🍷 Eucharist

The Eucharist is a Christian sacrament with bread and wine. It recalls the Last Supper, Jesus's final meal with his disciples. The word comes from Greek and means thanksgiving. Other names are communion and Holy Communion. The rite exists among Catholics, Orthodox and many Protestants, though they understand it differently.

In the rite, wine symbolises the blood of Christ. So for centuries the church needed wine, and it had to be made. In many countries monasteries took care of it: monks planted vineyards and kept winemaking knowledge alive. This created the link between church and wine in Europe, for example in Burgundy and Germany.

The Eucharist is tied to wine and to history. During Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933) the sale of alcohol was banned, but wine for communion was allowed and churches kept receiving it. Wine for the rite is called sacramental wine.