• ‘Discerning What We Are’—At Memorial Time
    The Watchtower—1990 | February 15

    • 10. How did wine find a place in the Jewish Passover?

      10 When Moses initially outlined the Passover feast, he mentioned no beverage. Many scholars believe that wine was introduced into the Passover much later, perhaps in the second century B.C.E.b In any event, the use of wine in this meal was common in the first century, and Jesus did not object to it. He used the Passover wine when instituting the Memorial.

      11. Wine of what sort is appropriate for use during the Lord’s Evening Meal?

      11 Since the Jewish Passover occurred long after the grape harvest, Jesus would have been using, not unfermented juice, but red wine that could easily represent his blood. (Compare Revelation 14:20.)

  • ‘Discerning What We Are’—At Memorial Time
    The Watchtower—1990 | February 15

    • b One scholar offers this opinion as to why wine was added: “[The Passover] was to be no longer a solemn annual mustering of male adults; it was to become the occasion for family festivity, in which the drinking of wine found a natural place.”​—The Hebrew Passover—​From the Earliest Times to A.D. 70, by J. B. Segal.

      c From ancient times salt, egg whites, and other substances have been employed to clarify or bring out the color and taste of wine, the Romans even using sulfur as a disinfectant in wine making.