Meaning of "new wine"?

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JTB.SDG

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It's surprisingly difficult to find information on this. When Scriptures use the term "new wine", what is this talking about? Is it "young wine", that's just been recently pressed? Or is it wine of exceptional quality?
 
It's surprisingly difficult to find information on this. When Scriptures use the term "new wine", what is this talking about? Is it "young wine", that's just been recently pressed? Or is it wine of exceptional quality?
I would presume recently pressed. It hasn’t yet fermented, so will expand and if contained in an older wine skin that is already stretched out, it will tear.
 
It may possibly refer to sweet wines.
Thinking more on this.... yes new wine is sweet. It was also seasonal and according to the Jewish laws, was forbidden to be drunk until after the wine festival, which was 50 days after Pentecost or Shortly before Tabernacles.

So imagine being a Jew in that time and waiting all year for that special time when you could taste sweet, new wine. I think this would've added more meaning to Christ’s connection with new wine, particularly in connection with the feast of tabernacles and Day of atonement which triggered a restart or new beginning each year. A separation from the sins of the past year and renewal.

How we may long for the renewal of life in Christ for all eternity upon the day of the Lord.
 
I've been experimenting with making batches of mead lately.

After a month or so, I've bottled it in glass bottles, but it just keeps fermenting, not sure why. Maybe I didn't dilute the honey enough.

So I've been "gassing" the bottles from time to time to make sure they don't explode -- which apparently can happen -- if too much fermentation gas builds up inside. They open up with a loud *pop*, then I reseal them.

It's been a fun experiment and I'll let you know how it goes, but this is kind of what I understood "new wine" to be: some fermentation has occurred (which happens very rapidly when conditions are right -- just a matter of a day or two), but not enough to safely bottle in a non-flexible container. Depending on the nature of the liquid, I believe it can remain in this state for some time, already over a month in my case, and still going strong.
 
I would presume recently pressed. It hasn’t yet fermented, so will expand and if contained in an older wine skin that is already stretched out, it will tear.
I would qualify this: If grapes are recently pressed under natural circumstances, the natural yeast in the liquid will start to ferment the sugars very rapidly -- as I said, with my mead, it's within a day or two. The liquid can't be bottled too early in this process, because air is required. The yeasts need to breath and gases need to escape.

Key here is that the fermentation process has already started, but is incomplete. The beverage is genuinely an intoxicant. Only at a later stage, however, is the liquid safe to bottle and age, as the yeasts die. Or you risk an explosive mess.
 
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