Wine History: The Holy Grail of Wines

What type of wine did Jesus drink?

Wine in the Ancient Middle East

Ultimately, we can only hypothesize what Jesus and other people during Biblical times in the Middle East actually drank. Winemaking trends have already changed several times within my lifetime, so imagine how it’s changed over the last 2000-3000 years. A good summary of what we do know from written and archaeological evidence can be found in this video from educational vlogger Religion for Breakfast. Here are the main points: 

1. Jesus most likely drank red wine during the Last Supper. How else can he call it his blood? 
2. There were dozens of different types of wine in the Roman Empire and Middle East at that time. 
3. It’s likely ancient wines from the Mediterranean used sun-dried grapes similar to the Appassimento method used for Amarone wines. Thus, red wines were dark, raisiny and concentrated back then. 
4. Wine was widely available in the Roman Empire and drunk often, even by the poor. 
5. Some wines were imported from other countries.
6. There’s evidence of clay wine vessels in Israel from the Iron Age (roughly from the time of King David to the end of the Babylonian occupation/Jewish exile).
7. Wines were often mixed with tree resin, spices, honey, other fruit and other products to help improve the taste and preserve the wines. 
8. The Romans and Greeks diluted wines with water, even sea water to soften the taste.  
9. Some Jews may have adapted their wine practices to the Roman and Greek methods even though a verse in the Hebrew Bible implies they shouldn’t dilute their wines.  

Therefore, we can conclude that people in the Mediterranean during Biblical times drank wine regularly. Wines came from a variety of grapes, regions and styles just like today, but most likely the wines were made from dried grapes, treated with other things like spice, honey and resin, and kept in clay vessels. It’s possible that some diluted their wines too depending on how Hellenized they were. 

Ancient Grape Varieties from the Holy Land

Despite all that we know about wine making 2000 years ago, it’s not clear what grape varieties they used. It’s likely that many of the varieties they grew back then are now extinct and/or have been crossed several times to form other varieties that we know today. For example, today’s most popular variety Cabernet Sauvignon was born in the 1600’s or 1700’s as a result of a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. In addition, many varieties have become extinct or nearly extinct due to blights like phylloxera.  

What further complicates finding a possible variety Jesus drank is that the Levant region was under Muslim control for centuries and grapes were relegated to table grapes and not wine. A lot of vineyards were lost during this time. This is also assuming Jesus drank local wine and didn’t bring out a special imported wine for his Last Supper. As a side note, I know I would go international rather than domestic for my last meal. What would be your last supper wine? Plus, read about a 3000 year old ancient Greek variety here. 

It’s not until the 1880’s when Edmond Rothschild revitalized wine making in the Holy Land and brought French varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. That’s why most varieties being grown in Israel-Palestine and Lebanon today are still French varieties. As you can imagine, the weather is too hot in many places in the region to make quality wine, but producers have been growing at higher elevations to improve the freshness and quality in recent decades. Of course, these French grapes didn’t exist 2000+ years ago in the Middle East, but the improvement in quality of Israeli wines has given producers more cache to explore and experiment. 

The biggest discovery was from wine researcher Dr. Shivi Drori, who started searching for lost vines growing wild throughout the country. He ended up finding more than 120 indigenous varieties, at least 20 of which are suitable for winemaking. Some were being used as table grapes that he found in Palestinian markets. Of course many of these grapes are better adapted to the climate than French varieties and have been growing wild for centuries. In addition to being well-adapted to harsher conditions, a big reason they survived over the centuries is that they were delicious grapes that people liked–sort of a Darwinian natural selection. How old are these varieties? Well, Dr. Drori found references to two of the whites in Talmudic writings dating back to 220 CE, so at least some of these varieties existed during Biblical times.

Current Production of Ancient Varieties

One of the first to produce wines from indigenous grapes about 14 years ago was Cremisan Wine Estate, based out of a monastery near Bethlehem. They make wines from the varieties: Dabouki, Hamdani, Jandali and Baladi. You can find their wines and other products from monasteries in the region from this distributor in the US. 

Another pioneer in making wines from indigenous grapes is Recanati, a large Israeli winery north of Netanya but who source from different parts of the country.  However, sourcing their indigenous grapes is a struggle due to the political situation. The problem is they don’t have access to the vineyards where they grow indigenous grapes and their own plantings of indigenous grapes are still too young. They have to buy their grapes from a Palestinian table grape farmer in the West Bank in the Judean Hills (the region roughly from Ramallah to Hebron), which is off limits to most Israelis. They could have access to grapes from Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but if they openly did so, they would incur the risk of being boycotted since Israeli settlements are illegal according to international law and one of the biggest sources of the conflict. This is why peace activists are pushing for boycotts similar to what helped Apartheid end in South Africa. On the other side of the coin, their Palestinian partner wishes to remain anonymous to avoid troubles from other Palestinians finding out he’s selling grapes to Israelis. Somehow Recanati and their Palestinian connections make it work amidst constant tension.  

