineries. Wine tastings. How to judge wines.

A former Methodist minister cooks up more than 300 recipes for cooking with wine on his daily Television show. Along the way, he passes on some fascinating tidbits about the history and nature of wine, along with some practical philosophy.

(p. 10)

Wine is a food, and it is to be treated as a food, not a romanticized beverage to be drunk only on special events. It will help you be more creative in your cooking, cut down on your desire for salt, raise the normal meal to that of an occasion and it will help your appetite. All of this occurs without leaving any alcohol in the food, since the alcohol evaporates when cooking. All that is left is flavor, health, and class.

(pp. 11ff)

There are also people who are going to be a bit uneasy over the fact that a United Methodist minister is urging them to cook with wine. I am sure that it has something to do with our Puritan upbringings. I really believe that wine must not be thought of as a demon in its own right. While it is true that some people over-indulge in wine drinking, it is not true that the way to prevent your children from such overindulging is to tell them to avoid wine altogether. The Yale Alcohol Studies of some years ago indicated that those groups who enjoy wine at the table produce college offspring with fewer alcohol problems than groups that abstain. To put it bluntly, the Roman Catholic and Jewish students (whose cultures treat wine as a food) have fewer alcohol problems than the Baptists and old camp Methodists. . . . Don't make a big deal of wine in your home and your children in turn won't make a big deal of it when they go off to college seeking freedom and independence. Wine is a food. Regard it very matter-of-factly. Avoiding something as wonderful as wine because some people misuse it just doesn't make sense to me. Saint John Chrysostom saw the same problem in the early church. "If you say, 'Would there be no wine' because of drunkards, then you must say, going on by degrees, 'Would there be no steel,' because of the murderers, 'Would there be not night,' because of the thieves, 'Would there be no light,' because of the informers, and 'Would there be no women,' because of adultery." He makes an interesting point. And he made his point in the fourth century.

(pp. 74f)

. . . . Wine is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. Surely this proof is still obvious and valid. The cleverness of the King of the Universe shows through in each grape. And looking for the cleverness of the Creator in Creation is precisely how the old Jewish prophets did theology! Fr. Robert Farrar Capon, author of The Supper of the Lamb, urges us simply to look at a grape. Yeast on the outside and sugar on the inside is a divine idea, he maintains. All we need do is crush a grape and it goes its God-given course. Indeed something underhanded, such as pasteurization, must be done to a grape to prevent it from going its God-given course. Capon is right! The process of pasteurization was not used on grape juice in this country until Prohibition, a process put on the market by the Welch family. Up until that time all Methodist churches celebrated the Lord's Supper with wine. They always had. That all went with the marketing of the Welch family product. Is it not odd that one of our major bishops at the time of the ruling out of wine at the Eucharist was a chap named Welch? Yes, same family, same market. No, something underhanded has to be done to wine to prevent it from going its God-given course.

Genie In The Bottle, Unraveling the Myths About Wine, The, Roger Morris, A & W Publishers, Inc., New York, 1981.

(p. 21)

One reason parents may be reluctant to serve children wine is the lingering Puritan notion that wine "will not be good for them," even though the healthful properties of wine have long been known. But even the ancients knew nothing of its value as a source of vitamins and as a killer of harmful bacteria. Wine is far short of being any wonder drug, but it is interesting to note that Canadian scientists have discovered the phenols present in wine pigment can kill viruses, including those that cause polio.

The list of potential dangers is short - alcohol. Obviously, no one wants growing children to be tipplers and, in fact, teenage alcoholism is a serious problem. But the root of juvenile drinking problems seems to be in surreptitious drinking, not in sensible consumption at family meals. As a student of mine once explained: "I'm Italian, and our family always had wine, so who wanted to go out and drink wine to rebel? There were other ways to get in trouble."

Chapter Titles are: The Three Steps, Developing a Wine Sense, Wine at Your Table, Having Fun With Wine, How to Be Master (or Mistress) of Your Cellar, Deviations from the Norm, and Unraveling the Mysteries of Wine Making.

