Vines and Vineyards

Grapes were one of the three main crops grown in the land of ancient Israel (Deut 7:13 lists them as grain, new wine and [olive] oil). They were grown throughout the whole country except in the wilderness and very arid desert regions.

The agricultural maintenance cycle for a vineyard includes significant pruning during the winter months, plowing the soil during the spring and summer (to keep it free from weeds), some pruning during the summer to assist in producing a good crop of grapes, harvesting some young grape leaves in the early summer (to eat), and then harvesting the grapes themselves in the late summer early fall.

There are hundreds of references to vines, vineyards, grapes, and wine in the Bible, but two very instructive passages are Isaiah 5:1-7 and John 15:1-8.