The Christian Nutritionist

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92: God and Wine with Gisela Kreglinger

Chelsea Blackbird

In this week’s podcast we’re talking about two of my favorite things: God and wine! 

I interviewed the author of The Soul of Wine who says “wine can help us uncork a more full-bodied Christian spirituality.” 

She reminds us that God blesses us with the fruits of the earth. She reminds us that Jesus enjoyed wine, food and dinner parties so much that his fellow Jews accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard! She reminds us that drinking wine is part of the way we honor and celebrate Jesus as our Savior. 

It’s everything I love and savor about honoring our bodies and the Creator of our bodies. You’ll never look at wine in the same way after you experience it with this beautiful perspective.

EPISODE 92: God and Wine with Gisela Kreglinger

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SHOW NOTES

(0:00) Intro

  • Welcome back to the club!

  • I’m so excited because we’re going to talk about two of my favorite things today - God and wine. 

  • Welcome Gisela Kreglinger, author of The Soul of Wine to The Christian Health Club podcast. 

    • Gisela grew up on a family-owned winery in Franconia, Germany where her family has been crafting wine for many generations. She holds a PhD in historical theology from the University of St Andrews and taught Christian spirituality at Samford University. 

(5:02) Tell us more about growing up in a family of winemakers.

  • It had a profound impact on my life as a Christian.

    • Involved in to production of wine from the vineyards to the tasting room.

    • Observed a transformation in people in the tasting room.

  • Rooted in the Lutheran tradition.

  • Always knew that there was something sacred about the process of winemaking.

(9:30) You say “Well-crafted wine has a way of wedding us to the earth that is rather unique.” Give us some examples of that. 

  • Many of us feel disconnected from the earth, and that is something we yearn for.

  • Wine has the ability to connect us to particular places.

    • Terroir

    • Climate, soil, winds, vintage, etc.

  • Wine sings the song of a place.

    • By savoring the wine, we are invited to listen in.

(15:35) Will you share some of the ‘less glamorous’ side of growing up?

  • Crawling into the wine vats to scrub on the inside.

  • Dependent on the weather and climate.

    • Humility — from the earth

    • Trusting God

    • Human suffering is part of our journey

(20:17) You say, “Wine is an astonishing gift to humanity...and can help uncork a more full-bodied Christian spirituality” - Can take us deeper on that?

  • Wine connects our relationship to spirituality through the earth.

  • Draw on our senses and deepen our relationship with God.

    • Moving to a place of awe and wonder of this world.

    • Attention in its highest form is prayer.

(24:16) If someone wanted to sit with a glass of wine, how could they make it more of a spiritual practice?

  • Begin with the sense of hearing!

    • Clinking of glasses— sound of togetherness.

  • Embracing the senses, expanding the capacity for smell.

  • Soulful wine tasting

(30:40) Wine tasting concepts:

  • Hierarchy of levels

  • Experiencing flavors can stir emotions and elicit memories.

  • Going beyond identifying the spices, acidity, tannins, etc.

  • Enlarging our experience of savoring wine.

(37:45) Tracing the history of wine making.

  • Wine pilgrimages:

    • It is a wonderful experience to take people to the historically notable vineyards.

    • What do you think CHC peeps!? :)

(41:30) Gisela shares her story of her pastor and the ‘little sip’ from the chalice.

  • Sense of scarcity, as apposed to sense of abundance.

  • Reclaiming this full body narrative and using our sense to experience that.

(45:08) In the book you said “In Christian circles we’ve often reduced the subject of wine to questions of good and bad. For many of us our relationship with wine and food is wrought with tension. Especially for women, food and drink have become battlegrounds.” Can you speak to this and share your perspective?

  • Our relationship with our bodies.

  • Identifying spiritual, emotional, and physical hunger.

    • Am I really stressed right now? Do I need to talk to someone?

    • Soul care and self inquiry.

    • Wine is not the place we should go to when we are stressed or hurting.

(53:30) Christian hospitality:

  • The life of grace: It is okay where we are.

  • Bringing the focus back to God and acknowledging that we’re allowed to be on a journey.

    • We are healing together.

    • Letting go of perfection and cultivating a willingness to be open.

(58:20) Anchor Questions:

  • What is your Anchor Meal?

    • Grilled wild salmon and salad paired with a glass of wine.

  • What is your Anchor Verse?

    • Psalms: 23

1:04:12) Where can people find you?

(105:45) Outro & Disclaimer

Thanks for listening! Have a healthy and blessed week!


XOXO,

Chelsea