That good old Lutheran Church communion wine really was quite bad. I remember my dad having to buy it for the church when he was on the church council and me tagging along to the “liquor store” in the neighboring town which was the county seat. The only place to buy any kind of liquor was at the “state liquor store” which was run by the Iowa Liquor Control Commission.

Being raised in rural Iowa from a very small community and attending the Lutheran Church, every young person at around 14 years of age went to “confirmation instruction”. It was a two year process that took away every Wednesday night and Saturday morning for the same months that regular public school met. It was a long process and the grand finale was “Confirmation Sunday” that was held in church on Palm Sunday. This was followed by our first communion on Good Friday. Oh no! Communion! Real wine! Yuck!

My dad gave me a small taste (less than an ounce) of his wine from the refrigerator that always sat in the back of the top shelf. I was an odd bottle made of heavy glass with diamond shaped points on the wide bottom. It had a long skinny neck and was closed off with a metal screw cap.