ROMANCE OF THE VINE

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 27 (Supplement)

ROMANCE OF THE VINE

HISTORY OF WINE MAKING BEVERAGE OF PRIMITIVE MAN. ANCIENT LEGENDS OF DISCOVERY. (By H. H. Jervis in the New Idea.) One may look upon wine in two entirely different senses; the first, and the only worth while way, is that light in which it is regarded by men who have devoted their whole lives to its study, looking upon it as the world’s most historic beverage with a history little shorter than that of the human race, something to be studied, almost worshipped, and only to be partaken of in a spirit of the utmost reverence. The other is that opinion of those poor mortals who consider it only as a short cut to intoxication, and as such is unworthy of notice. • Wine has a history almost as long as that of man; the grape-vine has? one considerably longer. Long ages before the foot of man soiled a virgin earth, the grape grew and flourished. And man had not long resided on this planet before he became aware of the properties of the fruit of the vine, and elevated it to a place second only to that of his primitive gods. When or where the discovery of wine first took place is unknown, but it is generally considered to have been somewhere in the East, whence it spread in time to. the nations of the West. The first authentic mention we find of it is in the Bible, where it is recorded that, after the Deluge, Noah planted a vineyard and made wine. DISCOVERY OF WINE.

In his book, “Bacchus,” P. Morton Shand tells a fanciful legend concerning the discovery of the properties of the vine by Bacchus, the God of Wine. It appears that, during his youth, Bacchus was travelling dbross the desert, where all about him were the whitened bones of birds and beasts that had perished of thirst. Among all this desolation he came upon a creeping plant, the tender young leaves of which cooled his burning feet. In gratitude, he decided to carry the plant home with him, and lest the sun should wither it on the journey, he removed it carefully with a quantity of soil still about the roots, and placed the whole in the hollow of the beak of a bird’s skull. . But the plant grew quicker than Bacchus could walk, and soon he found the roots outgrowing the confines of the bird’s skull. He then

placed both the skull and the plant in the shoulder-blade of a lion. This, too, was soon to prove too small, and again he thrust the lot into the jawbone of an ass. At length, he reached his home, and would have removed the plant from the bones to plant in his garden, but the roots had so firm a grip that, to have pulled them apart from the bones would surely have killed the plant. Accordingly, he planted the whole, just as it was, in his garden, and tended the plant with great care. Soon the vine bore the young god “an abundance of heavy bloom-dusted grapeclusters, both purple and golden; the juice of which he pressed, and gave to the sons of men for their sustenance and comfort in sickness\and -adversity, and to make glad their hearts on high festivals and days of family rejoicing. And behold, as soon as the sons of men first tasted the blood of the grape—-

which they straightway called wine, meaning a sacred water—a prodigy came to pass! For when they began to drink they sang as do the birds of the forest; when they drank more they became strong and courageous as lions; but when they drank yet more, they grew foolish as jackasses.” A LEGEND OF PERSIA. In the history of ancient Persia we find another legend telling the story of the discovery of wine. It appears that a certain king of the ancient Persians, Jemsheed, was particularly fond of grapes and of the juice thereof, and to ensure a supply of his favourite beverage during the months when the grape-vines were no longer laden with succulent fruit, he decided to fill a large number of jars with the juice, to be partaken of at his leisure. Some time later he went to the jars to take a refreshing draught, but found the

juice, in process of fermentation (of the mysteries of which good Jemsheed knew nothing at all), was foul to the taste. Nevertheless, he partook of a considerable quantity. The result was most alarming, for Jemsheed found himself seized with agonising pains in the stomach. He decided there and then that, by some mysterious means, the juice had turned to poison, and had the jars conspicuously labelled “Poison,” not only to keep away from it the persons of his court, but also to be sure of conserving a supply for such time as he might need a virulent poison to put out of the way some enemy. Long months passed, and the existence of the jars was almost forgotten. Then Gulnare, one of his many wives (Jemsheed is reputed to have had no less than seven hundred!) found that her fading beauty no longer served to hold her lord’s favour and attention. She decided that life under such conditions was insufferable, and went to the poison jars to seek a way from this miserable world. In grimly determined fashion, she filled a vessel from one of the: jars, and drank deeply. Strange, she thought, that poison could have so delightful a flavour! And then—stranger still—instead of the agony she anticipated came a swift and glorious sense of exhilaration; the blood set fiercely to coursing through her veins, her cheeks were suffused with colour, the world seemed a grand and glorious place in which to live, her eyes sparkled, and the fact of Jemsheed’s neglect was forgotten! And what was even more, a measure of her one-time beauty had returned, as though by magic!

Wise, as is the way of the sex, Gulnare decided to say nothing to anyone of her marvellous discovery. But she went in secret to the jars from time to time, and drank of the magic fluid. Her beauty returned in. full, and she won back all the love which her fickle lord had once lavished upon her. She was very happy. But the supply of “poison” was not inexhaustible, and at length the jars were empty. Then Jemsheed went to them to secure a quantity of poison to remove one who had annoyed him, and found all the “poison” vanished. After considerable questioning, he found that G’>l- - had been responsible. Tearfully she confessed her guilt, and in an effort to secure forgiveness, described to him in glowing terms the wonderful effects

of the contents of the jars. Jemsheed was intrigued by her story, and decided to prove for himself the truth or otherwise of her statements before punishing her. Accordingly he filled the jars again with fresh grape-juice, and awaited results. He was not disappointed. First, he had the pure juice, sweet and palatable to the taste; and as it fermented, foul and nauseous; and, after fermentation had finished—wine! And so, if we are to believe this old story, was wine discovered in the East. Eventually, the wine was introduced into ancient Rome, and assumed remarkable popularity among the luxury-loving Romans. At first it was extremely rare and costly, and was used mainly in the worship of their gods. Young men, until they were thirty years of age, were forbidden to drink it. Women were forbidden to do so throughout the whole of their lifetime. The only exceptions to this strict rule being in the case of sacrifices, when both the women and

the young men were permitted to taste a little.

But later, when the extent of the vineyards increased and wine became less costly and more readily obtained, it came into general use; and no feast—be it ever so humble—was considered complete until the table had been graced by wine. The wine served at the Roman feasts was usually mixed with water, and not without good reason, for it was so treated during the processes of manufacture as to make it of such a thick consistency that very often it became almost a concrete mass.

In the Romans’ later extravagant days the vessels from which they drank had to be rich in keeping with their contents. Cups were used made from solid gold and inset with precious stones, and it frequently happened that a particularly lavish host would present his guests at the conclusion of the feast with the cups they had used. Brass and silver were also used, as well as crystal, amethyst, porcelain, and, in some instances, clay. In all cases they were beautifully engraved and richly ornamented. Among those too poor to afford cups of any better material than clay, the cheapness of the material was compensated for by the carving of most elaborate designs on them. When Cyrus Redding wrote Iris excellent book on the history of wines he expressed the wish, “If we could divide a soap nubble in half while floating on the zephyr, we should have a perfect bowl out of which to quaff. . .” Compare that vessel of airy lightness with the Roman custom of. making goblets of solid silver of so large a size that, when filled with wine, it required the arm of a strong man to lift one! But the age of such wild extravagances has happily passed, and, to-day, we are concerned more with the quality of the contents than with the mere showiness and costliness of the container.

The services of science have been drawn upon to obtain the utmost purity in wine. Nothing is left to chance in its manufacture. But even so, around this beverage, more than any other, clings the flavour of romance bom of a history ages old, in the delicate bouquet of a fine old wine is captured all the fragrance of the ages, its living depths of colour, hint of mystery and lands of enchantment, and of man's worship.