December 12th - 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.

  • Pennsylvania ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1787.  It is home to the Central Delaware Valley, Cumberland Valley, Lake Erie, Lancaster Valley,  and Lehigh Valley.

  • Edvard Munch was born in 1863.  He was a painter and photographer known for “The Scream” as well as “Self-Portrait with a Bottle of Wine”.

  • In 1887. J.T. Doyle of Cupertino revealed that his plot of long-pruned Grossblaue produced a “Thin, dry wine with pronounced astringency.  It was racked and pasteurized for safety”  This wine improved considerably by June of the following year.  Grossblaue is also known as the Slovenian wine grape, Žametovka.

  • Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular reported that Senator Henry W. Blair introduced a bill to create a commission to look at Alcohol and taxation.  The purpose of the commission would be to reduce alcohol usage.  

  • California's Madera AVA was designated in 1984.