God's Stewards: The Sacred Mission of Welch's Grape Juice, Julia Koltenbah Gant, Unpublished Paper, 1987.

Speaking of the dentist, Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch, (pp. 5ff)

As diversified as his interests were, Dr. Tom was never prouder of any accomplishment than his experiments that brought about a non-alcoholic fruit juice. The Methodist Church of Vineland [New Jersey] had appointed Dr. Tom the new Communion Steward, making him responsible for the preparation and serving of the Lord's Supper for the congregation. Dr. Tom had always been an "ardent Prohibitionist" at heart (Wharton 56), and his conscience was troubled by the fact that fermented wine was used to represent Christ's blood in the Lord's supper. One particular incident occurred shortly after Dr. Tom's assumption of Communion duties which "more than ruffled his feathers - it blew them clear off" (Welch 6). A visiting preacher stayed in the home of Dr. Tom, his wife, and their seven children. The preacher was a reformed alcoholic, and the Communion wine offered by Dr. Tom and the Vineland Methodists "unleashed in him an uncontrollable urge for stronger drink" (Chazanof 7). Dr. Tom, upset and grieved at this unhappy incident, told his family that "something had to be done about Church wine," and that "he was the one who was going to do it" (Welch 6).

Charles Edgar Welch, one of Dr. Tom's sons and who would later be the one to make Welch's a household name, wrote a letter to his father, December 29, 1901 (Chazanof 9), reminiscing about the days just prior to the birth of "Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine:"

That Fall, 1869, in Mother's back kitchen, you experimented with blackberry juice. Then we squeezed those few grapes, and made those few bottles of Dr. Welch's Unfermented Wine. For two or three years following, you squeezed grapes. You squeezed the family nearly out of the house; you squeezed yourself nearly out of money; you squeezed your friends." (Welch 6)

As a result of all that squeezing, the world had its first preserved, unfermented, non-alcoholic grape juice. Welch had borrowed his technique of heating and bottling from the pioneering theories of Louis Pasteur who had discovered in the 1850's the existence of microscopic organisms called "yeast" which caused fermentation of the grape's sugar into alcohol (Pederson 234).

Dr. Tom was ecstatic over his grape juice. Here at last was a viable substitute for intoxicating liquor in the communion. At last he and his temperance-minded fellow Methodists could remove alcohol from the Lord's Table. Dr. Tom expected an immediate and wide-spread acceptance of his new unfermented sacramental wine, but just the opposite occurred. Churchmen wanted nothing to do with Welch's because "wine must be served, and it is not wine" (Welch 6). Those against the removal of wine from the communion objected on the basis of scriptural authority and tradition (Wasson 63, 87, 89, 198, 202, 283). The Bible, they asserted, taught that wine was to be used in the communion because Christ himself had drunk it and commanded that it be drunk when he instituted the memorial. Throughout the centuries the Church had always used wine. And wine, by definition, the churchmen reminded Dr. Tom, was fermented."

(pp. 10ff)

Methodists also began to support secular temperance societies in their efforts to weaken the grip of Demon Rum on society (Mohler 6-13). The Methodists were so strong in their furtherance of the temperance movement, that Professor J. Robert Nelson points to the widespread use of grape juice in the communion across the United States as being the result of Methodist influence. Nelson explains:

The rubric calling for unfermented grape juice is widely honored in practice. This is well known to be a concession to the moral convictions of Methodists on intoxicating drink, the theory being that the taste of wine will stimulate the desire for more. (Whalen 24)

Much of the popular temperance literature drew the public away from the consumption of alcoholic beverages to the consumption of soft drinks. Welch grape juice benefited from such literature. In 1879 Lou J. Beauchamp published his Sunshine: written in the interest of Temperance, Sunshine and Good Humor for the Drunkard, the Drunkard Maker, and the Drunkard Saver, asserting the Christ himself drankgrape juice and not wine. Beauchamp urged readers to "remove strong drink from the communion table," warning them that "no matter what you use, light grape wine or forty rod bourbon, they both have alcohol in them" and "if fermentation has taken place . . . [such drinks] are full of the devil" (255-56). Beauchamp's flowery description of the fermentation process near the beginning of Sunshine is typical of the temperance writing at the turn of the century.

