In 2022 in Turkey, a bust of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was found nestled near a bust of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, both about 2,000 years old. It wasn’t a coincidence.
A marble head of Aphrodite was unearthed at the ancient Greek city of Aizanoi. Credit: Dosseman , CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia
Our civilization has paired love and wine since our civilization began. Euripides, the Greek playwright (480-406BCE), wrote, “Where there is no wine, loves perishes.” Ovid, the Roman poet (43 BCE – 17 CE) wrote: “Wine gives courage and makes men more apt to passion.” (Let’s adapt to modern sensibilities and include women too.)
The most famous coupling of wine and love is attributed to Omar Khayyam (dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia", 1048–1131) and the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, translated in 1859:
A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, A Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness—
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!
Not only poets, but also the pious praise wine. Martin Luther (German theologian, 1483-1546) wrote “He who loves not women, wine, and song, remains a fool his whole lifelong.” Without the option of amorous pursuit, Pope John XXIII (1861-1963) compared wine to his loving flock: “Men are like wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”
Even though romantic love may fade, friendship and wine endure. Irish poet Thomas Moore (1779 -1852), wrote “What though youth gave love and roses, Age still leaves us friends andwine.” A Dutch folk song tells us:
None but wine and true friendship are lasting and sure
From jealousy free and from envy secure
Then fill all the glasses until they run o’er
A friend and good wine are the charms we adore.
Still, a bulk of wisdom links wine with getting lucky, or not. This existential passage in the Rubáiyát reminds us:
And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press,
End in the Nothing all Things end in -- Yes ---
Then fancy while Thou art, Thou art but what
Thou shalt be --- Nothing --thou shalt not be less.
And English journalist Hugh Johnson(1939-) wrote: “Wine is like sex in that few men will admit to knowing nothing about it.”
Try your luck with these phrases:
Here’s to this water, wishing it were wine. Here’s to you my darling, wishing you were mine. (Anonymous)
Without bread, without wine, love is nothing. (French proverb)
In water one sees one’s own face; But in wine one beholds the heart of another." (French proverb)
Like a fine wine, our love only gets better with time. (Anonymous)
Patriots can follow this advice from American wine writer Jerry Mead (1940- ): “Drink American. Kiss French.”
And from one of our original patriots, Benjamin Franklin (polymath & founder of the United States, 1706 – 1790) comes my favorite linking of wine and love:
“Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.”
Join me on Friday, March 6 at The Chopping Block to learn How to Bluff Your Way thru Wine. You’ll learn four simple variables that determine all wine flavors, as well as wine history, wine chemistry, food pairings and practice in the tasting technique used by wine pros. It’s a must for entry-level wine drinkers and a great refresher for seasoned aficionados. Our seminar includes five international wines and tasting noshes.
