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This is some words from Wikipedia about Wine.

[edit] Religious uses
See also: Kosher wine, Christianity and alcohol, and Islam and alcohol
 
In Iran (Persia), mei (Persian wine) has been a central theme of poetry for more than a thousand years, although alcohol is strictly forbidden under Islamic law.The use of wine in religious ceremonies is common to many cultures and regions. Libations often included wine, and the religious mysteries of Dionysus used wine as a sacramental entheogen to induce a mind-altering state.

Wine is an integral part of Jewish laws and traditions. The Kiddush is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat or a Jewish holiday. On Pesach (Passover) during the Seder, it is a Rabbinic obligation of men and women to drink four cups of wine.[46] In the Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem, the libation of wine was part of the sacrificial service.[47] Note that this does not mean that wine is a symbol of blood, a common misconception which contributes to the myth of the blood libel. A blessing over wine said before indulging in the drink is: "Baruch atah Hashem elokeinu melech ha-olam, boray p’ree hagafen"—"Praised be the Eternal, Ruler of the universe, who makes the fruit of the vine."

In Christianity, wine or grape juice is used in a sacred rite called the Eucharist, which originates in Gospel accounts of the Last Supper in which Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples and commanded his followers to "do this in remembrance of me" (Gospel of Luke 22:19). Beliefs about the nature of the Eucharist vary among denominations; Roman Catholics, for example, hold that the bread and wine are changed into the real body and blood of Christ in a process called transubstantiation.

Wine was used in the Eucharist by all Protestant groups until an alternative arose in 1869. Methodist minister-turned-dentist Thomas Bramwell Welch applied new pasteurization techniques to stop the natural fermentation process of grape juice. Some Christians who were part of the growing temperance movement pressed for a switch from wine to grape juice, and the substitution spread quickly over much of the United States. (However, in such rites the beverage is usually still called "wine" in accordance with scriptural references.)[48] There remains an ongoing debate between some American Protestant denominations as to whether wine can and should be used for the Eucharist or allowed as a regular beverage.

The use of wine is forbidden under Islamic law. Iran used to have a thriving wine industry that disappeared after the Islamic Revolution in 1979.[49]


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Hi there all,

drinking wine in Provance is an experiance.

Peace and love.