The holy sacrifice of the Eucharist must be celebrated in bread and wine, to which a small quantity of water is added, as per the present Code of Canon Law. The wine used must be natural, from the fruit of the grape, pure and incorrupt, and not mixed with other substances.

"Wine represents the blood of Christ. And there is a reason wine is mixed with water during Eucharist because during the death of Jesus on the Cross the soldiers pierced his sides, and blood and water gushed out," said one Catholic believer.

Read More

The operation concentrated on three businesses in the eastern Canadian province that distribute sacramental wine to churches.

At issue was a longstanding, tacit agreement between the wine suppliers and the provincial government. Police now say the agreement is illegal.

The sale of alcoholic beverages in Quebec is handled almost exclusively by the province's liquor control board, the Société des Alcools du Québec (SAQ).

Police suspected that the distributors of the communion wine were selling their product illegally to individuals.

To ascertain this, they used agents posing as clients in charge of parishes.

"I was asked: is this for liturgical use? And I confirmed that it was," Jacques Laroche, owner of La Procure Ecclésiastique, a religious goods store, told La Presse.

In the absence of further verification, the police seized the bottles of altar wine.

"This is an attempt to prevent the practice of religious worship," Laroche said.

The vast majority of altar wine in Quebec is imported from two California manufacturers.

To circumvent the SAQ monopoly, the merchants have used licenses and warehouses located in the neighbouring provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick.

But Quebec authorities seem intent on putting an end to this system.

"The SAQ chose to become the supplier of altar wine," announced Pierre Murray, the priest who serves as the AECQ secretary general.

The Société des Alcools du Québec must now select wines that meet Rome's criteria for use at the Eucharist and avoid a shortage.

The wine must be natural and uncorrupted; that is, not mixed with sugar or other substances.

Msgr. Murray believes the issue could be resolved quickly since the SAQ may already have wines that could be suitable for worship, especially in its natural wine selections.

The Archdiocese of Quebec said it does not envision a shortage for now, as parishes still have stocks. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic "is reducing the need for Mass wine these days," explained the director of communications, Valerie Roberge-Dion.

Sources

La Croix International

Catholic News

It sort of still does.

In 1995 the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference decided that, "Given the more frequent practice of Holy Communion under both kinds, it seems opportune to assure priests that it is no longer necessary always to use 'ecclesiastically approved' wine".

A widespread practice developed using table wines purchased in supermarkets and liquor outlets for use in the Eucharist.

The Bishops did not say that all wines can be used.

Caulton urged

After seeking advice from the New Zealand Wine Institute, in 1993 Canon Lawyer Fr Michael O'Dea concluded that in general, most New Zealand table wines fitted the canonical criteria.

However, Fr O'Dea warned, because of possible additives there is a need to be cautious, especially about the use of cask wine.

He noted, altar wine must be the pure fermented juice of the grape, and, for example, Port and Sherry, cannot be used.

Today, Mission Estate's winemaker Paul Mooney broadens the caution.

He says a wide variety of additives may be used during the process of winemaking in New Zealand; concluding some wines possibly do not fit the canonical criteria.

Letter from Rome

A recent letter to Bishops from the Vatican department responsible for the sacraments asked all bishops to "watch over the quality of the bread and wine to be used at the Eucharist and also those who prepare these materials."

The letter was simply a reminder to bishops; a call to vigilance.

It established no new criteria.

For many years in New Zealand much of the wine used for sacramental purposes was made by Mission Vineyards in Hawkes Bay.

Established in the 1850's the Mission produced table wine for the French fathers and brothers, and altar wine for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Some 170 years on Mission Estate Winery now sells its table wine, but still provides a reasonably priced altar wine which is somewhat sweet through the presence of residual sugar and 'stable' for at least a week after opening.

Mooney says the Mission's altar wine sales suffered as a result of the change in policy made in the 1990's.

However in a statement to CathNews, he said Mission has checked its processes with the Vatican and obtained approval for any additives used in its winemaking.

He says that if people want to be sure about the validity of the wine they use for the Eucharist they can confidently use Mission Altar wine.

Source

• Supplied: NZCBC. Paul Mooney
• Image: Te Ara