Winemaking in Ancient Israel

In their campaign to demonize alcohol consumption, American temperance reformers of the 19th century reinterpreted the Bible to portray Jesus and ancient Jews as teetotalers. This was clearly historical revisionism, and it ignored just how central wine drinking was and still is to the Jewish faith. In this illustrated examination of winemaking in ancient Israel, author Garrett Peck takes the reader back to ancient days to explain how the Jews made their wine on crush pads and goat skins. He ties in the agrarian cycle with the harvest pilgrimages to Jerusalem such as Passover, during which Jesus was executed. Wine was not only necessary to celebrate Judaism and the rites of Christianity, it was more importantly a staple of life to the ancient Israelites.