(pp. 12ff)

The association of the word "fermentation" with Satan . . . indicates a common attitude which was beginning to spread like wildfire from pulpits and pens across the nation. Scholars were asserting that religious leaders from the Early Fathers down to the present had misunderstood the Hebrew and Greek terms for vine products in the Bible. Scholars who compiled the Cyclopedia of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals (Pickett 1917) stated that "it is grossly improper to make use of a decayed product - fermented wine - to celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ over death and decay." They further wrote that the Passover wine which Jesus drank was unfermented, directly contradicting other scholars such as Wasson. Methodist scholar Leon C. Field, A.M., Frederic Richard Lees, and Dawson Burns explained the Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible for various grape products, asserting that words for strong drink were always placed in a condemnatory context and that words which Field, Lees, and Burns translated "unfermented grape juice" were always placed in a laudatory context. . . . Temperance sympathizers everywhere began to feel that they were being inconsistent in their use of fermented wine in the Lord's Supper. They began to adopt grape juice into their worship services. Welch's Grape Juice finally "satisfied not only Vineland's Methodists but also similarly squeamish congregations all over the nation" (Furnas 324)

Charles Welch was adept at appealing to Prohibitionist leanings. The advertising from around the turn of the century in religious publications appealed to temperance supporters. Chazanof identifies an 1897 ad as philanthropic. The ad reads, "Will the church accept a supply of Welch's Unfermented Wine for your next Communion service? We offer this at no cost to you; simply signify your willingness to receive it" (76). Ads continued to link spiritual purity with temporal purity. Welch's was "without a drop of water or a particle of alcohol." Charles circulated widely his father's essay, "What Wine Shall We Use at the Lord's Supper?". . . . Another advertisement was blatantly Prohibitionist in nature. It ran: "If your druggist hasn't the kind that was used in Galilee containing not a particle of alcohol, write us for prices." [He apparently forgot the fact that Jesus observed the first supper in Jerusalem of Judea - not Galilee and with wine! - ART]. Another . . . "Churches will find Welch's Grape Juice as economical as fermented wine, and certainly the preference should be given to the pure and the harmless, even though [sic] the price were a little more" (Chazanof 77).

(p. 21)

Charles saw himself as God's steward and gave large sums of money to the Methodist Church endeavors, to temperance societies, and other charitable organizations. When he died on January 6, 1926, his Last Will and Testament read:

"Unfermented grape juice was born in 1869 out of a passion to serve God by helping His Church to give at its communion "the fruit of the vine," instead of the "cup of devils." Very early did I hear from my Heavenly Father and from my earthly father, "Take the child and train it for me," and this commission I have tried faithfully to perform."

Hachette Guide to French Wines, The, Andrè Vedel, General Ed., Knopf, New York, 1986.

However, the sacred bottle has its opponents who see it as a poison to the body and a social scourge. But one should not confuse usage and excess. Their affirmations may be partly true, but they are often too dogmatic and should be qualified. It is absolutely indisputable that wine can be very good for the health. Consider its etymology: vitis (the vine) and vita (life) - wine is life. Its acidity is good for the digestion, and its relaxing properties benefit many bodily functions. Besides its therapeutic and constitutional qualities, which have been known for thousands of years, wine has properties which make it one of the most efficient ways of disinfecting polluted water, for the tannins it contains neutralize viruses and bacteria. Moreover, recent research has shown its effects on the cardiovascular system: a public enquiry in The Lancet in 1979 revealed the inverse relationship between wine consumption and coronary death. The latter is three to five times less common in France and Italy than in Ireland and Scotland, where wine- drinking is not so widespread.

(p. 24)

The basic microbiological phenomenon that produces wine from grape must is the alcoholic fermentation. The fresh must is stored in a vat, where the evolution of a species of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), in the absence of air, breaks down the sugar in the must into alcohol and carbonic gas. During this process, a number of secondary products appear (glycerol, succinic acid, esters, etc.) which contribute to the wine's aroma and flavor. Fermentation releases calories that cause the vat to heat up, and artificial cooling may be necessary.

