It's Only Grape juice

[Joe21]

One day one of my buddies and I decided to explore a little of the countryside. Manuel was not a "tee-totaler", but his intake of alcoholic beverages was quite limited. It was a beautiful day, and except for war damages to some of the homes and other buildings, it was a scenic area. This was during the grape harvest and we came to a small winery by the side of the road. We decided to check it out as it appeared to be a quaint operation. An old gentleman motioned for us to come on in. He couldn't spealk English and neither me or Manuel could speak "fluent" French. Nevertheless, we managed to communicate.

The old gentleman showed us a huge wooden fermentation tank that had been filled about two weeks earlier. As some of you know, the fermentation process is quite rapid at first and then tapers off somewhat. The gentleman offered us a cup and directed us to a spigot on the tank. Manuel and I filled our cups and settled on an old wooden bench to enjoy our grape juice. For the first several days during the fermentation process, the aroma is the same as pure grape juice. I was aware of this fact but Manuel was new to the game. He was drinking the grape juice as if it was water. I cautioned him that the alcohol content was already about 4 - 6 percent but he did not believe me, saying it was plain grape juice, just like the Welch Grape Juice he enjoyed back home. The old Frenchman looked at me with a sly grin, knowing what was about to happen.

After several cups of that delicious grape juice, Manuel said his head was beginning to spin. I told him he was drunk, but Manuel insisted he could not be drunk because all he had was pure grape juice. I had to help Manuel back to our quarters and when we got to his tent, he flopped out on his sleeping bag and was lost to the world.

The next morning when i saw Manuel, he was, indeed, a sad sack. He told me he thought his head was going to split open. I suggested he make a quick trip to the medic for relief. By the next day Manuel was back to normal. During the remainder of the time we were together, Manuel would laugh and tell me when he got home he was swearing off of Welch Grape juice.