Judaism

Wine has always been an important aspect of the Jewish religion.  There are laws governing the process of wine making, from their crushing to the sealing of the bottle.  Wine, for Jews, must be kosher, which means it must not be touched by a “Gentile” and must contain only kosher ingredients.  In ancient times, wine was used by idolaters in rituals, which brought about the necessity for a kosher wine.  Kosher wine has many restrictions on its creation and use, in order for it to remain kosher.  In the Jewish culture, wine has importance because of the role it plays in almost every holiday and religious service.  The Sabbath is a weekly observance, and on the Sabbath, the Kiddush is said over the wine, a special prayer specifically for wine.  Wine is thus an integrated part into the weekly life of a Jew, and has tremendous significance in many every day aspects of Jewish life.  In this manner, wine is introduced to Jewish children at a young age, and becomes normalized as part of life.  It is for this reason, that some note that in contemporary times, the Jewish population of the United States has fewer drinking problems than many other cultural and religious groups.

Christianity


Although Christianity takes it roots from Judaism, the main importance of wine comes from the use of wine in Jesus’ last supper, which was actually a Jewish Seder.  In this manner, wine represents a covenant with God through the blood of Jesus, represented by the wine.  This is actually where many religious debates take place among the sects of Christianity, whether or not the wine is a representation of or actually turns into Jesus’ blood during communion.  Here is not the place to discuss this argument, but rather to relate that in either case, wine is important in the Christian religion, to a similar extent as in the Jewish religion.  However, there are key differences as different Christian groups value certain limitations that others do not.  This provides conflict within the religion in terms of the use of wine because some sects believe in an ascetic approach to religion, which limits the use of pleasurable items in its practice, including wine.  It is difficult to summarize the importance of wine in Christianity; however, it is easy to note that among different groups it takes on differing levels of importance.  Some take wine as a common aspect of religious life, while other shun it as a means of self-indulgence that should not be allowed.  In either case, wine has less social acceptability within the Christian religion than it does in the Jewish religion. 

Islam

Islam takes an entirely different approach to wine, as noted in the Koran, “Satan seeks to stir up enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and gambling, and to keep you from remembrance of Allah and from your prayers.  Will you not abstain from them?” (The Koran, Sura 5:91).  In Islam, wine is seen as a bringer of joy, but that its power of destruction is even greater and one must not overindulge in it.  Later on in the Koran, Mohammad notes the joys of wine, and thus there is moderate disagreement over the correct interpretation of the Koran.  Today, the general idea is that the Koran prohibits the imbibing of alcohol.  However, there are modern day examples of cultures not following these rules, as is the case in Iran, which ranks sixth in the world for vineyard acreage.  Wine is thusly not a major staple in Islam, but is occasionally noted in certain situations. 

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