Wine culture

A major topic of Greek ethics was pleasure, and particularly whether or not pleasure was to be regarded as the highest goal. And if it was, then one naturally had to ask what kind of pleasure was an appropriate aim, for few were prepared to affirm that pleasures associated with the basest of acts were ever worthy of pursuit. ... 

Furthermore, the pleasurable life would be assumed by the majority of Greek males to involve symposia, at which fine food, pleasant drink, and entertainment of a sexual nature would all be present. These social occasions, where friends gathered together, and, unlike Polyphemus, had nothing to fear from others present, were the appropriate place for exploiting the pleasures of wine while minimizing the risks. 

The very word ‘symposium’ implied social drinking, and the drink concerned was wine: usually mixed with what was held to be the appropriate quantity of water in a large broad vessel known as a krater, often decorated with scenes of revelry. ...the tendency to see friends as extensions of oneself naturally led to a concern for their happiness, leading to a willingness to share those things that best made one happy – and in this context the sharing of wine at symposia became natural, while gifts of wine were also favored by those rich enough to be giving it.

Socrates isn't recorded as ever having stopped to ask philosophical questions directly about wine and wine drinking, though it's possible he did and no one thought to write it down. Regardless, it appears that at least some of the questions he did ask were asked in the context of wine drinking and this didn't bother anyone at the time — and there were some criticisms made of Socrates, so it's not as though people treated him as infallible.

No one considered it odd, never mind immoral or inappropriate, for wine drinking to be combined with deep philosophical discussions. As a consequence, the enjoyment of physical indulgences like wine was not only regarded as compatible with the highest ideals of Greek moral philosophy, but may have been implicitly thought of as a necessary component of living the best sort of life.

Pliny the Elder is the source of the oft-quoted statement "In wine, there is truth." Most people interpret this as meaning that wine causes people to tell truths that they censor when they are sober, but it can also be interpreted much more broadly. Drinking wine frees up the mind from all sorts of social, cultural, and political censors in a way that may help us to see insights, make connections, and recognize truths that might have otherwise remained hidden to us.

People open the wine packaging, enjoy the party with friends, what a nice day.

The cultural destiny of Rhineland-Palatinate was sealed when the Roman civilisation of antiquity took root here all those centuries ago. In the Wine Land Rhineland-Palatinate, you'll discover over 500 castles and palaces, countless Roman buildings, the former Roman Limes border wall, the UNESCO World Heritage Middle Rhine Valley with the famous Loreley rock, and the cathedrals in the World Heritage towns of Trier and Speyer, and in Mainz and Worms. But it is also the land of municipal and independent theatre, the fine arts, literature, music and home to around 400 museums. More than 50 festivals are held in venues steeped in history – which give them a unique charm. Every year, the Summer of Culture in Rhineland-Palatinate brings together well over 200 projects of different genres under one roof.