GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / AMONG THE VINES – Among the many stories that have crossed my editor’s path today, this ranks as one of the oddest. Venezuela’s Catholic Church says it has a worrisomely short supply of wine left, only two months worth, according to the BBC and thedrinksbusiness, a wine industry newsletter.

Currency controls have led to a shortage of a number of imported goods, including ingredients needed by the country’s main commercial producer, to make wine. It gets worse: no money to import wheat means there might also soon be a shortage of communion hosts or wafers.

Venezuela began an experiment with making wine in 1983 according to the International Society for Horticultural Practice and the country now produces 912,000 bottles, of which 840,000 are produced by Bodegas Pomar.

There is no mention of what was done for communion wine before 1983.