"The Soul of Wine" (Gisela H. Kreglinger)

TITLE: The Soul of Wine: Savoring the Goodness of God
AUTHOR: Gisela H. Kreglinger
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2019, (144 pages).

What has wine got to do with God and spirituality? How does wine appreciation and faith matters relate to each other? What is the soul of wine? Author and wine-lover Gisela Kreglinger leads us through the vineyard of spirituality to connect the beauty of God's creation of wine to the profound meaning behind God's intent, purpose, and goodness. Instead of letting spirituality speak into the world of fine wine, Kreglinger goes the other direction to let wine speak to us about spirituality. Jews believe wines gladden their hearts. Many cultures throughout the world hold wines in a special albeit with a mysterious awe. Going back to the Bible, we learn about Jesus's encounters with wine. From the wedding at Cana where He turned water into wine; to the Last Supper where He served his disciples with bread and wine. Even the apostle Paul mentions wine for medicinal purposes. There is also a lot that we can learn about wine itself. It not only reveals God to us, it leads us to God's gifts for us. This is what the author aims to do: "help us rediscover wine as a spiritual and cultural gift." We need to sip it bit by bit in order to savour the goodness of the colour, the smell, the taste, and the overall experience. This cannot be rushed. When we are thirsty, we often gulp down a glass of water. Sometimes we do the same with wine. This reduces wine to simply a liquid to be swallowed instead of a gift to be savoured. This is the author's second book on wine and faith matters. Her first was "The Spirituality of Wine" which links the whole process of wine-making, wine-tasting, and wine-drinking, with the ordinary things in life. This book continues that orientation but with a more personalized focus on God and His desire to reach out and touch us. Her thesis is this: "Wine is an affair of the heart. Savoring wine can and should be an affair of the heart where we are moved and touched and elevated." This affair is essentially about God reaching out to us. Thus, this book goes beyond mere spirituality toward an encounter with God. How does wine teach us this? Kreglinger describes this in 14 chapters. I like to mention a few highlights.


Firstly, wine is a mystery to behold rather than a puzzle to be solved. This marvel and wonder will sustain our connection with the Creator and Divine Being. Just like people are not to be treated as a problem to be solved or a a means to an end, we need to learn to enjoy God for who He is instead of what we make Him to be. This constant back-and-forth is what the author tries her best to do throughout the book. Kreglinger says it well, that many people reduces wine appreciation to a matter of good/bad; right/wrong; or some binary decision making. It is like saying appreciating wine is not exactly a science but an art. Truth is, wine is more than that. Wine invites us to taste for ourselves whether we like the texture or not. It teaches us to appreciate the history, the story, the narrative of the creation of wine. We need to learn to be comfortable with mystery instead of constantly trying to apply exact science into the art of drinking wine. Once we are able to be comfortable with that, we are on the way to appreciating life for what it is, instead of seeing life as a problem or puzzle to be solved. Learning to behold the beauty of wine helps us appreciate the beauty of one another. Perhaps, this can be applied to our relationships too. That we learn to pace ourselves with one another patiently and freely without being bounded by schedules or time constraints. Spirituality is about being involved to treat one another as persons rather than machines.

Secondly, we learn about how wine connects us to a whole potpourri of food and celebration. It not only adds to the menu. It enhances the enjoyment. Wine is to be savoured and this attitude pushes back against our culture of fast-food and quick meals. We need to resist the temptation to rush our food and eating. It can also bring about stress release. Kreglinger brilliantly connects wine with making peace, and making peace with prayer. Wine is used to understand how God "kisses humanity" when the wine-lover becomes motivated to find out more about the history until the passion for wine turns into love for God. In turn, one realizes that God had been there loving us all along! Wine is also a great companion to food in the sense that it elevates the enjoyment of food. Sip instead of gulping. Eat instead of gobbling. Savour instead of rushing. For relationships are not to be straitjacketed into what we want it to be. They are to be nourished and nurtured into letting us be who we are created to be. Kreglinger notes how the very act of eating and drinking has become a battleground against overeating, against indulgence, against gluttony or drunkenness, and against corrupting the gifts of God.

Thirdly, any topic about the soul of anything inevitably leads to a bare vulnerability about ourselves. Like how God makes himself vulnerable via the full revelation in Christ, we learn how wine opens up ourselves for conversations and for honest friendships. She notes how many modern marriages had broken down due to the inability of couples to bridge their differences. Amazingly, wine is seen as that go-between to increase the middle space for couples to relate better. Physically, it enhances sexuality. Relationally, it stimulates conversations. Spiritually, it sustains appreciation for each other instead of mere using the other for one's ends. Taking inspiration from the Songs of Songs, Kreglinger notes the interesting "smack in the middle of the Bible" as a literary tool to understand this bridge. Eventually, we sees how passion for wine turns into intermingling of passions for God and for one another.

Like her first book, apart from the bits of wine appreciation tips scattered throughout the book, there is a chapter of discussion questions and formal wine-tasting lesson. The premise is clear. We appreciate wine because God had blessed us with the gift of wine. Wine is precious in the Old Testament. Relationships are enhanced through the enjoyment of wine. Jesus turned water into wine. The Holy Eucharist had wine as a major element on the table. These and much more affirm the place of wine biblically. We ought to do the same. This book is the most personal and deepest expression of the author's love for wine and God.

Gisela Kreglinger grew up in a family-owned winery in Franconia, Germany. She has a deep passion for all things spiritual and especially anything that is wine-related. She holds a PhD in historical theology from the University of St Andrews.

Rating: 4.75 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.