According to me, "which" here refers to "wine" because as per the rule:

- "which" refers to closest legitimate noun

I will give you an example wherein "which" doesn't modify the closest noun:

"The box of nails, which is kept on table, is of red color."

Here, since the usage is "which is" so which is not modifying closest noun "nails"..

The sentence is of the form X of Y.. for such constructs on GMAT.. we should be careful while judging the "which" usage.

theCodeToGMAT wrote:According to me, "which" here refers to "wine" because as per the rule:

- "which" refers to closest legitimate noun

I will give you an example wherein "which" doesn't modify the closest noun:

"The box of nails, which is kept on table, is of red color."

Here, since the usage is "which is" so which is not modifying closest noun "nails"..

The sentence is of the form X of Y.. for such constructs on GMAT.. we should be careful while judging the "which" usage.

Thanks for the help buddy!
So if the author intends to say that "coffee" is banned in Koran, this sentence has error right?

mohitsingh wrote: Thanks for the help buddy!
So if the author intends to say that "coffee" is banned in Koran, this sentence has error right?

Then it's ambiguous..

mohitsingh wrote:In 1511 the governor of Mecca, Khair Beg proclaimed that coffee was equal to wine, which was banned in the Koran.

Actually, I have a generic question - are there more than one antecedent for the relative pronoun "which" in the above sentence? Is it guaranteed that it is "wine" which was banned in the Koran OR is it not clear whether the "coffee" or the "wine" was banned in Koran?

''Which'' in the sentence you have posted stands for Wine.

Which as a generic rule modifies the closest noun it touches, or the subject of the preposition phrase when the object of the prepositional phrase is an essential.

As Rahul rightly mentioned.

In the example - "The box of nails, which is kept on table, is of red color."

There can be many boxes which are on the table, hence the use of object of the prepositional phrase is essential, - To ans the question which box?
The box of Nails; in this sentence the nails, object of the prepositional phrase is essential to distinguish it from the remaining boxes. So the ''Which'' in this sentence is referring back to the specific Box

I hope it helps.

Thank you for the opportunity

Rgds,