Through the Grapevine

As illustrated by the scripture above, the Old Testament ideal of peace and prosperity always included the grape. It was considered so important in ancient times that many herbalists called it simply "The Vine," as if there were no other!

The ancients could only preserve its fruits through drying or fermentation. The thick vintages they produced would not agree with modern tastes, however. Back then, good hosts watered wines down, and added honey and/or herbs to make them palatable.

The Romans improved filtering and storage, but grape-growing declined after the fall of their empire. Some assiduous monks preserved Roman secrets into the Middle Ages and made wine popular again.

Gerard reports that grapes will keep fairly well if packed in a clay pot with mustard meal, covered with must (fresh grape juice), and set in a cool cellar. He recommends them for anemia and "for such as are in a consumption of some disease, and that have need to have their bodies nourished and refreshed (alwaies provided they have no fever). . .It restoreth strength most of all other things and that speedily. . ." In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul agrees, advising Timothy to "use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities" (I Timothy 5:23).

Recent research indicates the moderate intake of wine reduces a person's heart attack risk by about a third. John Heinerman defines "moderate" use as only about ¼ cup per day. And James Duke cautions that any more than two alcoholic drinks a day will actually increase your chances of contracting heart disease. He points out the phenolic compounds that shield the body from LDL cholesterol can also be found in red grapes, bilberries , blackberries, blueberries, garlic, and onions.

Even Gerard, writing in the late 1500's, admonishes that the grape's benefits "proceed of the moderate use of wine: for immoderate drinking of wine doth altogether bring the contrarie. They that are drunke are distraughted in minde, become foolish, and oppressed with a drowsie sleepiness, and be afterward taken with Apoplexy, the gout, or altogether with other most grevious diseases. And seeing that every excesse is to be shunned, it is expedient most of all to shun this, by which not only the body, but also the minde receiveth hurt."

So it's probably not a good idea to begin imbibing wine simply for the sake of your health. On the other hand, the aversion of some religious groups to alcohol can reach a highly "immoderate" hysteria. Like most plants, this one is neither angel nor devil, its "goodness" or "badness" depending on how it is used.

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