ABSTRACT

The “wine” mentioned in the Book of Mormon could refer to a variety of fermented fruit beverages that were used in pre-Columbian America, and “vineyards” could refer to any of the cultivated land used to grow these fruits.

EVIDENCE SUMMARY

On a number of occasions, the Book of Mormon mentions that wine was used and that vineyards were grown in the New World. Because a wide variety of wines are “made from fermented grapes or other fruits,” it is impossible to be certain what kind of drink the text is referring to, beyond assuming it is a fermented fruit juice. Furthermore, the Hebrew word for “vineyard” can mean an olive orchard as well as a grape vineyard, so the terms wine and vineyard are likely broader in meaning than modern English readers might think.

Alcoholic beverages were made from a variety of fruits in the Americas before Columbus. These include bananas, pineapple, and agave, among others. Natives also used palm sap and tree bark with honey to make alcoholic beverages. All of these were called “wine” by the Spaniards who first mentioned them in their writings. Spanish sources also spoke of “vineyards” of agave plants.

The Book of Mormon itself never actually mentions grapes, but it does mention “wine-presses” (only once, Mosiah 11:15), perhaps indicating grape-based wine. American species of grapes were known to grow in the Gulf Coast and Yucatan areas, and some Natives in northern Mexico reportedly made red wine from native grapes.

There is no question that grapes and vineyards can grow in a number of areas throughout North and South America, including near Guatemala City where the Chateau DeFay winery and vineyards were established in 2008. There is also some evidence that the Old World grape was known and used for winemaking at one site in Chiapas, Mexico dating to between the first centuries BC and AD. John L. Sorenson explained:

Our understanding of wine in ancient Mesoamerica was enhanced 30 years ago when Martínez M. excavated a site of Late Pre-Classic date (first centuries BC and AD) beside the Grijalva River in Chiapas …. There he carefully recovered and studied all traces of plant remains. He found seeds of Vitis vinifera, the wine grape known in Europe, from which he concluded that the fruit had been used to manufacture wine equivalent to that of the Old World.

Without more information, it is impossible to be certain what beverage the Book of Mormon is referring to when it mentions “wine” in New World contexts. It may be that “wine” was simply a catch-all term for any of the abovementioned fermented beverages and that many, if not all, of them were known and used by Book of Mormon peoples.