Throughout history, wine has found its place in religious ceremonies. Even when there were other beverages, wine has always taken the first place. The sense of relaxation and comfort that wine creates in people has both facilitated the establishment of social relationships and made them more open to spiritual sensitivity. Thanks to the "WAYANA - Wine Tasting in the Time Tunnel" series, where we take a closer look at the cultural histories of civilizations that emerged in Anatolian lands, we have a better understanding of what is happening in this field. When we follow the traces of different civilizations, the information that some recorded on tablets, some friezes and frescoes depicting religious ceremonies, and the laboratory analyses of what some ate at the banquet have reached us, have helped us to establish the position of wine in its proper place.
The history of religions is of course the history of legends and stories in time. Of course, we are talking about a teaching and belief system where reality, fantasy and exaggeration are intertwined, and belief and acceptance take precedence over rationality. Christianity, which has the largest number of followers among the three religions we accept as the Book of Religions, is the only example that officially places wine in religious rituals. Moreover, bread symbolically represents the body of Jesus and wine his blood in Christian ceremonies.
One of the titles in the book ‘Wine’s Love Dictionary’ by the experienced French journalist Bernard Pivot, whose wine articles I read, reminded me of the subject of this article. I wondered if there was any clear information about the wine Jesus drank while saying goodbye to his apostles at the ‘Last Supper’? The answer was that there was no clear information. But to avoid any mistakes, I knocked on the door of the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Moda. We had a short chat with the priest who welcomed me. When I told him the reason for my visit, he immediately shared what he knew about the subject.
As we all know, the Christian world is made up of different sects. But apparently, geographical origin is more prominent than sects in the use of wine. My host said that while red wine is preferred in the Orthodox and Syriac churches of the Oriental world (let's think of it as the Middle East) due to its blood-like color, white wine is prominent in the Western world. He said that the easiest explanation for this is that white wine is used instead of the obvious stain that occurs when red wine accidentally drips during ceremonies, and this situation creates fewer problems. He added that they prefer red wine despite being Catholic. Although our main question was about wine, I couldn't help but ask about the bread that symbolizes the body. He said that while Western churches prefer dry bread like rusks for bread, Eastern churches use fresh bread baked for this purpose. In fact, we understood that the Western world prefers more pragmatic options that do not create storage and application problems.
In short, although we cannot know whether the wine during the 'Last Supper' is white or red, we now know that geography is decisive in the choice. I would like to thank the Assumption Church officials who shared this information with me. I didn't ask the brand of the wine or where they bought it so as not to spoil the fun. But honestly, I regret that I did not.
