FOR the ancient Greeks, drunkenness was often considered sacred, as wine was regarded as the provider of liberation and ecstasy. Early Jewish scriptures point to wine's harmful effects and suggest it was a blessing that was better kept under strict r
abbinical control, while in the Islamic empire, within ten years of the death of Mohammed, wine was banned from every country that adhered to his tenets.
Wine's long association with religious belief stretches back as far as the scriptures themselves. There are more mentions in the Bible of the vine than of any other plant, and the evolution of the Christian Eucharist draws on the ancient practice of feasting and communal eating. In the Old Testament Moses' followers' first sight of the Promised Land in Canaan was a "cluster of grapes". When Joseph translated the dreams of Pharaoh's chief house servant, he made reference to a man who had watched "the vines grow".
Jesus drank wine at the Last Supper and famously turned water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana.
But it wasn't until the early medieval period that the relationship between wine production and the Church spread across northern Europe. At that stage Britain drank more German wine than French – one presumes because quality levels were higher – but it could also point to the huge expansion of vines in the Rhineland.
The uplands of Germany, Alsace, France and Italy are today peppered with vineyards planted in the grounds of great monastic houses. Burgundy's wine-growing lineage is a case in point. Records show that Cistercian monks were making half-decent wine at Clos de Vougeot as far back as 1100. And it was a Benedictine monk, Dom Perignon, working in a cellar in northern France, who did so much to advance the production techniques of our favourite tipple: champagne.
But today Easter is as much about satisfying our genetic craving for sweetness and enjoying time with the family as it is a celebration of the Christian calendar. Easter Sunday in our house is a time for roast lamb served up with a soft right-bank Bordeaux or a Rioja such as Justerini & Brooks' 2000 Rioja Reserva, La Rioja Alta (£9.70 a bottle). Then it's on to the wall of Easter eggs.
Finding a wine to go with anything sweet can be a frustratingly difficult exercise. Hence this week's selection accompanies main courses, rather than afters. The main stumbling block is that sweet food makes sweet wine taste less sweet. For example, if you take a heavily oaked New World chardonnay that tastes a little sweet and pair it with grilled fish, it will taste slightly sweet. Put a little sauce on the fish, say a Thai red pepper number, and the wine will taste mouth-puckeringly dry.
It's even trickier with puddings. A medium-sweet wine can be written off with a very sweet pudding. I recently tasted some Canadian ice-wine that I paired with a chocolate tart. The combination worked very well. But I still haven't found a superior partner to chocolate than Californian Andrew Quady's 2005 Elysium Black Muscat (£7.50 a half-bottle, Peter Green, 0131 229 5925).
2005 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Apple Tree Flat, Logan, South Eastern Australia, 12.5%, £6.99I have recommended this before but it's such a sublime wine that, with spring upon us, I thought I must flag it up again. Pale straw in the glass, it has a super-concentrated nose of freshly cut grass, asparagus and pear. But I love the way the semillon takes the edge off the sauvignon, almost like a knob of butter plopped in the middle of the glass.
2007 Winifred Chardonnay Viognier Semillon, De Grendel, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, 13.5%, £8.99A limited release, this wine has a spring-like nose with enticing notes of young nettles and ripe, citrus flavours. The viognier adds a little bite, but on the whole the blend works and it is well worth hunting down.
2005 Château La Haute Claymore, Lussac Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux, 12.5%, £8.99The 2005s are now on the shelves and it is a good time to stock up on what was one of Bordeaux's greatest vintages. This wine has a moreish rich, ripe character that comes from merlot and cabernet franc.
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Stockist: Lockett Bros, North Berwick, East Lothian (01620 890 799, www.lockettbros.co.uk); Peter Green, Edinburgh (0131 229 5925); OddbinsThe full article contains 767 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
