Editorial

Viticultura para a Alma

Editorial

“Red, red wine, go to my head, make me forget that I still need her so” – Neil Diamond.

Não existem registos escritos, mas o vinho tinto tem vindo a ser produzido há milhares de anos. O indício de vinho mais antigo vem da China Antiga (7000 a.C.), Pérsia (5000 a.C.) e Itália (4000 a.C.) (Wikipédia).

Desde a prensagem das uvas com os pés até à prensa mecânica, o vinho percorreu um longo caminho desde os tempos antigos até à indústria moderna que conhecemos hoje. As uvas ainda crescem nas videiras – de diferentes variedades para acomodar variados paladares, desde os consumidores mais exigentes aos aficionados da culinária. Os verdadeiros conhecedores de vinho muitas vezes vão a extremos para experienciar a singularidade dos vinhos, que têm várias partes do mundo como origem, muitas vezes gastando centenas de milhares de dólares numa única garrafa de vinho. Em 2018, uma garrafa de Burgundy francês foi vendida por $558,000.00.

Viticultura para a Alma-editorial-mileniosatdium
Cartoon by Stella Jurgen

Ao longo da Bíblia, o vinho tem também vindo a ser utilizado como um símbolo de julgamento e bênção. Inclusive, Jesus transformou a água em vinho e insiste que os padres, na religião católica, bebam vinho durante a missa. A visão dos cristãos sobre o álcool varia. A Bíblia e a tradição cristã ensinam que o álcool é um presente de Deus que torna a vida mais alegre, mas o consumo excessivo que conduz à embriaguez é um pecado. Já para não falar das dores de cabeça do dia seguinte. Tudo isto para dizer que o vinho tem um lugar especial na sociedade. Uma boa garrafa de vinho pode transportá-lo/a de volta a um dos seus locais favoritos, a uma ocasião especial ou a momento romântico num local onde os efeitos do amor mudaram a sua vida para sempre. Não existe outra bebida que tenha o potencial de cativar e criar uma discussão como o vinho tem. Com o aproximar do outono e o regresso das crianças à escola, o alento de uma sociedade normalizada envolve as nossas vidas com a esperança de que melhores tempos se avizinham. Será que as nossas vidas continuarão a ser obstruídas pela contínua  ameaça de uma pandemia, que nos levará a continuar a beber de forma excessiva? Talvez, mas está na altura de regular os nossos corpos e mentes com saúde, comida, exercício e claro, vinho.

Esta pandemia tem-nos feito cair psicologicamente muitas vezes, mas é importante que nos continuemos a levantar.

São muitos os que estão a preparar os seus barris para fazer o seu vinho caseiro, sendo um ritual que muitos europeus trouxeram para o Canadá há já vários anos. Pessoalmente, era uma rotina esperada pelo meu pai todos os setembros, a tradicional visita à quinta para a apanha da uva já fazia parte do calendário, seguindo-se o esmagamento das uvas e a prensagem das cascas até que não houvesse mais vida nelas. Este procedimento carregava uma conotação cerimonial e religiosa onde o processo de fabricação do vinho era amorosamente concluído pelo meu pai. Eu odiava cada minuto porque eu via o processo de forma diferente do meu pai, que não via a hora de levar aquele primeiro copo de vinho aos lábios. O consumo de vinho no Canadá segue preferências baseadas na idade e na etnia. A nossa indústria de vinho canadiano ainda carrega o desígnio de produzir vinhos inferiores e mais dispendiosos, sendo uma ideia que não corresponde à verdade. Muitos de descendência portuguesa ainda preferem os vinhos de Portugal, o que poderá ser justificado, mas a nível de valor as pessoas pagam excessivamente porque os vendedores compram barato e vendem caro, principalmente os vinhos de valor mais baixo. As barreiras no transporte interprovincial de vinhos pelas províncias canadianas criam obstáculos quando as pessoas querem transportar vinho de uma província para a outra. Apenas BC, Manitoba e Nova Scotia permitem que o vinho seja enviado de outro lugar para consumo pessoal. Caso contrário, todas as bebidas alcoólicas devem ser enviadas para o Conselho de Controlo de Bebidas da Província. Este é um sistema negativo que afeta financeiramente a indústria.

Deguste o seu vinho de forma responsável e escolha um bom vinho para beber. É um dos poucos prazeres que ainda temos, que conforta uma mente cansada e é uma celebração dos vários esforços necessários para colocar aquele vinho no nosso copo.

“Red, red wine, stay close to me, don’t let me be alone, it’s tearing me apart, my blue, blue heart” (ND).

(tinto, vinho tinto, fica perto de mim, não me deixes sozinho, está-me a despedaçar, o meu azul, coração azul)

Brindemos. Fique bem.

Manuel DaCosta


versão em português

Viticulture for the Soul

“Red, red wine, go to my head, make me forget that I still need her so” – Neil Diamond.

There were no written records, but wine has been produced for thousands of years.  The earliest evidence of wine is from ancient China (c. 7000 BC), Georgia (6000 BC), Persia (5000 BC) and Italy (4000 BC) (Wikipedia).

