Meeting: September 13th Rancho Bernardo Winery

Origins of the Phrase

In vino veritas:“in wine [there is the] truth".

It is also known as a Greek phrase “Ἐν οἴνῳ ἀλήθεια” En oino álétheia, which has the same meaning. The author of the Latin phrase is Pliny the Elder; the Greek phrase is attributed to the Greek poet Alcaeus. The Greek poet Alcaeus is the oldest known source for the phrase. The Roman historian Tacitus described how the Germanic peoples always drank wine while holding councils, as they believed nobody could lie effectively when drunk.

The phrase is often continued as, "In vino veritas, in aqua sanitas", i.e., "In wine there is truth, in water there is health."

Similar phrases exist across cultures and languages. In Chinese, there is the saying, "酒後吐真言" ("After wine blurts truthful speech"). The Babylonian Talmud (תלמוד בבלי) contains the passage: "נכנס יין יצא סוד", i.e., "In came wine, out went a secret".

It continues, "בשלשה דברים אדם ניכר בכוסו ובכיסו ובכעסו", i.e., "In three things is a man revealed: in his wine goblet, in his purse, and in his wrath."

(Information taken from Wikipedia)

The Crossroads: The Theme at Which We Will Converge

IN VINO, VERITAS...

In wine, there is truth. Wine, as a universal beverage around the globe, appeals to people across all cultures, tracing back to ancient times. In ancient Greek mythology there is the God of Wine, Dionysus, as well as stories in Roman history of Bacchus, God of Wine. Throughout time, wine has been used in religious ritual as well as an accompaniment to meals and for social gathering. Wine, in a way is an art form, stimulating and encouraging conversation with its sensuality and enticing mystery. Its aroma excites our senses of taste and smell. Its aesthetic fascination originates from the visual beauty of the vines growing in fields with bright green leaves and sumptuous grapes to the wine glasses it fills at our dinner tables. Behind it all is the chemistry, the science, at the basis of the long process of cultivating the most perfect sensuous nectar.

At the essence of Art and Fashion, there is truth. Art and Fashion, like wine, dates back to ancient times and they too stimulate the senses, and spark conversation with their aesthetic mystery. The process of creating wine, Art and Fashion possess parallels - from the planting of the seed growing into a beautiful plant that grows fruit to the harvesting, picking, and fermenting resulting in fantastic worldly creations of color and texture. It is Team Crossroads’s intention to create clothing, accessories and visual art that references the sensuality and beauty of wine, the science of the wine making process, story-telling through photography, and the teaching of the science of wine making, demonstrating the artistic process.

A few preliminary inspired pieces by Cathy Breslaw and design sketches by Stacie May below...