Sacramental wine requirements

[Paten]

Here is what Canon Law says:

The wine must be natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt.

Material I have read indicates that nothing apart from the natural fermentation process is permitted to be added. So would artificial sulfites be permitted?

You clearly don’t have the whole story. We should dig a bit deeper and find that reference. I have read about this topic here and on other forums and I don’t believe I have ever read the entire story.

While it’s not authoritative, I doubt those two bishops listed above would allow unsuitable wine to be used in their dioceses.

 

[Paten]

Here is what Canon Law says:

The wine must be natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt.

Material I have read indicates that nothing apart from the natural fermentation process is permitted to be added. So would artificial sulfites be permitted?

I don’t believe you have the entire story:

Mass Wine: Treated with Sulphurous Anhydride, Etc. (Holy Office) Private.

The Holy Office was asked by the Archbishop of Tarracona: Whether in the Sacrifice of the Mass, wine may be used which is made from the juice of the grape, treated with sulphurous anhydride or with potassium bisulphite.

Reply. In the affirmative.

(Private) ; Holy Office, 2 Aug., 1922.

Not published in the AAS; cf. Il Monitore, Oct., 1923, p. 289.

geocities.com/prakashjm45/dotbs.html

 

[Paten]

As important as this is, you’d think the Holy See would have an airtight document regarding sacramental wine. I’ll bet not 1 in 10 priests knows the exact answer – or 2 in 5 chancery offices.

 

[Aramis]

I just remember reading that there was to be NO preservatives added, no additional alcohol added, nothing was to be added. Only natural grape wine with a certain range of alcohol content.

Sulfites are also used to control the limits of fermentation, rather than just as a preservative.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I don’t believe you have the entire story:

Mass Wine: Treated with Sulphurous Anhydride, Etc. (Holy Office) Private.

The Holy Office was asked by the Archbishop of Tarracona: Whether in the Sacrifice of the Mass, wine may be used which is made from the juice of the grape, treated with sulphurous anhydride or with potassium bisulphite.

Reply. In the affirmative.

(Private) ; Holy Office, 2 Aug., 1922.

Not published in the AAS; cf. Il Monitore, Oct., 1923, p. 289.

geocities.com/prakashjm45/dotbs.html

No, at the time I didn’t have anything accept what I typed, what canon law said.

Thanks for posting the Holy Office reply.

Now that I have that. Does the (Private) indicates that the answer only applies in the Archdiocese of Tarracona? Would be my next question.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

As important as this is, you’d think the Holy See would have an airtight document regarding sacramental wine. I’ll bet not 1 in 10 priests knows the exact answer – or 2 in 5 chancery offices.

I would guess that what we are discussing (which is interesting) would not render the matter invalid but either illicit or doubtful. Neither of which is good but at least not outright invalid.

 

[Paten]

I would guess that what we are discussing (which is interesting) would not render the matter invalid but either illicit or doubtful. Neither of which is good but at least not outright invalid.

Still I don’t think wineries are shipping pallets of altar wine that is illicit. The former Christian Brothers winery appears to rely on this ruling from 1922 so my guess is that other wineries do too as well.

I wonder if anyone out there has a bottle of sacramental wine from a commercial winery that actually says “no sulfates added?”

 

[JMJ_coder]

Hello,

Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University:

Another reader asked a rather technical question regarding proper matter for the sacrament.

“Some will argue that sacramental wine may not contain sulfites,” the reader wrote. “Others explain that the sulfites are not added as part of the end of the final product, but that the sulfites in sacramental wine are present because they were added while the grapes were still on the vine. Also, what is the current regulation on the percentage amount of alcohol that needs to be present in sacramental wine? Is the 11-18% alcohol regulation still in effect?”

Regarding the necessary qualities of sacramental wine, No. 50 of the instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum” states:

“The wine that is used in the most sacred celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice must be natural, from the fruit of the grape, pure and incorrupt, not mixed with other substances. … It is altogether forbidden to use wine of doubtful authenticity or provenance, for the Church requires certainty regarding the conditions necessary for the validity of the sacraments. Nor are other drinks of any kind to be admitted for any reason, as they do not constitute valid matter.”

Therefore if there is any positive doubt about the validity of any particular wine as proper sacramental matter, then it should not be used until the doubt is cleared up.

Resolving these doubts is the competence of the Pope acting through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The crux of the question posed is whether sulfites fall under the heading of “not mixed with other substances.”

(To read the rest of the article, please go to the link above.)

[Edited by Moderator]

 

[JMJ_coder]

Hello,

I would guess that what we are discussing (which is interesting) would not render the matter invalid but either illicit or doubtful. Neither of which is good but at least not outright invalid.

The amount of sulfites in wine is so low - if you had 20 gallons, about 1 teaspoon would be sulfites - I can’t imagine that it would render the wine invalid. You’re likely to have as many impurities in the wheat for the host from any number of sources.

So the only really question is licitness. Given the state of the industry and the scant few answers from the Vatican and the other replies from liturgists and Bishops - I would say unless there is a definitive statement to the contrary, that it is licit to use sulfites in the manufacture of sacramental wine.

Of course, if you want to start and apostleship to make your Parish’s sacramental wine free from all impurities, more power to you. It can be done - I have a lot of homemade sulfite-free wine. And the wine can be palatable - indeed my wines have won several awards.

 

[dailymass]

This is all great information. May I assume, from the posts, that the alcohol content must be 11-18%?

 

[kbharbert]

I asked a Lutheran minister I know why these used that sickly sweet wine and he said “people like it.” :bigyikes:

i went through rcia and confirmation at one parish and switched to a new one when i moved.
at the original parish the wine had a rather smooth taste…i believe it was a rather ‘good’ wine.
the first time i drank the Precious Blood at the new parish i nearly choked.
i have NO idea WHAT sort of wine it was but…talk about BURNING.
i thought it was just me til my grandsons religious instructor made a comment about it.
we were talking about confession and how sometimes people worry they left something out while they were with the priest.
he commented that no one need worry about it because they were ‘covered’. the communion wine ‘burned’ any sins left away.
LOL.
obviously he was joking but since the conversation was about wine i thought i’d throw that out there.

—kelly

 

[bekkee1]

Sulfites in wine are nothing new since the yeast cells during fermentation produce a small amount of sulfites and the better winemakers have made tiny additions of sulfites for many centuries. This miniscule amount of added sulfites acts as an anti-oxidant and as a yeast inhibitor which preserves the natural good condition of the wine and retards spoilage. For the information and protection of those few people who are extremely sensitive or allergic to sulfites, U.S. Federal Law, for some time now, requires that wine containing (10) or more parts per million of sulfites be labeled “contains sulfites”. This labeling requirement is mandatory for all wines produced in the U.S. The wines are the same as they were before such labeling was required. Substances that assist in making sound wine and that remain in the wine in minute traces, such as sulfites, have been and are considered by canonists and theologians to be acceptable for the Eucharist. One such approval, as reported in the Sacramentary, was the Holy Office Decree of 2nd August, 1922.