Alcohol is created by the fermentation, or decomposition, of plant matter. As it decays, chemical reactions occur that transform the water released into alcohol. Each type of alcohol made in this fashion, either commercially or by Nature, will have an odor and flavor distinct from the signature of the plant or plants it is derived from. This signature in some ways acts as a minor homeopathic tincturing to the herbal or spagyric product being created. It is impossible to completely eradicate this organic mark, and some alchemists see this as an impurity in their work. These alchemists claim that the only true spagyric product is one that is fermented in its own alcohol, thereby creating its own mercury with its own unique signature, and is completely pure in its part. A tincture like this is made in the same fashion that wine or beer is brewed.
While this is open to debate, both products created by fermentation and the addition of alcohol from an outside source produce strange and wonderful effects. However, one thing that is strongly encouraged is that each alchemist create his or her own "philosophic" mercury for use in spagyric products through the distillation of alcohol from red wine. According to the doctrines of sympathetic and natural magic, only red wine will do. The quality of the wine is unimportant; it only needs to have a high enough alcohol yield to be worth the effort. Wine averages between 8 and 12 per cent alcohol by volume. This means that with an average alcohol volume of 10 percent, a gallon of red wine will yield approximately 6.4 ounces of alcohol. Fortunately, the cheaper wines often sold in gallon bottles have a higher alcohol yield, averaging 12 percent and even approaching 20 percent. This means that with the right red wine, slightly over 12.5 ounces of alcohol can be recovered.
It is important to note that the wine must be made exclusively from red grapes and must not be a fruit wine or have other flavoring additives. Red wine is exceptionally useful because of its signature rather than in spite of it. Wine is made from pressing and fermenting whole red grapes. It is well known that "red fruits" are exceedingly beneficial to the body and high in antioxidants, substances that prevent free radicals from going about their business, which in humans is facilitating the aging process. The skin of red grapes contains the highest yield of antioxidants. For this reason, drinking red grape juice is as beneficial as drinking red wine. Red grapes are considered solar in nature, or having a powerful relationship to the Sun, and they have the ability to convey its life-giving energies more directly than a non-solar plant. The symbolic relationship between red wine and the energies of life is well known in rituals, particularly that of the Christian Mass. Alchemists who spend the time preparing their own plant mercury from red wine will benefit greatly and will see the subtle difference in their finished products.