Famous Wine Drinkers: Thomas Becket -St Thomas of Canterbury

Thomas Becket became Archbishop of Canterbury, only to be murdered in his Cathedral for refusing to endorse the divorce of Henry VIII.

Whilst exiled in France during 1166, Becket drank the best wine that money could buy -albeit diluted with water and only as a form of medication for a bad stomach. He was later venerated as patron saint of wine coopers in Venice and of beer brewers in London as a result of reports that he had turned water into wine and deferred fermentation of beer using his own blood.

As a result of his tempestuous relationship with the king, a ship carrying the archbishop’s wine back from France was sunk by Ranulf de Broc.

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Hi, I'm the site admin! I don't know enough about wine to do any tasting or advanced wine commentary, but I do keep this Wine Blokes website up and running - I moderate each and every comment received, and make the occasional post about wine news that has dropped into my email inbox. If something doesn't work, its probably my fault :(

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