Members of the Altar Guild gather around Elizabeth King, their President, who holds the winning wine which was suggested by Dawn and Dave Nicholson. From left to right: Dawn Nicholson, Dave Nicholson, Lisa Boate, Jovia Namugenyi, John Montgomery, Elizabeth King, Adèle Miles, Karen Lemanski, Esther Sizeland, Kate Beale
By John E. Montgomery
EVER SINCE the first Eucharist, wine has been an essential component in the preparations for the Lord’s Supper. Up until now St. James Westminster has been using Cribari Altar Wine from California. The Altar Guild thought it was time to change that.
Why the change?
The major motivating factor was the recent change in Canada-US trade relations. It is not easy to watch what is happening in the US and sit by and do nothing. In Ontario we produce so much great wine we felt that ‘buy local’ was the best option. St. James Westminster is embracing a buy Canada policy to strengthen its own resolve to promote love and loyalty for our country Canada.
But what kind of wine?
Sacramental wine is bottled under the guidance of church officials who on behalf of a church or bishop give a certificate.
Sacramental wine is produced “ex genimine vitis” (from fruit of grapes) following ancient canonical rules with their origin in the text of the Gospel (Matthew 26:29). (Source: The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion- Lawrence Feingold.) Those rules ensure the purity of sacramental wine. With increased Canadian regulation in the bottling of wine in Canada and around the world there is less concern these days over purity.
Anglican churches often use natural grape wine from appropriate ecclesiastical suppliers. Due to increased regulation generally in food and beverage handling, more and more individual churches do not see the necessity of having specially bottled wine for church purposes. There is only the need to have policies and habits in place to make sure the wine doesn’t spoil when a bottle is opened.
So, how did we choose the wine?
Often, parishioners have very little say in what kind of communion wine they drink. The Altar Guild felt that as St. James parishioners were the ones consuming the wine why not get their input. To do that, in September with Rev. Michael Bruce’s agreement, we set up a wine tasting for the congregation between services one Sunday.
We chose two wines for the tasting and parishioners, Dave and Dawn Nicholson, suggested a third. The tasting didn’t require a refined palate. Parishioners simply sampled the three wines and gave their own personal preference. Even those who knew nothing about wine were surprised they could pick a favourite. In the end most agreed on one of the wines. In fact, there was over 75% agreement.
What did we end up choosing?
We chose Open Smooth Red, an off-dry Canadian red wine blend. The LCBO describes it as having “fruit flavours like cherry and raspberry, with notes of cocoa and spice, and soft tannins.”
We had fun making what we believe is an important change in our common eucharistic life. We are supporting local, reducing our carbon footprint, and in some small way standing up for justice in God’s world.
John E. Montgomery MDiv MTS is a St. James Westminster parishioner.