Our Gemara on this daf discussed wine that begins to become vinegary, and at what point does it lose its status of wine. In such a case, the blessing might revert from “Hagafen - He who creates the fruit of the vine” back to “Shehakol”, the universal blessing that one makes for foods that do not grow or have a specific status, drinks, meat, and other items.  Food items that have distinction or unique status tend to get their own special blessing, such as the Hagafen that we just discussed and also Hamotzi, the blessing on bread.  According to Gemara (Berachos 35b), wine has dual qualities, “it satisfies, and gladdens”, and so it deserves its own Beracha.

If we compare the words in the blessing of “Hagafen - He who creates the fruit of the vine” to “Hamotzi - He who takes bread out of the ground” we will notice something odd.  “He who takes bread out of the ground” Really? I have not seen bread grow on trees! Bread is made through a process of threshing the grain, grinding it, kneading the dough, letting it rise, and baking it.  It certainly does not pop out of the ground! Yet, the blessing is thanking God for bringing bread out of the ground. This is precisely the point. Even though you have to work hard for it, never forget that God is the one who really gives it to you.

But what about the blessing on wine, which is crafted in the opposite manner? Here we recite, “He who creates the fruit of the vine.” The blessing references the fruit, not the actual wine. Ironically, the blessing on grapes is not “He who creates the fruit of the vine”, but rather “He who creates the fruit of the tree.” (See Shulchan Aruch OC 202:1). Pashut peshat, we can say the Hebrew word, “Peri”, fruit really means produce or product.  The main product of grapes in wine, not grapes.  Still, how do we account for the textual difference between wine and bread?  Why not say, “Hamotzi Yayin, He who brings wine out of the ground?”  

I will suggest that there is a subtle message here about wine. Human industry and ingenuity can be harnessed for lofty, or sinful pursuits, and the choice is solely ours. God says to those who might abuse wine (which is far less likely the case by bread), “Don’t blame me, I did not make the wine. YOU made the wine, I just made grapes.”  This is why the blessing focuses on the grapes.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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