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Title: test
Location: test
Description: test
Start Time: 02:30
Date: 2008-09-30
End Time: 08:30
The Cana Story Re-told
Wine and Weddings: The Cana Story Re-told
By Larry Adams, Bowen Island, BC
Gospel of John 2:1-11:
A wedding took place in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus and His disciples had been invited as well.
When the supply of wine ran short, Jesus’ mother told Him, “They have run out of wine.”
“Dear woman, why should that concern us?” Jesus asked. “My time has not yet come.”
His mother told the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
Six stone waterpots were there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold 75 to 110 litres.
Jesus told the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them to the brim.
Then He said, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
The servants did this. When the master of the banquet tasted the water that had become wine (he did not know where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom over and said, “It is customary to serve the finest wine first, and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have kept the best till now!”
This miracle in Cana of Galilee was the first sign that Jesus gave, the first glimpse of His glory. And His disciples believed in Him.
A thin cloud cloaks the moon, and the olive grove darkens. Only the more determined stars can be seen as softened halos, the rest eclipsed entirely. Your prayer shawl is barely discernible.
Stay here, and watch with Me.
I remember the first miracle we saw You perform. There were many special miracles, but this one started us thinking about You as the Messiah.
You had been invited to the wedding of Your cousin in Cana. The families of both the bride and groom were relatively poor, so only close relatives and a few friends made up the guests invited to celebrate each evening in the groom’s house for seven days. Your growing reputation enhanced their guest list. And You brought along the six of us who had begun to follow You.
On the fifth evening, having washed our hands and feet according to the purification rituals, we were reclining at the couches to which we had been directed by the master of ceremonies, one of the groom’s uncles whose wit and charm had enlivened the feasting. Though thin, the man was anything but ascetic. His beard was full, his face etched by frequent laughter. He arranged the guests in different groupings each evening. I was beginning to feel relaxed with these people.
That evening I was at a couch with You, John, and two other guests. The food was being served, the wine poured. Shadows cast by the oil lamps capered on the stone walls. An aunt was recounting a story of the bride as a young girl.
I glanced at the couch where the wedding party and rabbi were reclining under the chuppa embroidered in gold and silver. The bride was obviously happy about her parents’ choice of husband for her. She laughed at the story her aunt told - we all laughed. But the bride’s laughter was brittle. There were traces of strain in her face and bearing which had not been present the previous evenings. The groom also seemed a little subdued.
Your mother came over to our couch and whispered so low that I could barely hear her. “They?re running out of wine.” Her eyes and body tension relayed her concern. Social shame came with the inability to demonstrate hospitality at a wedding feast. And we were only five nights into the feasting! Apparently there were too many guests for the resources of the two families, and soon it would become apparent to everyone that the guest list could not be served by the amount of wine they had. What an embarrassing way for the young couple to start married life!
“Dear woman,” You whispered back. “What is that to you or Me? My time has not yet come.”
Mary, what were you expecting? You had pondered long the nature of your son. It was widely believed that the Messiah would perform miracles to demonstrate His calling. Was that why you thought your son might do something to help? Or did you think that by bringing six extra guests He had contributed to the problem and as a relative should try to help with a solution?
Gesturing toward You, Mary told the two servants dishing out food and pouring wine, “Do whatever He tells you.” The servants nodded. She returned to her place.
You were quiet for awhile, lost in thought (and now I understand, in prayer). Then You got up, and beckoned for John and me to follow. You asked me to fetch the other four disciples. We all went into the hallway.
One of the servants was hurrying by to serve another couch. You asked him to stop and call the other servant. I could sense the man’s frustration, even though he nodded politely and brought his co-worker.
In the hall stood six stone waterpots which we all had used to wash our hands and feet before entering the room where the banquet was being held. The waterpots varied in size, holding between 75 and 110 litres each.
“Fill the waterpots with water,” You told the servants. They filled them to the brim.
“Now draw some out and take it to the master of ceremonies,” You commanded. They looked puzzled, wondering why You would ask them to take a jug of water to the emcee. But they obeyed.
We all returned to our couches, and watched as one of the servants placed the jug of water in front of the master of ceremonies. The groom’s uncle looked into the jug, and then drained what was left in his cup.
