Saint Paul, speaking to the people of Lystra, tells us this in the Book of Acts, saying, “In past generations [God] allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16-17). There, Saint Paul is echoing the Psalmist, who proclaimed that wine is a gift from God, whose purpose is to “gladden the heart of man” (Ps 104:15). Monasteries’ role In my new illustrated hardcover book from Marian Press, Sacred Wine: The Holy History and Heritage of Catholic Vintners, I tell the story of 12 wineries in Italy, France, and Spain whose existences have been shaped by the Catholic faith. Most of the wineries began as monasteries. A few still are monasteries. But in each, the history first written by the Benedictines, Cistercians, Carthusians, Franciscans, and more, lives on. When Rome was still an empire, men and women dedicated to God grew grapes to make their own wine. After Rome collapsed and barbarian tribes destroyed cities and devastated land, more men and women dedicated to God built new monasteries and planted new vineyards. In those monasteries, they offered shelter and safety to local peasants and, with those peasants, monks, brothers, and nuns, replanted ancient vineyards that had gone fallow due to earlier invasions. Those monks and nuns did more than that, though. They made notes. They shared tips and tricks with other houses from their order. As they grew old, they passed down what they had learned to the younger religious who took their place working the land and pressing the wine. They experimented, trying different grapes in different plots of land and different soils. They took advantage of one of the greatest gifts religious life gave them: time, using it to carefully study and perfect every step of the winemaking process, from cultivating seedlings to bottling the work of their hands. The result was a revolution in winemaking. Clos Vougeot, Chablis, Champagne, Chenin Blanc — some of the greatest wines ever made and some of the most significant advances in winemaking, from corks to oaken barrels, owe their origins to Catholic monks and nuns of centuries past. Even here, in the Americas, this holds true. The first vineyards established in the New World were often planted by priests and brothers who sailed from Spain to evangelize the Americas. This is especially true in California, where St. Junipero Serra laid the groundwork for the future state’s magnificent wine industry, planting the first vineyards and building its first wineries up and down the coast. Wherever the saint established a mission — Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Sonoma, and more — he also established a vineyard. He, in turn, relied upon methods developed by the missionaries he worked with in Mexico and planted a varietal that the Franciscan friars there had cultivated. America’s wine industry began with a varietal still called “The Mission Grape.” Church and wine In the end, try as we might, there is no untangling the history of the Church and the history of wine. The two have been bound up together since the first grapes burst forth on the first vines, which was perhaps in Eden under the watchful eyes of Adam and Eve. The Church and wine also will continue to be bound up together, right up to the Last Day, when all who have called upon Christ’s name and become adopted sons and daughters of God in Baptism, will sit down at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, where, as Isaiah prophesied: On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken (Is 25:6-8). Whether you ever manage to taste the bottles written about in my book or only sip close approximations purchased in your local wine store, Sacred Wine will help you taste it all with joy and prayer, appreciating more deeply the men and women whose faith helped put that glass in your hand and recognizing that each sip of wine is a gift, “like life to man,” meant to bring “rejoicing of heart and gladness of soul” (Sir 31:27-28). Marian Helper • Winter 2025-26 • Marian.org 25 The ideal Christmas gift! To order Sacred Wine: The Holy History and Heritage of Catholic Vintners (Product code: B68-SWBK), visit ShopMercy.org or call 800-462-7426.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==