Who would think that a glass of wine can reveal hidden personality traits, insight into romantic relations, success in the career and what waits us in the future, but Wine Reading is actually an ancient form of divination which is used to predict future. Also termed as Oinomancy, wine reading had its popularity during the time of ancient Rome but recently has again been picked up by select few clairvoyants.

Wine Reading studies physical features such as colour, taste, smell, stains and sediments settled either at the bottom of wine glass or patterns left by spilled wine in the same way tea leaf reading is done. The seeker is asked to drink red wine and the residue is poured on the paper or cloth. Alternatively, the diviner would boil the piece of paper or cloth in wine, make note of the patterns formed and then read them as omens.

Wine Reading has an enigmatic origin just as the drink itself. Dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, when wine was poured as an offering to the gods in hope that they would ensure a prosperous future. In ancient Greece, wine was associated with Dionysus, the god of merry-making and one who would inspire in the form of ‘epiphany’. The counterpart of Dionysus was Bacchus, Roman God of Wine and divine frenzy. Bacchus himself was supposed to act as a divine communicant between the living and the dead. In Rome, the art of wine reading was traditionally performed by priestess Bacchante.

Oenomancy is not practiced as a serious form of divination as compared to astrology or palmistry. Also with the changing of wine making process we don’t find sediments at the bottom of our wine glasses. Yet it continues to exist in the highly exclusive circles that use ancient wine to delve into the futures.