Liturgical Wine: Commentary on Canon 924 §3

[JMJ_coder]

Can. 924 §3. The wine must be natural from the fruit of the vine and not spoiled.

I would like to discuss here the canonical requirements for wine intended for use in Liturgy.

Being not spoiled is the most obvious, vinegar need not apply!

Close behind in non-obfuscation is being from the fruit of the vine. This means that no other fruit (e.g., apple, plum) or sugar source (e.g., honey, grain, sugarcane) can be used. I wonder if raisins, being merely sun-dried grapes, are allowed? For those who are unfamiliar, raisins are often used to boost sugar levels in fruit wine.

Must be natural, the part that needs most discussion. Does this mean no chemical agents used to balance the wine? What about using additional sulfates? What about aging the wine in wood? And what about yeast? It is not specifically listed in the ingredients, but unless you are in an established wine growing region (e.g., French vineyards), the natural yeasts will not only take a while to start, but will just as likely spoil the grape must as ferment it.

Let’s discuss.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Can. 924 §3. The wine must be natural from the fruit of the vine and not spoiled.

I would like to discuss here the canonical requirements for wine intended for use in Liturgy.

Being not spoiled is the most obvious, vinegar need not apply!

Close behind in non-obfuscation is being from the fruit of the vine. This means that no other fruit (e.g., apple, plum) or sugar source (e.g., honey, grain, sugarcane) can be used. I wonder if raisins, being merely sun-dried grapes, are allowed? For those who are unfamiliar, raisins are often used to boost sugar levels in fruit wine.

Must be natural, the part that needs most discussion. Does this mean no chemical agents used to balance the wine? What about using additional sulfates? What about aging the wine in wood? And what about yeast? It is not specifically listed in the ingredients, but unless you are in an established wine growing region (e.g., French vineyards), the natural yeasts will not only take a while to start, but will just as likely spoil the grape must as ferment it.

Let’s discuss.

There have been other discussions on this topic before. Raisins can be used as well as Raisin Wine (Raisins soaked in water and allowed to ferment).

 

[bpbasilphx]

Centuries ago the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia allowed the juice of steeped rasins (presumably fermented) to be used for the Eucharistic wine in remote areas of Siberia where grapes did not grow and to which it would have been difficult to transport wine.

 

[FrDavid96]

Can. 924 §3. The wine must be natural from the fruit of the vine and not spoiled.

I would like to discuss here the canonical requirements for wine intended for use in Liturgy.

Being not spoiled is the most obvious, vinegar need not apply!

Close behind in non-obfuscation is being from the fruit of the vine. This means that no other fruit (e.g., apple, plum) or sugar source (e.g., honey, grain, sugarcane) can be used. I wonder if raisins, being merely sun-dried grapes, are allowed? For those who are unfamiliar, raisins are often used to boost sugar levels in fruit wine.

Must be natural, the part that needs most discussion. Does this mean no chemical agents used to balance the wine? What about using additional sulfates? What about aging the wine in wood? And what about yeast? It is not specifically listed in the ingredients, but unless you are in an established wine growing region (e.g., French vineyards), the natural yeasts will not only take a while to start, but will just as likely spoil the grape must as ferment it.

Let’s discuss.

No chemicals can be added to the wine, but Rome has already said that a minimal amount of sulfites can be used as a preservative.

As for aging the wine in wood, this is more or less a given. That’s the usual process for making wine, even though other substances like glass are sometimes employed especially by those who make wine at home. So there’s no problem at all with aging the wine in wood barrels, even though doing so does impart certain tastes and other characteristics.

The yeast is a relatively modern question because we never even knew that yeast existed until the invention of the microscope. Even so, there is nothing about adding additional yeast that would have any change in the fact that the end product would still be natural wine. Vintners have been adding yeast to must for thousands of years even though they never actually knew just what they were doing

When it comes to altar wine the best thing to do is to choose a wine that’s been approved by a competent authority in the Church. This is usually done by the local bishop, or his designee (sometimes the Chancellor or Vicar General might approve it). There is no actual canon law as to who can grant this approval. It’s like a priest choosing which hosts to buy. Some dioceses have particular law saying that the wine must come from an approved source, but even here that’s not very specific because a priest in one diocese might buy wine made in another diocese which is legitimately labeled “altar wine” even though it might have been approved by another priest (as opposed to the bishop himself).

Most commercially available wines already meet the requirements of the Church. The addition of fruit juices or other sugars is more the exception rather than the rule. The problem for priests is that the winemaker might not always disclose this fact on the label. The only way to know is to contact the winemaker directly and make some very specific inquiries or to buy a wine which has already been approved.

 

[Digitonomy]

Can. 924 §3. The wine must be natural from the fruit of the vine and not spoiled.

…Close behind in non-obfuscation is being from the fruit of the vine. This means that no other fruit (e.g., apple, plum) or sugar source (e.g., honey, grain, sugarcane) can be used.

If we follow strictly the letter of the law for Canon 924, it would not exclude the fruit of non-grape vines, such as kiwi. I have to assume there are other canons or regulations that speak to this, limiting the wine to that of grapes.

While usually considered a separate category from the typical grapes used for wine, I assume that muscadines count as fully grape for our purposes. I’m not sure if there are other quasi-grapes that might push the boundary.