He poured - wait! That didn’t look like water! No, it was darker. And he poured it right into his wine cup. He took a sip, and his eyebrows lifted. He took another sip, letting the wine roll slowly along his tongue, savouring it. He glanced quizzically at the wedding party.
The servant behind him was looking at the jug with wrinkled brow. Turning toward the servant, the master of ceremonies whispered something in his ear. The servant went to the groom, and asked him to join the master of ceremonies in a corner of the room.
The groom’s uncle exclaimed, “This tastes like the very best grape aged perfectly! It’s customary for the finest wine to be served first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now!”
“What?” the groom asked in surprise.
“Well, have a taste,” the uncle said.
They both returned to the couch where the master of ceremonies had been reclining. The groom sipped from his uncle’s cup. And sipped again.
“Where did this come from?” he asked amazed.
The servant pointed at You as he explained what had happened. He took the groom and master of ceremonies into the hall and showed them the six stone waterpots brimming with wine then, not water. Over 600 litres of the best wine anyone at the banquet had tasted!
The merriment that night was infectious. The dancing was energetic. Everyone got caught up in the exuberance of the bride and groom who had not only enough wine to last the remainder of the feast, but well into their marriage. Such was Your generous gift to them.
And we, Your disciples, saw the first rays of a glory through which You would convince us eventually that You are the Messiah.
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It seems appropriate to include this short story of Larry’s in the section “Friends” on this wine website as Larry has been a close friend of mine for almost 20 years now. This story was originally self-published under the title: “Jesus, You Make All Things New” in a Lenten reading guide for a small group of his friends. Doug Reichel.
Our Beginnings…
Some background to the Doug Reichel Wine Marketing Inc.
Growing up in a typical prairie village was a privilege. At the closing ceremonies of Saskatchewan Centennial Homecoming in that village I had the privilege of highlighting some of those privileges as I reflected on growing up in that setting- if you’re interested the text of my address on that ocassion is found here.
Wine and social change
My early experience growing up in small town Saskatchewan was one of complete abstinence from alcohol because it offered no apparent benefits that I could see. One of the features of growing up in the Prairies was (and still is in many areas) a drink-up weekend activity for a number of people - usually the beer, hard liquor and the “Kool-Aid-with-buzz” variety of drinks. Headaches, smashed cars and endless stories of drink related escapades were common. On the extreme side, news of three students my age from a neighbouring town dieing in a messy drink-related car accident, two teenagers from a different near-by town dieing in another drink-related accident helped clinch my determination not to drink. Probably a good thing in that context.
It wasn’t until I completed my undergraduate degree in theology and then lived in South Africa for 8 years that I began to hang out with people who used alcohol - some beer, but mostly wine - in very life and friendship affirming ways: with friends, food and often in the context of some minor and major celebrations. Then when my wife and I returned with our young family to Vancouver, Canada for graduate studies, we were part of a study environment and church where this pattern alcohol-use was replicated: friends, food and good wine. Ditto when, after my studies, we moved to New Zealand for two years: friends, food and wine. Celebration, taste-sensory alertness and delight in the small and large blessings of life (do not read that as middle-upper class financial security) were our expanding experience around wine.
It was in conversation with a one-time lawyer and New Zealand friend we got chatting about the similarities between our countries and he made an interesting observation: Like Canada, New Zealand and Australia were very much pioneering cultures for much of the past 150 years and all had hard drinking backgrounds - perhaps something instinctively done to escape or socialize in an environment of limited entertainment options. He then went on to note that where wine had begun to become the drink of preference, social attitudes and norms began to change quite dramatically - as in New Zealand where grape growing and wine consumption has rapidly become part of the new cultural fabric in the last 20 years. Gender inclusiveness, alcohol related violence, the tone and tenure of social gatherings and parties, restaurant culinary excellence were all positively affected by more pervasive wine consumption. It is interesting to note that my home province of Saskatchewan has per capita the highest alcoholism and lowest wine consumption in Canada.
