| | Spirituality Of Wine |  | Author: Tom Harpur
Publisher: Northstone Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $33.00
Buy New: $21.53
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 209731
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 158
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 8.7 x 0.8
ISBN: 1896836631
Dewey Decimal Number: 204
EAN: 9781896836638
ASIN: 1896836631
Publication Date: July 26, 2004
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| Customer Reviews:
 High spirits January 19, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
When I first received this book, I showed it to a friend as I pulled it out the box, and she took it and couldn't put it down. Every turn of the page generated another 'OOO!' and 'AAHH!' Visually, this is a breath-taking book. The photographs generously scattered throughout the text give a sense in images of the richness of the tastes and smells of the wines being discussed. Every page is a glossy, full-colour process piece, with colours, fonts and backgrounds that complement the subject matter gracefully.
The visual impact of the book is matched by the wonderful flow of the narrative text - in this book, Harpur explores the history of wine and winemaking, drawing in elements of art, cuisine, technology, and spirituality. Wine has long been a staple in the celebrations and ceremonies of many different religions; the cultivation of Christianity around the world for many centuries coincided with the cultivation of vineyards. 'No other agricultural pursuit from the dawn of time has more truly portrayed, and at the same time sacramentally conveyed, the essence of the deepest spiritual realities of our lives.'
Harpur likens the cycle of winemaking with the cycle of life (and quotes both Julia Child and Robert Fuller in a similar vein). Harpur also shows a connection with the earth, with the sun, and with each other through the mode of wine. He draws on quotations from a vast number of sources (theological sources are but one; these include Wesley, Tillich, Calvin, John Chrysostom, the Talmud, and others). Harpur at the same time is very personal in his approach to the subject - it both begins and ends with his own experiences, including his memory of his first sip of wine, and his first trip to the Bordeaux region of France.
Harpur also includes anecdotal stories of the medicinal qualities of wine, both in the past and in his own past. The connection of the health-ful and the spiritual in various ways no doubt contributed to the connection of mystical and spiritual significance to wine as well.
Continuing in the personal manner, Harpur draws a lot his Canadian experience into the picture. Without neglecting other parts of the world, he does give a special nod to stories set in and about Canada (as befits Harpur's role as one of the better-known spiritual authors in Canada).
This is a wonderful book, one that makes a great gift and as great treat for oneself.
 An Interesting Slant on the Topic of Wine November 2, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tom Harpur approaches the topic of wine from a very Canadian and spiritual background. He's written many books and is a regular contributor to newspapers and television programs on topics of spirituality. The book is nicely put together with glossy pages (meant to look like parchment) full of photographs and insightful wine quotes from sources such as the bible, Winston Churchill, and an array of wine personalities. Harpur examines the very personal, and he would argue spiritual, relationship people have with wine and examines that relationship from ancient times right through to present day Canada. I feel the book is misfocused by trying to establish a universal link between wine and spirituality on the one hand while turning too much to the Canadian experience for examples and historical accounts. I think someone writing about this relationship from a wine background would have written a very different book and would probably have focused less on Canada and more on the chronological emergence of wine worldwide to show the development of the link with spirituality. I think that book would have made a stronger argument to the links Harpur describes without jumping to the Canadian experience so quickly. It's an interesting read with a nice presentation nonetheless.
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