February 17th - 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.


  • In 1662, Samuel Pepys describes a dinner with Sir William Batten, Captain Cocke and Captain Tinker where he drank wine “upon necessity, being ill for want of it, and I find reason to fear that by my too sudden leaving off wine, I do contract many evils upon myself”.
  • California's Chiles Valley AVA was designated in 1999.