The Vineyard, the Vintage, and the Making of Wine in the Ancient Orient. Qc 



ing to I. Sam. 1 people attended it from far and near. The 

 time of the grape harvest is in the month of September 

 and part of October. Burchard of Mount Sion (1280 A. D.) 1 

 informs us of the marvellous vintage in Antaradus thus: "But 

 I have seen a wondrous thing at Antaradus, for there the 

 natives told me that from one and the same vine grapes are 

 gathered thrice in a year, in the following manner. In spring- 

 time the vine-dressers see when the vine has formed as many, 

 bunches of grapes as each vine and each branch usually does; 

 then they straightway cut off all that remains of the branch 

 beyond those bunches, and throw it away. This is done in 

 March. In April a new branch sprouts from it \\ith new 

 bunches of grapes. When they see this they again cut off 

 all of the branch that reaches beyond these bunches of grapes 

 In May the trunk puts forth a third branch, with its bunches 

 of grapes, and thus they have three sets of grapes, which all 

 grow alike; but those which budded in March are gathered 

 in August, those which budded in April are gathered in Sep- 

 tember, and those which budded in May are gathered in 

 October. Thus they have three vintages in one year". 



The eating grapes, however, are gathered somewhat ear- 

 lier, commencing with August. At some places as for instance 

 at the sea of Tiberias and at Ror the grapes commence to 

 ripen even as early as June. After the vintage the old Ca- 

 naanitish inhabitants of Palestine used to celebrate their fall- 

 festival'-, which was their New Year festival. Every stranger 

 was allowed to eat grapes until satiated in the vineyards, but 

 he was not permitted to take any grapes along on his jour- 

 ney =^. The vineyard owner, on the other hand, was not per- 

 mitted to clean and pick up the grapes that had fallen to 

 the ground. These had to remain to be gathered by the 



i) See Pal. Pilgr. T. S., Vol. XII, pp. 89 fi". 



2) So the Canaanitish inhabitants of Sichem, Judg. 9, 27. 



3) Deut. 23, 25. According to Jos. Ant. jud. 4, 8 an old custom was 

 to offer grapes to the passing traveler. This generosity later ceased on account 

 of the great number of travelers. Also the state (iscus claimed a large part 

 of the produce of the vineyards in later times, which naturally tended to cuih 

 the old-time liberality. 



Lutz, Viticulture and Brewing. 5 



