Commentary for Avodah Zarah 120:4
נפל לבור ועלה מדדו בקנה התיז את הצרעה בקנה או שהיה מטפיח ע"פ חבית מרותחת בכל אלו היה מעשה ואמרו ימכר ור"ש מתיר נטל את החבית וזרקה בחמתו לבור זה היה מעשה והכשירו:
If [a non-Jew] fell into a vat and climbed out, or measured it with a reed, or flicked out a hornet with a reed, or tapped on the top of a frothing cask. All of these things actually happened, and [the Rabbis] said that the wine may be sold, but Rabbi Shimon permits it [even to be drunk]. If [a non-Jew] took a cask, and in his anger threw it into the vat — this actually happened and [the Rabbis] declared it fit [for drinking].
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
This section lists all sorts of circumstances in which a non-Jew might come into contact with wine and yet it is highly unlikely that he used it to make a libation. Since in all of these cases we can be almost one hundred per cent sure that he didn’t do so, there is room to be lenient. The Sages, in front of whom cases such as these came, said that the wine could be sold to a non-Jew. In other words, it is forbidden to drink the wine but it is not forbidden to derive benefit from it. If it had truly been considered yen nesekh, then it could not even be sold. Rabbi Shimon is even more lenient and allows a person to even drink the wine.
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