The Vine and Wine, Sacred Symbols | Jean-Francois Blondel

An amateur swirling a great vintage in his wine glass may tell you that this wine has "body." What we cannot doubt is that it has spirit. In fact, the part of the volume of an alcohol that evaporates during its aging in a barrel is called "the angel's share." Despite not being a spirit, wine is indeed spiritual. In this erudite work, Jean-François Blondel explores the symbolism associated with the vine and its juice, as well as its evolution throughout millennia and civilizations. Mediterranean mythologies and legends, Abrahamic religions, mystery societies (such as the Craftsmen and Freemasonry), as well as popular culture, have all enriched this symbolic message to give it a universal dimension. Thus, in this divine elixir, one finds the very substance of allegories conducive to the metaphysical questioning of humanity. Wine is a complex and ambiguous beverage. While it has been celebrated since ancient times for its countless therapeutic virtues and glorified for its intoxication that brought the ordinary mortal closer to the sacred, modernity has made it the unfortunate companion of the working class, and its excesses are the subject of public health struggles. Brimming with unusual anecdotes that will satisfy truth seekers as well as the curiosity of the general public, Jean-François Blondel's work questions us about the future of this invaluable heritage. The taste of wine blending so well with the love of words, the work also gives a prominent place to the analysis of language, as it contains the marks of a collective imagination with mysterious origins. In the same spirit, a collection of unusual sayings, proverbs, famous quotes, and a selection of drinking songs are recorded in the appendix.