In certain cases, secondary or "malo-lactic" fermentation may follow the alcoholic fermentation: malic acid - a constituent of the grape - is broken down into lactic acid and carbonic gas by the action of lactic bacteria. As a result the acidity level is lowered, the wine is softened and the aroma refined; this transformation gives the wine greater stability, and it may be cellared with confidence. While the effects of malo-lactic fermentation always improve the wine, only more complex white wines needing to mature in bottle benefit from it.

The yeasts and lactic bacteria responsible for the alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentations are naturally present on the grape. In some regions, the natural wine yeasts are sufficient to start the alcoholic fermentation. Other regions aid the process by adding a live yeast solution, or even commercially marketed dry yeasts. The possibility of altering the typicity and quality of wines by using selected microorganisms during fermentation has often been discussed. However, it has never been proved beyond doubt: the wine's quality depends on the quality of the grape, and therefore on natural factors such as soil and climatic conditions.

Once the yeasts have stopped fermenting, care must be taken to eliminate elements which may contaminate the developing wine. These include toxic by-products of the yeasts themselves. Together with bacteria which begin to grow as soon as the yeasts become inactive. A recently discovered process enables the toxic substances left behind by the yeasts to be removed. Different precautions must be taken against the bacteria which remain in the wine during conservation in vats or barrels. These may cause decomposition of certain of the wine's constituents, as well as oxidation and formation of acetic acid (the process by which vinegar is manufactured). These risks can, however, be avoided by modern methods of vinification.

Lay Thesis on Bible Wines, A, Edward R. Emerson, Merrill & Baker, 1902.

A wine maker who was a contemporary of Patton, wrote to set the record straight and correct errors of fact or misrepresentations about winemaking that Patton made:

In certain circles the question may be asked, Why should a maker of wines stray within the realms of theology? More pertinently the question could be reversed, but the answer would be speculative while the reply to the original question would be practical knowledge. So much has been written upon the wines of the Bible in a theological sense, and so little in a practical way that I feel I will be pardoned for my invasion. There are elements in the use of wine that are not fundamental. A foundation seldom accurately predicts the structure that is to be raised upon its walls, and the lapse of nearly two thousand years before the two-wine theory is advanced shows conclusively the kind and nature of the building that may be erected if the foundation still exists.

The theologian and the wine-maker are controlled by the same laws, and if these laws have changed the advocate of the two-wine theory is correct. On the other hand, if the laws are immutable I respectfully ask your consideration and the constant bearing in mind that I am a maker of wines.

Emerson's thesis makes for some ponderous reading. It comprises approximately sixty pages of small type - and it is all written in one paragraph. Of course, that was the writing style at the turn of the century. I am sure he would not mind knowing that I shall attempt to break it into a few paragraphs to make the statements easier for us (who are accustomed to seeing "white space" on pages) to grasp.

Emerson had no patience with the advocates of the "two wine theory" which he knew to be false.

Simultaneously with the growth of the temperance question there came into existence an element that, though of itself only secondary to the cause of temperance, seemed likely in some circles to supersede its source. The good results that had been accomplished by the earnest, hardworking disciples of the temperance were in great danger of being lost; asceticism had entered the fold, and with a pertinacity that only ascetics can develop began at once to dominate the cause.

Total abstinence from the use of wine was what they demanded and exacted; but unfortunately for them there was one authority they were compelled to respect with repeatedly upheld and advised the use of wines in moderation. The most sacred solemn act that a human being can perform is the partaking ofcommunion, and as this rite called for wine, the ascetics demanded and insisted upon a substitute.

What he observes here has been repeated over and over throughout history and is practiced (and preached) by some today. That error is asceticism. Jesus taught temperance. His disciples practiced temperance. However, even in the first century there were some who taught that total abstinence through self denial as a "higher form" of Godliness.

Paul, writing to the Colossians warned them against the false doctrines of asceticism (Col. 2:8 - 23), and taught them that these kinds of self denial (abstinence from things) appeared to be wise, to be sure, but are of no value against satisfaction of the flesh.