Recanati sources two types of indigenous grapes from the same Palestinian farmer in the West Bank. The vines are dry farmed on pergola-like trellises in a method called Hebron Overhead Arbor. They make a white wine made from the grape Marawi (also called Hamdani), which they first released in 2014. It’s known as an easy drinking white with green melon notes. Then they soon started producing a red wine from a grape called Bittuni. It has been likened to Gamay (Beaujolais) and other light reds. Is this the red that Jesus drank during the Last Supper? It’s possible although Dr. Drori says that wines during Biblical times were most likely field blends and not monovarietal like today. They only make about 500 cases of wine from indigenous grapes of their 80,000 cases per year production. For more details, wine blogger W. Blake Gray has a nice piece about Recanati and indigenous grapes here. You can look for a store that carries their wine here. 

I was able to find a bottle of Recanati Bittuni last time I was in the US. The tasting note is below. 

Future of Wine from the Holy Land–My Sermon on the Mount

Long before I started collecting wine, I was a seminarian studying Biblical history and language. Although it was not my focus, I had the opportunity to lead Communion in church. I was also an after school teacher at a Jewish community center, where I would help make challah bread and lead Shabbat celebrations with grape juice for the kids. Rituals such as Communion/Eucharist and Shabbat show how wine can bind us together and help us remember the past–we’ve been using wine to do so for thousands of years. In fact, a lot of the health benefits of moderate wine drinking are not only physiological but psychological. When we come together and drink in thankfulness, remembrance, commitment, solidarity, hopefulness, relaxation, celebration, creativity and open vulnerability, our souls are fed. 

My Biblical studies also led me to do an archaeological excavation and studies in the Holy Land. There, it was easy to imagine the stories of the Bible taking place among the ancient ruins. For example, I saw where Jesus turned water into wine. However, it was the modern day struggle for peace and justice under occupation that I found more compelling. Jews were living under various occupations and exile in the Bible, and Jesus was living under Roman occupation like Palestinians today.  So I stopped my Biblical studies and went on to work as a peace activist with Palestinian (Christian and Muslim) and Jewish Israeli peace organizations. I have been to the Holy Land around 7 times since. It holds a special place in my heart. 

I can’t help but think how a revival of indigenous wines could help unite and bring cooperation among peoples fighting over land and struggling for human rights. Just as a wine geek, I would rather drink indigenous grapes instead of another version of Merlot or Cabernet. Moreover, if they could market wines drunk by Jesus and King David to religious communities all over the world, focus on tourism for all faiths and shine as an example of peacemaking, prosperity for all could be possible on this Land. Instead, it’s the weapons manufacturers and construction companies who dominate. They build walls, bases and illegal settlements. They uproot five thousand year old olive trees and demolish people’s homes in a blink of an eye. They give teenagers machine guns to bully grandparents and children. They happily use religion, hate and violence to separate people for profit.

Yet, somehow these indigenous grapes survived through dozens of different regimes and wars over the last 2-3 thousand years. They should survive this 70+ year old conflict, which will eventually end too. It’s not just one grape that’s survived. There is diversity. Grapes have been crossed with other grapes to form something new. The same is true for the people* living in this region. Yet, the walls (both literal and metaphorical) that they build block the people from rediscovering their shared roots just as they block winemakers from working together across ever-changing borders. The vines keep surviving though. These wines are living time capsules of all the sweat, blood and tears shed over thousands of years on this Land. Hopefully, we’ll see more indigenous wine and peaceful cooperation come to fruition. I also hope to make it back to the Holy Land and explore the local wines more. To be continued.  

*Isaiah even calls Israel God’s “vineyard” whose vines (the people), despite growing in ideal conditions, still produce bad grapes (injustice, distress and bloodshed). Isaiah 5:1-7.

** A subsequent article has come out about a new study genetically tracing the earliest domestication of grapes to the Levant (Lebanon, Israel, etc.) region in addition to the Caucasus region (Armenia, Georgia) around 11,000 years ago, which was already thought of to be the oldest winemaking region due to archaeological evidence. Dr. Drori was also mentioned in the article.  

*** Another recent study on how 1,100 year old seeds found in the Holy Land show connection to two modern varieties, one of which may have been mentioned in the Bible.

Tasting Notes

2017 Recanati Bittuni Judean Hills Israel-Palestine 

100% Bittuni, an indigenous 2-3 thousand year old variety that was almost extinct. Dry-farmed in the Judean Hills on limestone-clay soils from a secret farm probably somewhere between Bethlehem and Hebron. Hand-harvested. Transported under refrigeration to the winery. Aged 6 months in used Burgundy barrels. 

Pale red color. Shows some aging. Raisiny, dried black and red fruit nose with Mediterranean spices and an animal, meatiness. A touch of floral notes. The palate is medium bodied. Soft tannins. Medium+ acid. It’s both savory and fruity, but more dried fruit flavors with more red fruit than on the nose. No heat or hard edges. Reminds me most of a softer Mourvedre. You feel the sun in the dried fruit flavors but it doesn’t feel cooked.  I’m not sure if the dried fruit qualities are from the local climate or age or both. It went seamlessly with different foods with its acidity and savory side. The bottle was empty quickly, which is always a good sign. 90