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Originally Posted by victorbravo  As much as I respect Laird Harris (I learned Hebrew from his work), I think he doesn't know much about oenology (winemaking).
One type of wine I make is completely natural, using grapes and native yeasts (found naturally on the grapes), nothing else. The ending alcohol content is between 10% and 12%.
The alcohol content of most wines is almost completely dependent on the sugar level of the grapes. That depends upon growing conditions. In warm climates it is easy to get a high sugar level.
Some wines that end up being stronger than 12% use a variety of yeast developed for higher levels, but native yeast does just fine up to 12%.
Mr. Harris may also have been talking about fortified wines, which do use added alcohol. But most wine is not fortified and is the same strength as one could expect from a good grape crop in a warm climate, even 2000 years ago. |
I have made many (hundreds) of gallons of wine and beer. As well as *ahem* reading about (thats right everthing I know about the distilation process I learned from books) distillation.
The key to alcohol content is sugar. Yeast is a living organism that "eats" sugar. This produces 2 by products, Alcohol and CO2 (fizzzy bubles).
Alcohol levels of 12 % (or more!) are entirely natural. It requires NO outside manipulation or "fortification". This level of alcohol will cause drunkeness if consumed to excess. Heck, we have all seen guys knee-walking drunk on coors lite. That has a level of around 4%.
So unless the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD changed the fundamental laws of the universe, something not even the most radical full-preterist would claim, then these claims are so much nonesense. Any person who claims that "bible wine" has a lower alcohol content is ignorant. Any person who repeats it after having it explained is lying or a flat-earth type of crank.