April 7th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Jan van Riebeeck, who planted in the first grapes in Cape Town was born in 1619.

• The Cullen-Harrison Act went into effect in 1933.  This law was an amendment the Volstead Act and allowed the sale and taxation of low alcohol beers and wines.  It was signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt.

• Suzanne Valadon, artist model and painter died in 1938.  She was the subject of the Toulouse Lautrec painting, The Hangover.

• Director Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939.  He owns Niebaum Coppola, Rubicon Estate, Inglenook, and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

• California's Yorkville Highlands AVA was designated in 1998.

• Spain's Penedés DO was created in 2002.

March 28th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

Hannah Glasse, author of The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy was born in 1708.  Her cookbook included instructions for country wines and raisin wines

• In 1903, Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings, wealthy industrialist, horseman and tycoon hosted an eccentric horsed dinner where all the guests were seated on a horse and ate off of silver trays affixed to the saddles.  Guests also drank 1898 Krug Champagne from rubber tubes to iced bottles in their saddlebags.  The dinner was held at Louis Sherry’s restaurant.

• The Bianco di Pitigliano DOC was created in 1966. 

• Brunello di Montalcino DOCG designation was established in 1968.

• The Southeastern New England AVA was designated in 1984.

• California's Santa Clara Valley AVA was designated in 1989.

• The French have a saying, « À la Saint-Gontran, espoir s'il fait beau, pain et vin se font voir. » or "At Saint-Gontran, hope if the weather is nice, bread and wine are visible. "

March 25th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Greece declared its independence from Turkey in 1821 freeing wine production from the onerous taxes of the Ottoman Turks.

• French winemaker, Jean-Michel Cazes was born in 1935.

• New York's Cayuga Lake AVA was designated in 1988.

• The Australian Geographical Indication "Clare Valley" was registered in 1999.

• The Australian Geographical Indication "Perricoota" was registered in 1999.

• The Australian Geographical Indication "Adelaide Plains" was registered in 2002.

• The French have a saying, « S'il gèle le 25 mars, pas de grain ni de vin. » or “If it freezes on March 25th, there will be no grain nor wine”.

March 19th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• During the reign of Charles I, 1667, it was reported that Rear-Admiral Utbert took  five or six Dutch and French prizes (ships) which were filled with wine, brandy and salt.

• Philip (Filippo) Mazzei, Italian born physical and viticulturist died in 1816.  He brought plants, seeds, silkworms and farms from Lucca, Italy. Thomas Jefferson gave Mazzei land too start a vineyard.

• Pennsylvania and New Jersey's Central Delaware Valley AVA was designated in 1984.

• California's Yountville AVA was designated in 1999.

• Today is the feast of St. Joseph who is honored with a table of meatless foods (as it is lent) and wine offered to the poor.  St.  Joseph is the patron Saint of the working man.

March 6th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• The final assault in the Surge of Chandax occurred in 961.  Previously, a  Byzantine forces had scoured the countryside in search of supplies which them to become drunk only to be attacked by the Emir’s troops.  The final sign on modern Heraklion was a success for the Byzantine forces.

• Australian viticulturist, Dr. Richard Smart was born in 1945 .

• Max Schubert, Australian winemaker responsible for Penfolds Grange Hermitage died in 1994.

• Colorado's West Elks AVA was designated in 2001.

• Ernest Gallo died in 2007.

February 26 - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Samuel Pepys drank a draft of wormwood wine with Sir William Batten at the Steelyard in 1662.

• Musician Jonathan Cain was born in 1950. He is owner of Finale Wines in Sonoma County.

• California's Fair Play AVA was designated in 2001.

• Oregon and Washington's Walla Walla Valley AVA was designated in 2001.

February 2nd - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• "Wein, Weib und Gesang" ("Wine, Women and Song"), Op.333 by Johann Strauss II was performed for the first time in 1869.

• Teinturier Mâle grapes that had been grown from the J.T. Doyle, Experimental Plot in Cupertino were checked for the last time in 1891.  The wine was bright, with good color, no bouquet, slight acetic smell, and of fair quality.”  (It was reared with electricity in April and had deteriorated since then.)