In other words, total abstinence from some things was being taught even then, but the source of those doctrines was "philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ" (v. 8).

Sooner or later, every error runs head-on into the truth of God's Word. When that happens, the proponents of error either see their wrong and repent, or they do as the advocates of the "two-wine theory," they find a philosophical way around it. After all, for those who want to believe error, God sends a "deluding influence (2 Thes. 2:11) so that they might believe what is false" and be lost. So why should it surprise us if someone tries to find a way to make error palatable to believers of the Bible?

Why should we think that error will come to us from "without." Would you believe someone whom you knew to be an atheist if he tried to convince you that you could live the rest of your life without observing the Lord's Supper and be saved? Would you come nearer to believing another Christian for whom you had great respect?

Of course you would. So would I.

That is just how the "two wine theory" began. It began among religious people who had fallen for a false doctrine about wines, and who were looking for a way to reconcile total abstinence with the Bible truth about wine. Continuing:

This beautiful symbolical form had better be dispensed with if it was necessary to use pure wholesome wine, for in their minds one little taste of wine was more powerful for evil than the prayers and moral teachings of the community were for good. In their sight wine was "Monstrum nulla virtute redemptum a vitus." But the Bible in unmistakable language commended wine, and all of their arguments against its moderate use had little effect so long as this authority could not be confounded.

Confutation they knew was impossible, but if they could instil a degree of doubt into the intent of the meaning of the different Biblical passages which upheld the use of wine they might be able to get adherents; or if unsuccessful in this, their field for argument would be enlarged and their love for contention would be somewhat gratified.

Of course, those passages which condemned the use of wine were congenerous with their minds and were therefore right; but they were so few in number, and there were so many of the other, that they were worried. Suddenly the idea of having two Scriptural wines developed itself, and the ascetics became exegetes and have maintained their position as such ever since.

Volumes have been written upon this subject and pamphlets by the thousands have been printed, some sold and others sent broadcast throughout the length and width of the land, in order to prove that one wine of the Bible was vile and vicious; and so strong was its power for evil that to even touch it was dangerous, and fraught with consequences so dreadful that they were almost beyond the power of man to depict. The other wine was almost the reverse in its actions, and any one could partake of it with impunity as often as they felt disposed, for no evil could follow its use.

The troubles of our ascetic friends had just begun. They had found a way by which they could bewilder their fellow-men, but they hardly knew what to name their new discovery. The idea of calling it wine was repugnant to them; but the Bible plainly said that Christ made wine (St. John xi. 9), and nothing else. There was no other name for it that any one with an ounce of sense would tolerate for a moment; but this wine of their invention had to be made harmless and beneficial, and in a moment of great thoughtfulnessthey called it "unfermented wine," and their worry and care were over.

Then, he compares the work of the "two wine" theorists to the sleight of hand performed by magicians:

Reason, science, and the teachings of two thousand years were to fall apart as if cut with knives. Linguistic legerdemain has been indulged in to such an extent that even many of the most watchful have failed to see the glaring absurdity and utter ridiculousness of the name they have chosen for their second wine.

"Unfermented wine," the Rev. Edward H. Jewett in his work on "Communion Wines" says, "in Scripture phraseology is a misnomer and self contradictory." He should have gone further and said that such a substance is an impossibility. No one, not even the ascetic, will deny the fact that wine is fermented juice of the grape; in fact, they admit it when they attach unfermented to it, for the word "wine" if used by itself tells explicitly what it is, and also what they think it is - the fermented juice of the grape.

General book giving an alphabetical listing of current wines with an appraisal of each. Part I of the book discusses Wine Tasting, A Glossary of Tasting Terms, Tasting Parties, Serving Wine, Glassware, Storage, Ageing and New Vinification, Stocking Your Cellar, Labels & Wine Laws, and How Wine is Made. Includes maps of wine growing areas and a thorough index.

