Old wine in new wineskins

Jesus is asked why his disciples are not fasting. Jesus replies that wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is still with them. This is followed by a parable about how no one would take a rag from a new dress to mend an old dress, as otherwise the new dress could be torn and the rag from the new dress would not fit the old dress. This is followed by another parable, namely that no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the new, bubbling wine would tear the old, brittle wineskins, the wine would spill and the wineskins would become unusable. Therefore, new wine should only be poured into new wineskins.

The German phrase "old wine in new wineskins" is derived from this parable and means presenting old content in new packaging or an old idea as new. This idiom exists in a multitude of variations.