February 2nd - 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.

  • "Wein, Weib und Gesang" ("Wine, Women and Song"), Op.333 by Johann Strauss II was performed for the first time in 1869.
  • In 1659, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first known wine in South Africa.
  • 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.