Jews and the Wine Trade in Medieval Europe

Although Jews were at the centre of commercial activity in medievalEurope, a talmudic ban on any wine touched by a Gentile prevented them fromengaging in the lucrative wine trade. Wine was consumed in vast quantities inthe Middle Ages, and the banks of the Rhineland hosted some of the finestvineyards in northern Europe. German Jews were, until the thirteenth century, amerchant class. How could they abstain from trading in one of the region’smajor commodities? In time, they ruled that it was permissible to accept winein payment of debt, but forbade trading in it, and they maintained that banthroughout the Middle Ages. Further study in the twelfth century, however, led Talmudists todiscover that Jews were only forbidden to profit from trading in Gentile wineif they dealt with idolaters, but that trade with Christians and Muslims waspermitted. Nevertheless, the German community refused to take advantage of thisclear licence. Using Jewish and Gentile sources, this study probes the sourcesof this powerful taboo. In describing the complex ways in which deeply held cultural valuesaffect Jews’ engagement in the economy of the surrounding society, this bookalso illustrates the law of unintended consequences—how the ban on Gentile wineled both to a major Jewish contribution to German viticulture and to theinvolvement of Jews in moneylending, with all its tragic consequences.