white wine?

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blessed1:
Is it legit to use white wine for communion?
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Besides the obvious sign-value of using red wine for the Blood of Christ, there is no liturgical legislation that requires either red or white whine be used for the Consecration.
 
Is it legit to use white wine for communion?
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Theoretically, yes. But its supposed to be pure wine, and I wouldn’t know how many or which whites would qualify.

For example, Thunderbird wine doesn’t qualify as its fortified with additional alcohol.
 
Actually, I’ve read somewhere that white wine was once preferred for catechizing the people.

It was similar to giving the people the Host only. That was done, besides for practical reasons, to teach the people that the BOTH the host and the wine become the entire body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ.

Well, there was a similar reason for preferring white wine at the time. People were starting to believe that the accidents changed too, or something like that. So to make sure people didn’t believe there was visible blood in the cup, which also helped people understand that the entire Christ was in the chalice not just a pool of his disconnected blood, some used white wine.

I don’t know how widespread this practice was or how long it lasted.
 
I tried to answer this once, but as usual my server is only entering my messages accidentally with the annoying “server is unavilable please click” referesh" page".

Im’ really getting sick of my server.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago on the radio, CA, they had this question, and the choices for the licit wines for communion were:
  • red
    *white
the caller chose “red”.

The answer was “white”, which makes no sense to me because the wine I’ve ALWAYS seen used for communion is actually a Rose’, which is neither a red or a white wine.

I do not know what actual wine is used (brand, grape, etc), but I have never recieved the blood of Christ in the form of a Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio or Fume Blanc “accident”.

Is there anyone out there who can definitively answer this?
 
The proper substance to be consecrated has to be a pure wine, with no impurities. There is no specification other than its purity. That would exclude most table wines because often times because they have fruit juice, added to them before or after fermentation. Some also have different spices. There are companies that make wine specifically for consecration. Aside from being pure, they generally have a higher alcohol content as well.
 
Just to clarify: red and white wine are both acceptable as long as it is wine made from grapes and “naturally fermented” meaning that no sugar was added to “force ferment” it (this is what is done to Thunderbird to produce “extra” alcohol). Even blended wine (Red Zinfandel, for example) can be used – as long as it is naturally fermented.

Most California table wines are acceptable as they meet the requirements from Rome.

Deacon Ed
 
You know I never thought about it, I think in my whole life I have only experienced white wine and “blush” type wines, I have never seen a true red wine (cabernet, etc.) Maybe due to stain risks, laundering of the cloths that are used to wipe the chalice?
 
Deacon Ed:
Just to clarify: red and white wine are both acceptable as long as it is wine made from grapes and “naturally fermented” meaning that no sugar was added to “force ferment” it (this is what is done to Thunderbird to produce “extra” alcohol). Even blended wine (Red Zinfandel, for example) can be used – as long as it is naturally fermented.

Most California table wines are acceptable as they meet the requirements from Rome.

Deacon Ed
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Now, I could be wrong but I was under the impression that the inclusion of sulfides or other preservatives would disqualify a wine from use.
 
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mosher:
Now, I could be wrong but I was under the impression that the inclusion of sulfides or other preservatives would disqualify a wine from use.
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No, sulfides (H2S) are actually a normal part of the fermentation process (and can actually be a problem leading to the production of wine with a rotten egg smell). They are not “added” and are, therefore, acceptable. The addtion of any preservative would, of course, be invalid as it would mean that the wine is not “natural.”

Deacon Ed
 
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