“Red, red wine, go to my head, make me forget that I still need her so” – Neil Diamond. There were no written records, but wine has been produced for thousands of years.  The earliest evidence of wine is from ancient China (c. 7000 BC), Georgia (6000 BC), Persia (5000 BC) and Italy (4000 BC) (Wikipedia). From pressing grapes by foot to machine press, wine has come a long way from ancient times to the modern industry that is know today. Grapes are still grown from vines of different varieties to accommodate various tastes from discerning wine drinkers and for culinary afficionados.  The true connoisseurs of wine often go to extraordinary lengths to experience the uniqueness of wines, which originate from many parts of the world, often spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a bottle of wine.  In 2018, a bottle of French Burgundy was sold for $ 558,000.00. Wine has also been used as a symbol of judgement and blessing throughout the Bible.  Jesus even turned water into wine and insists that priests in the catholic religion drink wine during mass.  Christians views on alcohol are varied.  The Bible and Christian tradition taught that alcohol is a gift from God that make life more joyous, but that overindulging leading to drunkenness is a sin.  Not to speak of the headaches next day.  This all to say that wine holds a special place in society.  A good bottle of wine can transport you back to a favourite place, a special occasion or a romantic moment in a spot where the effects of love changed your life forever.  No other drink has the potential to captivate and create a discussion like wine does.  As autumn approaches and children return to school, the hope of a more normalized society encircles our lives with the hope of better times ahead.  Will our lives continue to be beset by the continuous threat of a pandemic, which will lead us to continue to drink excessively?  Perhaps, but it’s time to regulate our bodies and minds with health, food, exercise and of course wine.   This pandemic has made us fall psychologically many times but it’s important we keep getting up.   Many are preparing their barrels to make their home-made wine, which is a ritual many Europeans brought to Canada long ago.  Personally, it was a routine which was expected by my father every September where a traditional visit to the farm to pick grapes was always in the calendar followed by the crushing of the grapes to pressing the skins until there was no more life in them.  This procedure carried ceremonial and religious connotations where the process of wine making was lovingly completed by my father.  I hated every minute of it because I saw the process differently from my dad, who could not wait to press that first glass of vino to his lips. Wine consumption in Canada follows preferences depending on your age and ethnicity.  Our Canadian wine industry still carries connotations of producing inferior wines on the expensive side, which in an inaccurate representation.  Many of Portuguese descent still favor wines from Portugal, which may be justified, but value wise people overpay considerably because agents buy cheap and sell expensive, particularly the lower valued wines. Barriers in the interprovincial transportation of wine across Canadian provinces create hurdles for people to carry wine from one province to another.  Only BC, Manitoba and Nova Scotia permit wine to be shipped from elsewhere for personal consumption.  Otherwise, all liquor has to be consigned to provincial Liquor Control Boards.  This is a negative system which affects the industry financially. Enjoy your wine responsibly and choose good wine to drink.  It’s one of few pleasures that we still have which comforts a tired mind and is a celebration of the many efforts it takes to put that wine in your glass. “Red, red wine, stay close to me, don’t let me be alone, it’s tearing me apart, my blue, blue heart” (ND). Cheers.  Be Well. Manuel DaCosta/MS
Cartoon by Stella Jurgen

From pressing grapes by foot to machine press, wine has come a long way from ancient times to the modern industry that is know today. Grapes are still grown from vines of different varieties to accommodate various tastes from discerning wine drinkers and for culinary afficionados.  The true connoisseurs of wine often go to extraordinary lengths to experience the uniqueness of wines, which originate from many parts of the world, often spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a bottle of wine.  In 2018, a bottle of French Burgundy was sold for $ 558,000.00.

Wine has also been used as a symbol of judgement and blessing throughout the Bible.  Jesus even turned water into wine and insists that priests in the catholic religion drink wine during mass.  Christians views on alcohol are varied.  The Bible and Christian tradition taught that alcohol is a gift from God that make life more joyous, but that overindulging leading to drunkenness is a sin.  Not to speak of the headaches next day.  This all to say that wine holds a special place in society.  A good bottle of wine can transport you back to a favourite place, a special occasion or a romantic moment in a spot where the effects of love changed your life forever.  No other drink has the potential to captivate and create a discussion like wine does.  As autumn approaches and children return to school, the hope of a more normalized society encircles our lives with the hope of better times ahead.  Will our lives continue to be beset by the continuous threat of a pandemic, which will lead us to continue to drink excessively?  Perhaps, but it’s time to regulate our bodies and minds with health, food, exercise and of course wine.   This pandemic has made us fall psychologically many times but it’s important we keep getting up. 

Many are preparing their barrels to make their home-made wine, which is a ritual many Europeans brought to Canada long ago.  Personally, it was a routine which was expected by my father every September where a traditional visit to the farm to pick grapes was always in the calendar followed by the crushing of the grapes to pressing the skins until there was no more life in them.  This procedure carried ceremonial and religious connotations where the process of wine making was lovingly completed by my father.  I hated every minute of it because I saw the process differently from my dad, who could not wait to press that first glass of vino to his lips.

Wine consumption in Canada follows preferences depending on your age and ethnicity.  Our Canadian wine industry still carries connotations of producing inferior wines on the expensive side, which in an inaccurate representation.  Many of Portuguese descent still favor wines from Portugal, which may be justified, but value wise people overpay considerably because agents buy cheap and sell expensive, particularly the lower valued wines.

Barriers in the interprovincial transportation of wine across Canadian provinces create hurdles for people to carry wine from one province to another.  Only BC, Manitoba and Nova Scotia permit wine to be shipped from elsewhere for personal consumption.  Otherwise, all liquor has to be consigned to provincial Liquor Control Boards.  This is a negative system which affects the industry financially.

Enjoy your wine responsibly and choose good wine to drink.  It’s one of few pleasures that we still have which comforts a tired mind and is a celebration of the many efforts it takes to put that wine in your glass.

“Red, red wine, stay close to me, don’t let me be alone, it’s tearing me apart, my blue, blue heart” (ND).

Cheers.  Be Well.

Manuel DaCosta/MS

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