Genesis 40:11. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.
It has been supposed by some that the ancient Egyptians drank no wine, though they did not object to drinking the unfermented juice of the grape, and this text is referred to as an illustration. It was evidently a part of the duty of Pharaoh’s butler to press the grapes into the cup that the king might drink; but it by no means follows that because of this no fermented wine was used. A passage in Herodotus is usually cited as an evidence that only fresh mush was allowed. On the other hand, there is other ancient testimony that establishes the fact that the Egyptians used fermented wine. This testimony is corroborated by the old monuments, which have representations of different articles employed in making wine, wine-presses in operation, and drunken men and women.