Libations and Loopholes: Wine During Prohibition
Today, you’re legally free to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. But in 1920, your wineglass would have been filled with dust. Or would it? Prohibition, and the Volstead Act, banned the production, sale, and distribution of alcohol. Most of us think of hard liquor when we hear the word Prohibition, but what happened to wine during this period? An interesting loophole kept the nectar of the gods flowing.
Wine is delicious, even back then!
Catholic churches needed wine for Communion. The wineries producing sacramental wine were lucky as they could stay in business. However, there were a lot of rules and regulations they had to follow. Interestingly, the nation got religious: A 1925 study found that the demand for sacramental wine increased by 800,000 gallons in two years! But many wineries didn’t produce wine for churches and were forced to close. Others stayed in business by switching their product to non-alcoholic beverages, grape juice, and jams.
Drink up - it’s holy!
Wine changed during Prohibition. When you think of the past, you may picture elegantly dressed women and tuxedoed men dining in a fancy schmancy restaurant, quietly sipping a sophisticated Bordeaux. But that wasn’t the case since restaurants were no longer serving alcohol. So we go from elegant crystal glasses to washtubs in the basement.
Prohibition was a time when many people tried to make their their own wine in secret, and quality was not as important. The appreciation of fine wine took a hit, and when Prohibition ended, fewer wineries were left to refill our glasses. Eventually, the industry slowly recovered to where we are today, enjoying finely crafted wines at our dinner tables and restaurants, with no worries about someone busting down the door to spoil the party.
