Yes, our vintage years. In
this book I invite vintage-age readers to join me in making our way
through our autumn-winter years. As we press on the upward way, you
may relate to some of my experiences, impressions, and learnings.
Let's hold hands as we climb our chronological mountain on our common
journey.
Why “vintage”? That's a term from
wine making. In the Scriptures we find many references to grapes and
wine and wine presses and harvests. Jesus uses analogies to new wine
and its containers and to the vine and branches and the bearing of
much fruit. At the wedding feast in Cana when Jesus turned the water
into wine, it was said to be “the best wine [full-bodied vintage]
saved until last.”
By definition vintage is “the wine
from a particularly good harvest; the annual produce of a grape
harvest; an exceptionally fine wine from a good year; the fullness of
time to harvest grapes in preparation for wine making; being or
having the best of its kind; dated or old-fashioned objects; being of
some antiquity.”
Jesus referred to God the Father as
the Husbandman of the vineyard, an old-fashioned word which means
“vine dresser” or “vintner,” the owner of the vineyard, the
farmer, the manager of resources. We who are in our advanced years,
“being of some antiquity,” should aspire to be the “best wine”
which the Master of the Vineyard has been cultivating for a lifetime
and generously allowing us to age and hopefully mature according to His overall plan for His
Kingdom Vineyard.
In my chapter titled “Nature
flourishes on my summit” I reflected further on some of the
analogies between wine making and God's process of transforming and
purifying us in our vintage years into His “best wine.” The following is taken from that chapter.
I researched some basics about
Oenology—the process of grape cultivation and wine making—to gain some insight into how God as the Husbandman of the Vineyard may work in our lives in our vintage summit years. He has been “turning our common
water into wine.”
Many factors go
into the successful growing of grapes, all according to the master plan of the
wise owner of the vineyard. He plants the vines to receive the proper amount of sunlight, water, and drainage.
For abundant growth He must prune them skillfully so as not to damage them and care for them during the ripening season. He must protect them from insects, blight, and predators. He pays particular attention to the older
vines which produce better quality grapes and thus finer wine. He is alert to weather forecasts and shelters the vines
from severe winds and storms. What happens to the vines in a
given year, whether the season was too rainy or too hot, whether the nights
were cool enough, determines the quality of the vintage.
The command decisions
of the wine maker during the growing season can completely change the taste and structure of the wine. He
carefully watches the overall disposition of the grapevine. He decides the moment of ripeness by the
color and texture of the grapes, the appearance of the seed, and ultimately by tasting them.
Autumn is harvest time. Mechanical means are often his choice for large vineyards,
but handpicking is preferred because the human hand
can be more sensitive and selective. The Vintner has specific goals to achieve different
results from separate batches of his vines. Colorless or white wine results from early separation from its skins. Red wine is processed with its skins and
and retains the organic compounds, the tannins, which
are found in the seeds, stems and skins of grapes. Tannins help to preserve a wine as it improves with age.
Crushing and pressing are essential to
achieve purity. Crushing involves gentle squeezing to break the skins
and liberate the contents. Now primarily done by mechanical
means, in the past the method was by trampling barefoot. Pressing
separates the juice from the skins. Its purpose is to
obtain still more juice after the prime free-run juice is
collected. Ancient wine presses were made of stone and later of
wooden baskets.
The wine maker determines what type
of barrel to use for fermentation, how long to keep the wine in the
barrel, and how much acidity/ph goes into a batch. He favors oak
barrels for their strength and because they impart oak aromas and flavor to the
wine. The wine maker meticulously controls the fermentation or resting process
which in time
converts the sugars into alcohol. If he interrupts the fermentation,
the wine will be sweeter. If it is allowed to complete, the wine will
have a dry finish and higher alcohol content. For sweet wines some
residual sugar is allowed to remain. Delaying the harvesting or adding a
substance to kill the remaining yeast or some sweet grape
juice also achieves sweetness.
Because the wine maker is so intimately involved in the process and runs periodic tests to
evaluate the progress, he is able to take appropriate remedial action
to correct inadequacies. He watches for microscopic particles that could
cloud the wine which is being settled and clarified for purity. He
may also add preservatives to prevent spoilage.
The timing from harvest to drinking
takes from a few months to over twenty years. Overall quality is
achieved by the attributes of the starting material, the grapes, and
by all the steps in the process. Nothing is wasted, not the
sediment, the water, the skin, pulp, seeds, or stems. All are
conserved for some purpose even for animal fodder and fertilizer for
fields. 
Before bottling, refrigeration can
also clarify wine without use of chemicals. Wines can still improve with age
even after they are confined in a bottle, especially sparkling wine
or Champagne. Additional fermentation takes place inside the bottle
where carbon dioxide is trapped to create bubbles.
How has the Lord of the Vineyard been
“turning my water into wine” during my vintage season? My
advancing age doesn't matter; the older the vine, the better the
grapes, and the finer the wine!
I am in God's care in this late season
as I was throughout the previous seasons of my life. When I surrender
to His will and trust His on-going purpose for my life, I continue to
be in process, in transformation, still growing, still learning His
ways. Whether rains descend, floods come, winds blow and beat upon my
earthly house or “earth suit,” the Lord of the Vineyard is looking
after my welfare. He keeps His eye on the storm so it will not
overwhelm me. He supplies sufficient sunlight and water to nourish
me.
He prunes my wild shoots and protects
me from the “little foxes” that would spoil my tender grapes.
Whatever happens to me is filtered through His watchful love. He allows only
the degree of crushing and pressing that will settle me, achieve
purity, and move me toward maturity and holiness. He decides the
moment of my ripeness and ordains the length of time for my vintage
years. I absorb only the good aroma from whatever circumstances He
brings me through because of the fragrance of His own presence
continually with me. Even His testings are purposeful.
If He chooses to interrupt the
process, it is only to make my wine sweeter. If He permits it to go
to its fullness, the wine will become full-bodied and robust. The
Lord of the Vineyard is compassionate to correct my
inadequacies from growing weakness due to age. As with wine, times of
rest are crucial in the process.
Nothing God allows in my life in my
senescent years is wasted; He uses all of my experiences working everything for good. Even when I feel "bottled in" by adversities, losses, and
hardships, the wine of my life under God's control can improve with
age. He is "saving the best wine until last." I become sparkling wine to gladden the heart of my Lord!
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