OUR LITURGICAL WINE
At the Annual Diocesan Days celebration in Sept. of 2005, during his inaugural
visit to the historic St.Sava Church in Jackson, CA, the first Serbian Orthodox
Church in the Western hemisphere, His Grace Bishop Maxim tasted some of the
renowned Amador County wines and promptly suggested that the Western American
Diocese produce its own wine for liturgical use. He stated that this wine should
be full-bodied, yet mellow and aromatic and slightly sweet to the taste. Wine
grapes were introduced to this part of the Sierra Nevada Foothills (45 miles
South-east of Sacramento and 90 miles Southwest of Lake Tahoe) during the 1850s
Gold Rush, when fortune-seeking prospectors brought rootstock with them from
their Mediterranean homelands. Some of the vineyards planted during that time
have survived to the present day. The region is well known for its French Syrah
and Italian Barbera wine grapes and internationally recognized for its
Zinfandel. For years, the Zinfandel variety was believed to be native to
America; however, recent DNA studies have revealed its origin to be the
Dalmatian Coast!
Fr. Stephen Tumbas, parish priest of St. Sava Church in Jackson and winemaker
himself (Tumbas Vineyards, Shenandoah Valley), offered his God-given talents
back to our Lord and His Holy Church in an invaluable example of stewardship.
Fr. Stephen explained: "Not knowing exactly what would be involved, I agreed to
take on the project. The first batch of wine was produced in 2006 from aromatic
Black Muscat and Zinfandel grapes that were harvested late to obtain higher
sugar content. The 2007 vintage will be a combination of Syrah and Black Muscat
grapes".

Sebastian Wine was first offered at the Divine Liturgy during Diocesan Days in
Jackson in September 2007. This soft, sweet and well-perfumed wine has been
distributed throughout the Western American Diocese. It is believed that this is
the first time in the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America that it
is producing its own wine for celebration of the Eucharist.
Sebastian Wine: The Second Vintage

This year's liturgical wine will be slightly different from the last. In
response to requests from several priests and parishes, we are adding a little
more fruit sugar concentrate to the blend before bottling. This will make the
wine sweeter to the taste. We are also changing the base of the blend from
Zinfandel to Syrah. We believe that this will make the wine a bit more
full-bodied. Finally, our wine will bear a new label created by Fr. Stamatis,
the Greek priest and iconographer, whose work can be seen throughout this Annual
and on most of the communiques from the Western American Diocese.
Bottled in July we plan to have the wine ready for distribution by the late
fall. Our production total is the same as last year: two sixty-gallon barrels
that will yield 120 cases of 375 ml bottles. At the present time, this is
sufficient wine for the entire year for our diocese, as well as for a few
churches in other dioceses.

THIS WINE IS OFFERED TO ALL PARISHES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A SAMPLE, PLEASE CONTACT THE DIOCESAN SECRETARY,
PROTINICA SANDRA CEKO, AT THE DIOCESAN OFFICE: 626-289-9061, or by email at:
popadija@...