In the Wine Tasting chapter, under the heading "Aftertaste":

The impression that remains after you have swallowed the wine is the aftertaste. Commercial wine-buyers always spit out the wine they sample when they are trying to decide on their purchases. The main reason is to avoid the buildup of alcohol in their systems that will hinder their ability to make wise investment decisions. It is said in the wine trade that the worst investment decisions usually involve the last wine tasted, assuming the buyer is swallowing. Somehow, the more wine you drink, the better each successive wine tastes. But the commercial buyers who do not swallow are robbing themselves of one of the most important elements in the tasting experience.

Based on these facts, shouldn't we understand the wedding guests' surprise that their host "saved the best for last," when Jesus performed the miracle at Cana. As their sense of taste deteriorated, it was customary for the host to bring out the lower quality wines. This had nothing at all to do with drunkenness, only the effect of the elements in wine on the tastebuds.

(p. 299)

The Chatauqua-Erie Region was for years known more for its grape juice (Welch's) than for its wines, even though the earliest vines in the region were planted in 1818, again by a local man-of-the-cloth, Deacon Elijah Fay. His son Joseph founded the first commercial winery in Brocton in 1859, a year before the Pleasant Valley Winery opened in Hammondsport. Today there are more than 20,000 acres of wine grape varieties. Dr. Charles Welch, a dentist, did his best to root out every variety but the Concord grape used in his world-famed juices, jams and jellies, but in 1960 something happened to turn the tide. Frederick S. Johnson, who had inherited 70 acres of Concord from his father, decided to rip them out and plant grapes that would yield the kind of wine he had grown used to drinking in his travels around the world. Johnson Estate Wines are made exclusively from French-American hybrids, and Johnson has expanded his vineyards to 130 acres. The wines are mostly dry, attractive and well made.

(p. 397)

George Washington grew grapes at Mount Vernon as did Jefferson at Monticello. Jefferson was particularly keen on developing wine in America, hoping to substitute wine as a national beverage in place of the hard liquor that his countrymen favored. "No nation is drunken where wine is cheap," he wrote.

Reader's Digest, Carol and Malcom McConnell, Article: "Ancient Secrets of Modern Nutrition," September, 1986.

Generally this article concentrates on recent studies into the diets of the lower class and rural Mediterranean areas from ancient times to the present. What is being discovered today is that the simple diet consisting primarily of whole grains, vegetables, fish, and wine, fights today's leading killers. Contributing to our early demise is a diet rich in animal fat and poly-unsaturated vegetable fats - with no wine.

Grapes and wine. A 1979 report in the British medical journal The Lancet cites a statistical relationship between drinking wine and a low heart-disease death rate. The researchers studied 18 Western countries. Two - Italy and France - are Mediterranean and have two of the highest rates of wine consumption, while death rates from heart disease are markedly lower than those of the other nations. Noting that wines are rich in trace elements, the researchers speculate that these may provide the protective effect - while emphasizing the need for more research.

Moreover, the adverse effects of immoderate drinking - alcoholism and cirrhosis of the liver, serious problems in France's northern cities - are not as widespread in southern French villages that follow the traditional diet. Nor does alcoholism seem to be as common in the Greek and Italian village cultures. Other research indicates that moderate wine- drinking with meals reduces stress.

Isn't moderation what Scriptures teach? Why should these conclusions surprise anyone?

Chapter Titles: Part I: The Gentle Art of Wine Drinking, I. The Aesthetics of Wine, II. Great Wines and Their Virtues, III. The Technique of Wine-drinking; Part II: The Miracle of Cana of Galilee or the Mystery of Wine, IV. The Making of a Natural Red Wine, V. The Making of White Wines, VI. Sherry, VII. Port - The Wine of Philosophy, VIII. Cognac the Soul of Wine, IX. (a) Homeric Cocktails, Pramnian Wine and Tokay, (b) The Wines of Ancient Rome.

