October 21st - This Date in Wine History

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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.

  • George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence was born in 1449.  He was accused of plotting his brother Edward IV and was executed in the Tower of London by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine.

  • Horatio Nelson, Lord Admiral of the British Navy and the Hero of Trafalgar died in 1805. His body was placed in cask of brandy, mixed with camphor and myrrh and later transferred to a lead coffin filled with spirits of wine.

  • Hermann Müller, a Swiss botanist and oenologist created the Müller-Thurgau varietal in 1882 was born in 1850.

  • Ohio's Grand River Valley AVA was designated in 1983.

  • New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania Lake Erie AVA was designated in 1983.

  • California's Chalk Hill, Knights Valley, Russian River Valley AVA were designated in 1983.

  • Verbicaro DOC was created in 1995.

  • Wine for the Confused, a movie by John Cleese was released in 2004.