This article will review some passages concerning grapes and grape wine in Indian sources, taking the Pāli Buddhist texts as a starting point. Some social aspects related to the consumption of grape juice will be highlighted and, on the basis of evidence, the possibility that an autochthonous production of grapes and wine might have occurred in the Indian mainland, initially prompted by medical reasons, will be discussed. Grape wine could, indeed, be present in Pāli texts either as an element of a macro-category or implied through madhu, an ambiguous term that can mean 'sweet', 'honey' and even 'grape wine'. Eventually, an intriguing passage from the Pāli Milindapañha will be analysed to argue that it contains a hitherto unrecognised reference to the 'grape wine' under the guise of madhu, being it one of the earliest clear references with such a use.
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ABSTRACT 81 1. Starter 81 2. What's in a word? 82 3. Grapes in Pāli literature and beyond 85 4. A note on surā and meraya in Pāli sources 97 5. A fascinating occurrence of madhu in the Milindapañha 101 6. Conclusion 104 Appendix: A compelling evidence from the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya and the fermentation of juices 110 Primary sources and abbreviations 112
