Villány wine atlas [antikvár]

"Wine and Life"preface"After the Great Flood Noah planted the first vine, and with this a new era in the history of the world begun."(Béla Hamvas: The Philosophy of Wine).An old Hungarian invocation, "wine, wheat and peace", e.xpresses the role of wine in our lives very well.The history of wine and alcoholic beverages is almost as long as the history of mankind. It is important to examine the significance of wine not only in a cultural and historical perspective, but also in respect of gastronomy and enjoyment. The effect of wine on our past, present and future correlates with wars, politics, religion, culture, arts, illnesses, health, love and, what is more, also with economic hfe in all ages. It happened quite often that the effect of wine was a decisive factor in the outcome of important battles. As an economic factor, its strength made some people wealthy, while some lost all their wealth because of it. Some people consume it for its medical properties, and some reject it as a poison. Who would be able to count all the works of art, pieces of music, poems, sculptures and pictxires that have been inspired by its effect that has stimulated the fantasy of many from ancient times up to present day?The relation and relationship between wine and our health and body is relatively complex. We all know about the miracle in the Bible, in which Jesus Christ changed water into wine at the Wedding of Cana as his first act of a miracle. Some people have been so impressed by this story that they, especially over the past few decades, have tried to imitate this miracle with the help of artificial means, however all these efforts have been doomed to failure. Our metabolic system, especially our kidneys however, act contrary to this by implementing this miracle on a daily basis, although in a reverse order and more slowly, by changing the red wine we consume in the evening into clear water by the following morning.We have several ancient pieces of evidence in writing, which prove that the beneficial effect of wine on our health was recognised a long time ago in the course of our history. Hippocrates for example emphasized the tranquillising. painkilling and diuretic effect of wine, and recommended it for the healing of wounds. This latter effect is also reflected in the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible. It says: "A certain man went doum from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, andux)unded him. and departed, leaving him haif dead But a certain Samantaiu as he journeyed went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine " (New Testament, the Gospel according to St. Luke, Chapter 10). The disinfecting effect of wine may also have contributed to the successful military operations conducted by Julius Caesar (10044 B.C.). The wise war leader rationed a litre of red wine every day to each of his soldiers during his campaigns. Thus his victories were not only due to his military skills, but also to the fact that he prevented the development of infectious diseases of the metabolic oi^ans of his warriors. Claudius Galenus (Pergamon, 130-200 A. D.) prescribed wine to alleviate internal bleeding in the case of the diseases of the stomach and the intestines. Paracelsus, a German physician, chemist and philosopher (1493-1541), whose original name was Philippus Aurelius Theophastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, was the first person to recognise the fact that there was also alcohol in wine apart from flavouring components. He called this "Weingast" or "spiritus". He had a famous saying, which was "dosis facit venenum", which means "dosage makes the poison", by which he meant that what is medicine in small dosage, is harmful, if taken in large dosages. Representatives of the medical sciences in Hungary in the middle Ages had different opinions on the effect of consuming wine. István Mátyus, chief physician in Marosszék, stressed the positive features of wine in his book entitled "Ó és új Dietica" (Ancient and New Dietics) (1787-1793). "People have worked hard and have sought with great diligence for a long period of time a friendly asset, which may turn away all maladies and loss of strength from them, and which may make them last long. Whether a better and more suti-able such asset than wine may be thought of, I much doubt it There are numerous useful and praised medicines, but they may not be compared to wine since wine labours not in the body only, but it renews the mind also, and helps its labours miraculously. What is, I say, life without wine? Wine enhances the talents of the mind like a miracle. It extracts ihe mind from the realm of earthly boredom, and elevates it almost to heavens; it makes us, people, good, honest, brave andGáspár Heltai however observed that " red eyes with teardrops, malignant odours exhaled through black teeth, aching stomachs, which fail to digest, trembling hands, dropsy, gout in all parts of the body, gripes and leper of the intestines, oily legs covered by sores. In short: all diseases coming from excessive life and drinking. "Prof, tászló RosivallPatho-physiologisl, medical researcher, Semmelweis University Department of Patho-PhysiologyVIliány - Wine Atl;