(p. 29)

It is a strange coincidence that phylloxera should have indirectly reduced the lives of most wines, just at the moment when short-lived wines fit in best with our whole existence. The sixties of the last century were the most fateful decade in the history of wine. About 1860, Pasteur solved the scientific problem of fermentation, which had puzzled humanity throughout the ages, indeed ever since "Noah began to be a husbandman . . ." He showed that fermentation was due to life, thereby confirming an instinctive and almost universal belief that wine was not a mere chemical concoction, but a mysterious living organism, divinely appointed as the symbol of life. No one before had ever dreamed that the agents of fermentation were to be found in countless microscopic bacteria lurking, not in the grape itself, but in its bloom [on its skin -- Art]."

Author gives succinct summary of fermentation process. It is not a decaying process as some authors seem to think, but rather (p.62):

The essential part of wine-making is carried out by countless microscopic organisms, the yeasts or ferments of alcoholic fermentation, whose appointed function it is to preside over the conversion of the sugar contained in grape juice into alcohol, carbonic acid gas and infinitesimal quantities of glycerine and other substances. They are the supreme artists of wine, for the beauty of a wine depends on the success of their efforts. For convenience sake we shall often speak of fermentation as though it were caused by the direct action of these yeasts, the saccharomyces, though as M. Andrè Simon explains in admirably clear language in 'The Blood of the Grape', they do not themselves turn grape sugar into alcohol. They produce, however, and contain zymase, a catalytic substance, which enables the chemical reactions to take place, resulting in the transformation of one molecule of grape sugar into two molecules of alcohol, two molecules of carbon dioxide and some minute quantities of glycerine and other substances.

(p. 63)

The chief business of the wine-grower is to provide the good ferments [yeasts] with the conditions most favourable to them. His work begins with the labourious culture of the vine and the attempt to produce a grape after the saccharomyces' heart. He can help and reinforce his allies for the battle of fermentation, and when they have performed their task, he can do very little more for a fine natural wine than to leave Time to bring it to maturity. The less he has to interfere, the better his wine will be. By no means can he do the work either of the ferments or Time exactly as they do it. He cannot treat his wine as a chemical composition, in which he can make up for deficiency in any one component part by adding the missing substance and reduce excess by withdrawing the superfluous. The work of the ferments, like that of all living organisms, is very complicated and delicate, and the success or failure of a wine turns on the presence or absence and the perfect balance of the merest traces of certain substances. The chemist can no doubt augment the alcoholic strength or modify the acidity of a wine and accomplish various other 'improvements' but only at the cost of altering its character; for by no means can he exactly reproduce the subtle work of the yeasts of alcoholic fermentation. Yet though wine is so largely the work of Nature, there are few products which demand more untiring patience and more conscientious labour.

Where wine gets its color: (p. 67, 68)

The skin like the stalk contains tannin and acids as well as colouring matter which belongs to its inner cells. This colouring matter is not soluble in water or unfermented grape juice below a temperature of 50C (122F.), but it dissolves as soon as alcohol is formed and gives its colour to the wine. White wine can be made from black grapes - the classical example is Champagne - if the skins are removed from the juice before it begins to ferment. . . . If the colouring matter of the grape skin is exposed to the air, it oxidized and becomes insoluble so that wines made from raisins are colourless.

Science85, Vol. 6, No. 8, October, 1985, Article: "The Biochemistry of Bacchus", Gary Blonston, American Association for the Advancement of Science to bridge the distance between science and citizen. William D. Carey, Publisher.

Article on the current state of the wine makers craft. States that no one knows whether yeast is a plant or an animal, but that it lives and feeds on sugar, which it turns to alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Successful Wine Making At Home, H.E. Bravery, Arco Publishing, Inc., New York, 1961, p. 15.

Gives interesting view of the wine making process, along with several recipes for fruit wines. Discusses fermentation process, temperature variances, behavior of yeasts, necessity of sealing off oxygen, percentage of alcohol required for stability, etc.

Discusses how Thomas Bramwell Welch, a dentist, introduced the pasteurization process to grape juice in 1869. Welch was trying to "invent" a "non-alcoholic wine" for use in the communion service at the Methodist Church where he was a member. He called his product "Unfermented Wine," "The Fruit Of The Vine." This is the start of changing protestant churches in the United States from using wine in the Lord's Supper to substituting pasteurized grape juice instead.