• Tom Smothers of the Smothers Brothers was born in 1937.  He owns Remick Ridge Vineyards in Sonoma.

• Spain's Méntrida DO and Ribeiro DO was created in 1976.

• New Mexico's Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA was published in the Code of Federal Regulations  in 1988.

January 29th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin a Swiss American politician and diplomat and a member of Thomas Jefferson’s cabinet.  He was also owner of Friendship Hill in Western Pennsylvania where Gallatin operated a glassworks, gun factory, sawmilll, gristmilll, winery, distillery and boat yard.

• California's San Lucas AVA was designated in 1987.

• New Mexico's Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA was designated in 1988.

• Spain's Binissalem-Mallorca DO was created in 1991.

January 27th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.  In exile he wrote his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy.  In his vision of hell, gluttons and drunkards are fed to Cerebus in the third level.

• Shah Abbas I of Persia was born in 1571.  There are paintings of the Shah being handed wine to drink despite Islams prohibitions against it.

• In 1659, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first known wine in South Africa.

• California's Stags Leap District AVA was designated in 1989.

January 23rd - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Mary Randolph, author of the cookbook, The Virginia House-Wife; Or, Methodical Cook died in 1828.  She includes recipes for currant wine and mead and included recipes that included wine.  Mary Randolph and her husband lived in a house in Richmond called Moldavia that was later owned by Edgar Allen Poe.

• The Menetou-Salon AOC was named in 1959.

• California's Clarksburg AVA and Virginia's Monticello AVA were designated in 1984.

• California's Sonoma Mountain AVA was designated in 1985.

• Salvador Dali dies in 1989.  The surrealist artist created a wine book, The Wines of Gala, as well as a cookbook, The Dinners of Gala. (Gala was his wife).

• Oregon's Rogue Valley AVA was designated in 1991.

January 20th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Enoch L. Johnson was born in 1883.  He was an Atlantic City political and crime boss who was quoted as saying, “We have whisky, wine, women, song and slot machines. I won't deny it and I won't apologize for it. If the majority of the people didn't want them they wouldn't be profitable and they would not exist. The fact that they do exist proves to me that the people want them.”  He was fictionalized in Boardwalk Empire as the character, Nucky Thompson.

• Baron Philippe de Rothschild died in 1988.

• California's San Francisco Bay AVA was designated in 1999.

• The owner of Trump Winery, Donald J. Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States in 2017.

January 18th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town and produced the first known wine in South Africa died in 1677.

• Messrs. Bouchard, père et fils report to Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular in 1890 about the quality of the new Burgundy which is said to be their best in years.

• Hermann Müller, a Swiss botanist and oenologist created the Müller-Thurgau varietal in 1882 died in 1927.

• Oregon's McMinnville AVA was designated in 2005.

January 9th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history. 

• Connecticut ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788. It is home to the Western Connecticut Highlands and Southeastern New England  viticultural areas.

• Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson was given a state funeral in 1806.  He died several months earlier at the battle of Trafalgar but was preserved in a barrel of Brandy mixed with camphor and myrrh.

• Dave Matthews Band front man, Dave Matthews was born in 1967.  He owns Blenheim Vineyards in Albemarle, Virginia.

• The Barbera d'Asti DOC, Barbera del Monferrato DOC and Rubino di Cantavenna DOC were created in 1970; 

• The Bianco Valdinievole DOC was established in 1976.

• The Lacrima di Morro d'Alba DOC was created in 1985.

• The Rosso Conero Reserve DOCG designation were established in 2004.

December 28th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• The Cape of Good Hope passed laws respecting the sale of  wines in 1762.

• Iowa was admitted as a state in 1846.  It is home to the Loess Hills District and Upper Mississippi River Valley viticultural areas.

• Woodrow Wilson was born in 1856.  He was President at the beginning of Prohibition, which restricted the SALE of alcohol but not the consumption.  At the end of his term as president, Wilson had his wine collection moved to his new residence.

• California's Shenandoah Valley AVA was designated in 1982.

• Virginia's Shenandoah Valley AVA was designated in 1982.