Wine and raising our children
In my studies I found it instructive that Jesus Christ’s public work was book-ended by wine: at the request of his mother he replenished wine at a wedding where the supplies were running low thus commencing his ministry among people, and then the serving of wine and bread to a small group of his followers as an important sign of the culminating of his work on the night he was betrayed and later killed. Perhaps one of the most hope-filled parts of the Bible speaks of wine served in a feast prepared by God for the all the oppressed and poverty wracked.
On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine
-the best of food and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.
In a sense, Catherine and I came to appreciate wine in the finest, most wholesome way for neither of us had any alcoholic baggage. As a couple, we wanted our three very alert children to observe the use of alcohol and the world of wine in our home in ways that would model life and celebration, not escape or paranoia. We wanted them to observe a pattern of positive alcohol consumption that I think is implied throughout the Bible where wine is usually enjoyed with others in the context of shared life and celebration. What could be a better deterrent to the binge, loneliness-numbing excessiveness of so much teenage drinking? So we resolved early in our wine explorations that we would never open a bottle of wine or drink when there was tension in the home. Given the crap that comes with being human, I promise you that this resolve was tested often. But all these years later we’re continuing to enjoy wine and food and friends and we’re seeing our children pay attention to aromas and flavours in wine, food and wine matches, and generally witness good things happening around that bottle of wine at the evening meal table.
Farmers and Artists
I guess it was only natural that I should want to start a company around the idea of wine - good wine. And it’s my prairie roots that have really helped me appreciate something of the agricultural rootedness of this business. Growing up in rural areas means that you learn an attentiveness to the land, the soil and how the seasons affect that land. You can do a lot with modern farming practises, but arrogance is necessarily kept at bay because you finally are at the mercy of the weather. Good wine is about the juxtaposition of farming and art. Javier de Paredes of Torreon de Paredes Winery in Chile says it well, Winemaking is about four things: the climate, the soil, the grapes and people. We are only farmers. We can only make good wine if we have good grapes and proper growing conditions. See CJ Katzs interview with Javier, Values Reign in an Age of McWine, and my conversation with Kurt Ammann.
What are your thoughts on wine and food and friends and society and raising children and farming? Please write us at info@finewinessask.com These are some of mine. Enjoy our wines.
Doug Reichel
Doug Reichel Wine Marketing Inc.
www.FineWinesSask.com
CAPE JAFFA WINES CERTIFICATION
Biodynamic fruit and certified to boot!
Cape Jaffa Wines’ vineyard achieves full biodynamic certification MOUNT BENSON ? 9 April 2008: Mount Benson’s founding winery and pioneer in biodynamic winegrowing on the Limestone Coast Cape Jaffa Wines (www.capejaffawines.com.au) has completed requirements to become one of South Australia’s largest fully-certified biodynamic winegrowers, a process some four years in the making.
The certification granted by Australian Certified Organic (ACO) sees Cape Jaffa Wines’ entire vineyard become a fully-certified biodynamic operation. This consists of a biodynamic producer certification for the vineyard as well as an organic processor certification for its winery.
The Mount Benson operation is only one of a select few wineries in the state that have decided to go through the certification process.
“Cape Jaffa’s decision to become certified was one largely based on our commitment to consumers. There’s a lot of confusion surrounding biodynamic farming and we’re hoping to change that,” says general manager Derek Hooper.
“A lot of overseas markets don’t allow products to be labelled or marketed as organic or biodynamic unless they are certified, and it’s likely that Australia will follow suit and tighten their own regulations sooner rather than later.”
The ACO accreditation validates Cape Jaffa’s commitment to biodynamic vineyard management which has been developing over the last 12 years, and this year a certified product line will be released.
Biodynamic vineyard management is an advanced form of organic farming based on the idea of the farm as a self-sustaining organism. Growing using biodynamic practices from a winemaker’s point of view means the wine created bears a close relationship to the soil and climate that it is grown in, and therefore expresses the true regionality of where it is grown.
CAPE JAFFA WINES established in 1993 pioneered organic and biodynamic winegrowing in Mount Benson, South Australia. It is committed to growing regionally distinctive fruit and producing wines that are a true reflection of its unique site. The Cape Jaffa philosophy is to tread lightly through its environment, use biodynamic techniques to manage the vineyard and employ sustainable practices in the winery that minimise environmental impact.