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The Spirituality of Wine

by Tom Harpur

Admirers of Toronto Star religion editor and columnist Tom Harpur, particularly those drawn by the massively popular The Pagan Christ, are apt to be somewhat disappointed by his new book. Oenophiles with a spiritual bent – and space on their coffee table – are likely to be intrigued.

The Spirituality of Wine is, as the title suggests, an overview of the spiritual nature of wine (and the drinking thereof). Harpur examines the historical development of wine, its uses in religious ceremonies – for communion in the Christian tradition, for blessing in the Jewish tradition, and as a vehicle for ecstasy in the ancient Greek bacchanalian traditions – and its ancillary health benefits. He also looks at how community can be built through the sharing of wine, and the many ways that traditions can be celebrated and nurtured through the presumably judicious savouring of the grape.

There is something of a perfunctory quality to this celebration of the fruit of the vine. Harpur writes with a matter-of-fact tone that borders on the clipped, presenting observations and conclusions at such a speed as to preclude closer thought and examination. Very little is explored in depth, and too often the tone shifts into a soft-focus, New Agey spiritualism that undercuts any force the book may have accrued. In addition, the book feels like a magazine feature stretched to book length, padded with quotations from the likes of Emerson, Shakespeare, Byron, and the Bible, along with folk sayings and proverbs.

Harpur’s text is accompanied by photographs (or is it the other way around?), largely provided by wineries and image banks, that further foster the soft-focus tone of the book. As one might expect, there is much fetishization of wine and its accoutrements: dusky, buxom grapes, sparkling goblets of red, vine-covered valleys, sunsets, and stone buildings. The images are uniformly strong, but of a piece, and best enjoyed in moderation.

The same is true of the book as a whole. The Spirituality of Wine is a pleasant enough book – mellow on the palate, with a subtle nose and a light body – but the flavour lacks complexity, and leans toward a sweetness that in small servings may be welcome, but some may find cloying. A nice diversion, but one might want to think twice before cellaring it.

 

Reviewer: Q&Q Staff

Publisher: Northstone/Wood Lake Books

DETAILS

Price: $45

Page Count: 160 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 1-896836-63-1

Released: Oct.

Issue Date: 2004-12

Categories: Sports, Health & Self-help