As a beverage, wine generally accompanied the first meal of the
day.  It was customary to dilute the wine before drinking it by adding 
water, up to a third of its quantity.  Every place where the Bible 
mentions "cup"  -  as in Psalm 23:5, "my cup overflows" -  the text 
intends a cup of wine, which, it is said, "gladdens the heart of man" 
(Prov. 31:6), and of must, that it "gladdens God and man" (Jud.9:13). 

At the main meal of the day, which was eaten in the evening (in 
Talmudic times people ate only two meals, breakfast and supper), 
there were two courses, and with each of them a cup of wine was drunk. 

Wine played an important role in religious rituals.  The Torah sets out
in detail the quantities of wine that must be poured out in libation upon the altar for every type of sacrifice (e.g., in Num.28-29).  Several basic religious rituals are distinguished by the drinking of one or many cups of wine, over which is said a special blessing:  "the Creator of the fruit of the vine" [or "He who creates .  .  ."] (over grapes one says, "the Creator of the fruit of the tree").  Thus wine symbolizes the cooperative partnership between God and man. 

The Sages of the Talmud said, "There is no joy without wine" (in spite of the fact that they warned against excess drinking -- except for on Purim).  At the Covenantal Circumcision ceremony, a single cup of wine is drunk.  The wedding ceremony after the time of the Talmud consisted of two parts, each of which made use of a cup of wine, and from which both the bride and the groom drank. 

There was a custom to give to mourners during the first seven days of mourning (the "shiva") ten glasses of wine.  The custom was abandoned after Talmudic times.  Shabbat and festivals are welcomed with the saying of Kiddush [Sanctification] over a cup of wine.  A cup of wine is used in the Havdalah ceremony which marks the conclusion of the Sabbath,  and the Passover Seder is distinguished by the drinking of four cups of wine.  Four cups of wine are also drunk at the Tu B'Shevat Seder, as Yitzchak Luria was accustomed to do. 

Translated from the Hebrew:  "Wine," pp. 240-241,  An Encyclopedia for Judaism, Geoffrey Wigoder, ed., 1994.