Abstract
Wine is one of the central elements of the Christian faith. From its abundant mention in the Old Testament to Jesus’ first miraculous providing of ‘beautiful wine’ (Jn 2:10) for the Wedding of Cana, from the cup of the Last Supper to the Christian Eucharist, this drink has a pivotal purpose. Kregliner has done us a great service by writing a book on this ‘beautiful and complex liquid’ (p. 11).
Although Krelinger writes from a Lutheran perspective, the book is truly ecumenical. More importantly she writes from the perspective of someone who grew up on a winery and whose family has been involved in wine production for generations. She brings zeal and a personal familiarity to the book. Christianity has always suffered from a Gnostic tendency to reject the material and the flesh and in our own time we still struggle with the inheritance of Prohibition and the Temperance movement. Readers will find a good antidote to these in this work where the nourishment of wine and, more importantly, the long history of its medicinal use are reinforced. The book abounds in anecdotes; Scriptural references are balanced with movie references and the insights of theologians and philosophers are balanced with those of vintners. The experiences and opinions of those who produce wine (both practicing Christians and non-religious) are particularly important as those whose human hands who have worked to produce the fruit of the vine have a very valid contribution to make to the collective Christian spirituality. In this book we hear from Sr Thekla, a wine-making Benedictine sister from the ancient German Abbey of St Hildegard, who provides better wine for Sunday Masses and simpler wine for weekday liturgies (p. 127). We likewise learn to appreciate the health benefits of wine from a proverb common among German vintners and attributed to St Augustine which says that: In many instances wine is necessary for human beings. Wine strengthens the stomach, renews one’s energy, warms the body of the cold-blooded, poured onto wounds it brings healing. It chases away sadness and weariness of soul. Wine brings joy, and for companions it fuels one’s pleasure for conversations. (p. 43)
This book bills itself as a work of spirituality and this is an apt description. Those looking for a treatise on sacramental theology or Canon Law on the matter of the Eucharist will have to look elsewhere. Here Krelinger writes on a deeper level and this leads to a reflection on wine as a source of Christian joy. The book is divided into two parts, Sustenance and Sustainability. In the first section she deals with the biblical treatment of wine, its historical use in different times and places, its use at the Last Supper,and its use in the Church. The second part deals with the production of wine today, the role of technology, and responsible agriculture. The abuse of wine through gluttony and the terrible consequences of alcoholism are also considered. These are dealt with sensitively and ultimately, given that abusus non tollit usum (‘the potential for abuse never takes away the legitimacy of proper use’) (p. 200), we are invited towards that new creation in Christ where ‘we begin to understand that to drink is to pray, we can learn to restrain ourselves and not gulp down wine. Rather, we can learn to allow wine to lift our hearts to God and open our lives toward one another’ (p. 215).
Today we live in a world that tends towards mass production and where there is always less room for craftsmanship. However Krelinger’s incarnational spirituality points out that ‘wine is not a generic drink’ (p. 121) and, if care is taken in its consumption, it can remind us of our own history which, like a good bottle of wine, is rooted in place and time. An appreciation of wine can help us to live well. In it we participate in one of God’s blessings; it allows us to live joyfully refuting Nietzsche’s most terrible criticism of Christians as having no joy.