Wine – Excerpted

Whereas barley beer and beer goddesses reigned supreme in the lowlands of Egypt and Mesopotamia, wine was the preferred fermented beverage in the upland regions of the southern Levant. The Holy Land is where two of the world’s major religions – Judaism and Christianity – originated, and their holy writings (“scriptures”) are a testament to the centrality of wine in faith and practice.

15 November 2020 Drew KaplanBeer

Whereas barley beer and beer goddesses reigned supreme in the lowlands of Egypt and Mesopotamia, wine was the preferred fermented beverage in the upland regions of the southern Levant. The Holy Land is where two[…]

The Phrase משתה in the Book of Esther

31 January 201931 January 2019 Drew KaplanBible

Many English versions translate משתה generally as either “feast” (e.g., ESV, KJV, NKJV) or “banquet” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRS, RSV, TNK) and understand משתה יין as functioning adverbially. The NASB, for example, understands this construct[…]

“…while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists”

13 September 201711 September 2017 Drew KaplanAlcoholic Drinks

Today, while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists. The problem of rendering שֵׁכָר into English is best exemplified by the JPS translation of the Hebrew Bible,[…]

“The ancient Near East was divided in its alcoholic beverages into two main regions, those whose geographical properties suited the growing of grapes and those unsuited for growing grapes”

2 July 201726 June 2017 Drew KaplanAlcoholic Drinks

The ancient Near East was divided in its alcoholic beverages into two main regions, those whose geographical properties suited the growing of grapes (e.g. Palestine, Greece) and those unsuited for growing grapes (e.g. Egypt and[…]

“The contrast between wine culture of Palestine and beer culture of Babylonia is well documented in the Talmud…”

17 May 20176 September 2017 Drew KaplanAmoraim

One of the important distinctions between the diet of Graeco-Roman Palestine and Babylonia was the use of wine or beer as a common beverage. It is abundantly clear that in the Graeco-Roman world, wine was[…]

“…beverages in antiquity most often contained many ingredients: products solely composed of barley, grapes, or dates were rare”

17 May 2017 Drew KaplanBeer

Compounding the difficulty in identifying שֵׁכָר is the fact that beverages in antiquity most often contained many ingredients: products solely composed of barley, grapes, or dates were rare. Dates were among the most frequent additives[…]

“…it appears that wine was much more expensive in Babylonia than beer in the Talmudic period”

8 February 20176 September 2017 Drew KaplanBabylonian Talmud

…it appears that wine was much more expensive in Babylonia than beer in the Talmudic period: R. Hisda said: “When someone can eat barley bread, but eats wheat bread, he violates (the injunction) ‘thou shalt[…]

“Ancient alcoholic beverages don’t always fit into neat, distinct categories”

3 February 201730 January 2017 Drew KaplanAlcoholic Drinks

Ancient alcoholic beverages don’t always fit into neat, distinct categories. Chemical evidence of ancient alcoholic drinks show that they were often mixed concoctions. It would be rare to find products composed solely of barley, wheat,[…]

“Israeli wines need to break out of the kosher market for the long-term health of the industry…”

8 February 20162 February 2016 Drew KaplanIsrael

Israeli wines need to break out of the kosher market for the long-term health of the industry, and to do that, we have to exist on the non-kosher shelf and compete as quality wines at[…]

“The bottom line is that beer is a more democratic product than wine”

16 September 20159 September 2015 Drew KaplanBeer

The bottom line is that beer is a more democratic product than wine. Generally speaking, it’s cheaper than wine, allowing connoisseurs access to a broader spectrum, and prompting the development of more esoteric palates. Beer[…]

Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Category: Wine

The Phrase משתה in the Book of Esther

“…while ‘strong drink’ remains the most frequent English translation of שֵׁכָר, confusion about its identity persists”

“The ancient Near East was divided in its alcoholic beverages into two main regions, those whose geographical properties suited the growing of grapes and those unsuited for growing grapes”

“The contrast between wine culture of Palestine and beer culture of Babylonia is well documented in the Talmud…”

“…beverages in antiquity most often contained many ingredients: products solely composed of barley, grapes, or dates were rare”

“…it appears that wine was much more expensive in Babylonia than beer in the Talmudic period”

“Ancient alcoholic beverages don’t always fit into neat, distinct categories”

“Israeli wines need to break out of the kosher market for the long-term health of the industry…”

“The bottom line is that beer is a more democratic product than wine”