(pp. 1ff)

Every company likes to think it has a unique history. We are no different.

We think our uniqueness rests on the fact that Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch, the founder of the Company, not only was the first to make grape juice over 110 years ago, but, by this achievement, he was also responsible for the development of the fruit juice industry as we know it today.

Additionally, our uniqueness as a corporation rests on the fact that we are owned by a cooperative whose 1700 grower-members had the foresight to organize an agri-business that continues to serve the needs of members, employees, and consumers alike.

We hope you find our story interesting.

Ask some successful self-made men how they got that way, and you'll probably pick up a pattern in their responses: You must have a good idea to start with; then the initiative and determination to develop it into something of value; the ability to market it successfully; a the willingness continually to seek out new methods, new avenues of improvement; unswerving dedication to uphold the quality you built into your original product; loyal associates who share your feelings and are willing to use their talents to further your goals; and last, but not least, a little luck.

Most successful business enterprises show strikingly similar characteristics. And well they should, for it is people who shape the destiny of businesses, and those businesses which are fortunate enough to have been led by men who shared these qualities for success are those which have grown and prospered.

Welch Foods is a classic example.

This booklet shows how these qualities, embodied in the people who gave their working lives to their execution, have made Welch Foods the leader in its field for more than 100 years, and have laid the foundation for future success.

Back in 1869, a New Jersey dentist, Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch, wondered if the theories of Louis Pasteur could be applied to the processing of grapes to produce an unfermented wine that could be used in his church's communion service.

One day with his wife and 17-year-old son, Charles, he picked about 40 pounds of Concord grapes from the family's yard. Taking over Mrs. Welch's kitchen, they cooked the grapes for a few minutes and then squeezed the juice through cloth bags into twelve quart bottles. After sealing the bottles with cork and wax, Dr. Welch lowered them into boiling water long enough to kill all yeast organisms in the juice and prevent fermentation - the same technique used in the pasteurization of milk.

For weeks the family waited, listening for the explosion that would signify failure. But no explosions occurred and when the bottles were opened, Dr. Welch discovered he had succeeded in producing a sweet, unfermented grape juice.

He convinced his pastor to try his unfermented wine, as he called it, and began processing and selling a limited amount to churches in Southern New Jersey and Southeast Pennsylvania.

Little did he realize that he was starting a new industry - the fruit juice industry.

(p. 3) (Captions for photographs only)

3. The modern-day fruit juice industry began in the Vineland, New Jersey, home of Dr. Thomas B. Welch, where 40-lbs. of grapes were pressed in the kitchen (marked A over the building at the left), and stored in the barn (building B).

(p. 6)

A firm believer in national advertising, Dr. Charles Welch set the standard for progressive marketing techniques that still characterize the Company today.

In the early days, Welch Grape Juice Co. ads appeared in all the major magazines, including Ladies Home Journal, Scientific American and others. Dr. Welch also published his own magazine called "The Acorn."

The Welch Grape Juice Co. got a tremendous boost in national publicity during the administration of Woodrow Wilson.

The Prohibition Movement had begun to pick up steam. Like his father, Dr. Welch had always been an advocate of prohibition, and even ran for the governorship of New York on the Prohibition Party ticket. And since Welch's Grape Juice, as it was now known, was the only non-alcoholic fruit drink on the market, it was a natural substitute for wine and other alcoholic drinks.

William Jennings Bryan, who was then Secretary of State, had a diplomatic dinner for the British Ambassador in Washington. Instead of the usual wine served on such occasions, only Welch's Grape Juice was served.

Immediately, and for some time thereafter, political cartoonists and columnists used the occasion to lampoon Secretary Bryan.

A cartoon showing Uncle Sam drinking grape juice was called "Grape Juice Diplomacy." And Welch's became a household word.

The following year, the Secretary of the Navy, the fiery Josephus Daniels, substituted Welch's Grape Juice for the sailors' monthly ration of rum. "The grape Juice Navy" and "Give 'em Grape, Josephus" became popular slogans, again poking fun at grape juice. And Welch's reaped th