December 23rd - This Date in Wine History

Festivus meatloaf, served on lettuce.

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Jean François Champollion was born in 1790.  He was known for deciphering the Rosetta Stone.  It contains records from Ptolemy V including donations of wine to temples and vineyard harvests.

• Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular reports that weather on this date in 1889 had been so bad that there were fewer customers to purchase brandy in Charentes.

• California's Redwood Valley AVA was designated in 1996.

• Happy Festivus.  Please watch your imbibing of spirits before the airing of  grievances or feats of strength.

December 20th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Pieter de Hooch, a Dutch painter was born in 1629.  He is known for “A Woman Drinking with Two Men” and “A Woman and Two Men in an Arbor”.

• The California Agricultural Experiment Station reports that in 1887, the Mataro (Carignan) grapes from Margherita Vineyard in Fresno had produced wine that was  “decidedly acutefied”.  The wine was racked and pasteurized the next day.

• Wine of Youth, a silent comedy-drama directed by King Vidor and released by MGM was released in 1924 

• The Régnié AOC was created in 1988

• California's Capay Valley AVA was designated in 2002

• Happy Sangria Day!

December 18th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• The King of Scotland, Robert the Bruce provided two casks of wine to Sir Patrick de Dunbar, Earl of March in 1310.

• Christina, Queen of Sweden was born in 1626. The celebration of her coronation included fountains filled with wine for three days in the market place.

• New Jersey ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1787.  It is home to the Central Delaware Valley, Outer Coastal Plains and Warren Hills viticultural areas.

• E.W. Hilgard of Mission San Jose found his Cinsault turbid, with a markedly aromatic bouquet, medium body, low astringency, and medium acid: slightly suspicious in quality.  He then racked and pasteurized the wine for safety.

• Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt and founder of Silverado Vineyards was born in 1933.

• It is the feast day of Saint Sebastian who’s skull is used as a wine cup on his feast day. The skull cap relic is located in Germany.

• James Beard award winning author of "What to Drink With What You Eat", Andrew Dornenburg was born in 1958.

• The movie, May  Wine debuted in 1991.

• Zhen Wang Huang, aka Rudy Kurniawan was convicted in 2013.  He is a wine collector who was convicted of wine fraud by buying Burgundy wine from negociants and relabelling them are more valuable wines, such as those the Domaine Romanée-Conti.

December 3rd - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Illinois was admitted to the union in 1818.  It is home to the Shawnee Hills and Upper Mississippi River Valley viticultural areas.

• In 1894, while straining to open a bottle of wine, Robert Louis Stevenson collapsed.  He died a few hours later.

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the French impressionist painter died in 1919.  He is known for Luncheon of the Boating Party and Bar du moulin de la Galette which feature revelers enjoying drinks…

• The Faro DOC was established in 1976.

• The Lessona DOC was created in 1976.

December 1st - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Sir Francis Walsingham was knighted in 1577.  Personal Secretary and Spymaster to Queen Elizabeth I, he was married to the Lord Mayor of London’s daughter Mary who was the widow of a wine merchant.

• A Report to the Superintendent of the Census for December 1, 1852 includes a history of viticulture from colonial days to the mid-19th century.

• Oregon's Willamette Valley AVA was designated in 1983.

• Spain’s Ribera del Duero DO was established in 1992.

• It is the feast day of St. Airy of Verdun.  As Bishop of Verdun, he received a visit from Childebert II and a feast was held.  The King’s warriors drank so much that they were in danger of running out of wine.  St. Airy had the last barrel brought out and prayed over it and the wine flowed continuously and was of much better quality.

November 30th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Pope Pius VIII was died in the Rome in 1830.  As Pontiff, Pius removed the laws that forbade selling wine in taverns except when served with meals.

• Winston Churchill, known for enjoying a glass of hock for breakfast was born in 1874.  He is also known to have said,  “Champagne should be cold, dry and free”? 

• Oscar Wilde dies in Paris in 1900. He is famously quoted as saying while sipping champagne, "And now, I am dying beyond my means.”

• California's Wild Horse Valley AVA was designated in 1988.

• Oregon's Dundee Hills AVA was designated 2004.