Why is it so important to some Christians to believe wine in Jesus' day was

[jane l]

non-alcoholic? and where do they get this information from?
Everyone knows home made wine and alcohol is much stronger. Why do some of the Christians insist that by "wine" they meant "grape juice"?
All you have to do is extract juice from a grape to make juice, but WINE is a process, I'm sure the bible writers knew the difference between juice and wine--which is a beverage that had to undergo a process of fermentation.
So why have the Christian monks for hundreds of years been getting drunk off their home made wine recipes, just as they did in the biblical days?

[mikey]

The fact is, that prior to refigeration there were only a few ways to preserve anything - de-hydration, salting and fermenting. Un-fermented grape juice would have turned to vinegar very soon without refrigeration. Meat would have turned rotten in 2-3 days without salting or drying.
The people who suggest that wine was un-fermented are only revealing that they, personally, have trouble with alcohol. Yes, it is wrong to get drunk, but no more or less wrong than lying, cheating or fornication.
Jesus' first recorded miracle was turning water to wine and it wasn't grape juice because the other guests at the wedding party commented that the host of that particular wedding had saved the best wine for last - that other hosts, in order to save money, would serve the good first and after the guests had had plenty, would bring out the cheap c**p. I submit that there is little discernible difference between cheap grape juice and expensive. But there is definitely a difference between good wine and cheap stuff.

[malak]

Must be some new thing, cause I was born and raised christian and I never heard it. I don't think there was such a thing as non-alcoholic wine in biblical times.

I think a lot of christians are just so anti-alcohol, they pretend Jesus never drank it. The bible tells us not to overdo it, it never says we can't drink, but some people take things to extremes. If they want to believe it, fine, don't really care, but it's obviously not true.

[Ponderingwisdom]

In the Bible, "wine" can sometimes mean fermented or non-fermented juice from the grape.

I think that those who favor the non-fermented approach are coming from the perspective of the Temperance Movement, which sought to eliminate all forms of alcohol from society. The Methodist church is one that took a firm stand against wine, partly in solidarity with those who are alcoholics and must abstain. The United Church of Canada, which has Methodist roots, takes this same approach and uses only grape juice in communion, while it does not take any stand against wine or other liquor in the home.

Actually Welch's Grape juice was invented just for this reason. Check the url below for a great story about it.