What is Vitis vinifera?

Vitis vinifera is commonly known as the grape vine. It is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region in Central Europe and southwestern of Asia. This region stretches from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are an estimated of some ten thousand varieties of Vitis vinifera grapes and about a tenth are of commercial significance to wine and table grape production.

The use of grapes dated back to Neolithic times some 7,000 years ago where wine storage jars were present in present day northern Iran. Evidence shows the Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians had vine plantations and winemaking skills. Greek philosophers commended the healing powers of grapes. Cultivating and winemaking began during the Han Dynasty in China with the imported species from Ta-Yuan in the second century. Vitis vinifera was also used in traditional India medicine used in prescriptions for cough, respiratory tract catarrh, subacute cases of enlarged liver, and spleen and alcohol-based tonics. The leaves and young stem of the Vitis vinifera were traditionally used to feed sheep and goats in the Mediterranean Basin.

From the juices of these grapes from the grapevine, wines were made through natural fermentation. Hence a most civilized cordial of nature and a natural phenomenon of the fruit of the vine.

For centuries now, many winemakers, oenologist and viticulturist have been trying to perfect the best methods of producing high quality wines for our sensory pleasure, cultural exchange, and intellectual conversation.

Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, and short-story writer quoted “Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.”

This quotation has many significant meanings about the fruit of the vine. It is a civilized and natural beverage. It has been brought to the greatest perfection. It offers a greater range for enjoyment. It is purely sensorial.

Other renown and famous quotations were “Wine can be considered with good reason as the most healthful and most hygienic of all beverages” (Louis Pasteur)

“Wine is a constant proof that God loves us and likes to see us happy” (Benjamin Franklin)

“Give me a bowl of wine in this I will bury all unkindness” (William Shakespeare)

“Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, makes weariness forget his toil” (Lord Byron)

“A good bottle of wine, like a good act, shines ever in retrospect” (Robert Louis Stevenson)

“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine” (Louis Pasteur)

“From wine what sudden friendship springs” (John Gay)

“The one purpose of wine is to bring happiness to men” (Dr John Henry Lindeman)

“Wine brings to light the hidden secrets of the soul” (Horace)

“Wine is one of the noblest cordials in nature” (John Wesley)

In the bible, the bride who sings in the Song of Solomon says, “He brought me to the banqueting house,” (or literally translated, his “house of wine”), “and his banner over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4). In Hebrew tradition, wine was very popular at weddings. We see this in the wedding feast Jesus attends in Cana. There, for His first miracle, Jesus miraculously produced more than one hundred and twenty gallons of fine wine for the wedding feast (John 2:6-11).

May the miracle of Jesus Christ transform your “water into wine!”