Hop to it

There’s more than one fine line between Christianity and paganism, y’know—and seeing as how Easter Sunday (April 4 this year) is Christianity’s signature event, this seems like a fitting time to point that out. One school of thought says the holiday takes its name from Estra, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility and rebirth; today’s Easter eggs are supposedly a vestige of the fertility part, and bunnies make a convenient symbol of rebirth amid their enormous appetite for procreation. Peter Cottontail was out of commission for five months after last year’s bash—a severed groin, especially as it affects rabbit anatomy, can take easily that long to reknit.

If you find yourself siding with Estra’s legend and want to toast it accordingly, there’s a wine out there for ya. And in keeping with her Anglo-Saxon roots, it’s produced in Ireland. It’s Bunratty Meade, out of County Clare’s Bunratty Winery in the country’s southwest region. Meade was manufactured centuries before the Romans introduced grapes to the Emerald Isle; it’s a mix of honey and various fruits of the vine, which results in a grainy feel and a dry sensation amid the super-sweet taste. It has a reputation for enhancing sexuality, or at least it did in Estra’s day. Newly married couples were said to drink a cup of it under the first full moon after their wedding, hence the term “honeymoon”—and I’ve heard tell about what happens on those. I personally refuse to participate in such sensual degradation, so I’ll take everybody’s word for it.

Bunratty Meade can be found at BevMo and a bunch of other places for around $16; if you hurry, you can score a bottle before Easter and spend the day toasting the holiday’s alleged namesake. In so doing, you’ll serve as a bridge to the religious cultures on either side of the deep, dark chasm between them. A little of this entry, and that fine sectarian line almost disappears.