Recently, I was drawn into a discussion about drinking wine and was asked why don't I just drink grape juice (alcohol free) instead of wine! Without going into detail as to how this discussion got started, I'll just say I don't believe they ever had a glass of wine in their lives!--something I find hard to believe, being in the wine business. It sparked an interest in me, so I decided to do some research on JUICE and came across this little piece:

In 1869 a dentist named Thomas Bramwell Welch (you already know where I'm going with this) created a way to pasteurize grapes instead of fermenting them so that his church could use them in services.  His hometown had a law against alcohol so his new drink became very popular.  This new "non-alcoholic wine" became so popular, the dentist quit his job and started Welch's, now the most famous maker of grape juice and jellies.

Since grape juice does taste good, and also has many of the same health benefits wine does, I can understand my acquaintance's statement, but would a glass of his juice pair as well with prime rib as my beautiful glass of Block 303 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon?  

Marie Griffin, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Wine Supervisor North-West Florida

follow me on Twitter @abcwinemarieg