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. "

February 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.

• Henry IV was crowned King of France in 1594.  He was baptized with a spoon of Jurançon wine and some garlic.

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in 1807.  An American poet and educator, he is the author of “Ode to Catawba Wine”.

• King George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.  He built a summer villa called Mon Repos. George developed Tatoi, building roads and planting grapes for making his own wine, Chateau Décélie

• Today in 2006 The Georgian Government offered Jennifer Lopez $500,000 to advertise Georgian wine. The singer/actress declined the offer.

• It is the feast day of St. Gregory of Narek who’s book of Lamentations contains:

Look at me,

I am

unworthy of good, undeserving of favor,

incapable of love, drawn in by the strands of sin,

wounded in the depth of my inner organs,

a broken palm tree,

spilled wine,

damp wheat,

breached mortgage,

ripped up verdict,

counterfeit seal,

deformed image,

singed garment,

lost goblet,

sunken ship,

crushed pearl,

buried gem,

dried up plant,

broken beam,

rotten wood,

mutilated mandrake,

collapsed roof,

dilapidated altar,

uprooted plant,

oily filth on the street,

milk flowing through ash,

a dead man in the battalion of the brave.

February 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.

• Massachusetts ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788.  It is home to the Southeast New England and Martha’s Vineyard viticultural areas.

• Isabella Beeton, author of Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management died in 1865.  Her book included all elements of household management including, the manufacture or wine, beer, cordials and cocktails.

• The Malvasia di Cagliari DOC was created in 1979

• Feast day of St. Amandus, patron saint of beer brewers, innkeepers, vintners, merchants and the Boy Scouts.

January 31st - 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 Boston Gazette in 1737 advertised that James Bowdoin had the richest good Canary wines for sale at 8 Shillings per gallon.

• Celebrating the conclusion of the American Revolution in 1778, William Ross, an Innkeeper in Lancaster, PA, hosted a party for 100, including General Mifflin, which included a cold collation, wine, punch and sweet cakes. The party lasted until 4 am on February 1st.

• The Economist reported that the UK imported 1,338,535 gallons of wine in the month ending January 31, 1875.

• Theodor Heuss, the first President of West Germany was born in Brackenheim in 1884.  Brackenheim is a the largest wine growing community in Baden-Württemberg.

• St. John Bosco died in 1888.  During his youth he worked at the vineyard of Louis Moglia to earn month for his education.

November 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.

• Amos Bronson Alcott was born in 1799. An American teacher and writer he joined with his family and Charles Lane to create an ideal society, called Fruitlands.  They believed,  "Our wine is water,—flesh, bread;—drugs, fruits.” The problem is that the soil wasn’t arable and no one really knew how to farm.  Alcott is the father of author, Louisa May Alcott.

• Wilhelm Hauff, A German writer was born in 1802.  He is author of the story, The Wine-Ghosts of Bremen.

• The Whitman massacre occurred in 1847.  Marcus and Narcissa Whitman came to Washington state to establish a mission among the Cayuse people.  After a measles outbreak they were attacked for having brought the disease to the Cayuse.  This area is now the Walla Walla AVA.

• The treaty to create an International Wine Office was signed in 1924.  It was signed at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• Texas' Hill Country AVA was designated in 1991.

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

November 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.

• Albrecht III, Elector of Brandenburg was born in 1414.  He established the right to levy taxes on wine after he was crowned.

• The Mayflower see Cape Cod, Massachusetts today in 1620. Previously, the Mayflower shipped wines from France to London.

• Aert van der Neer, a Dutch landscape artist died in 1677.  His work was undervalued that he was forced to open a wine tavern on the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam.  

• An 1889 report in Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular describes the Hungarian wines from Lake Platten were red “not very deep in color, but have a fine body and are capable of developing well”.

• The movie, Wine, Women and Song debuted in 1915.  It starred Gilbert Anderson, otherwise known as Broncho Billy.

September 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 town records of Marblehead, Massachusetts granted Moses Maverick the right to sell a tun (252 gallons) of wine to the inhabitants of the town in 1638.
• The Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of California received a shipments of Tinto Amarella grapes from the Tulare Station in 1892.  They were in good condition except “for a little mold.”
• It is the feast day of St. Magnus of Füssen.  He is the patron saint of crops and against pests.
• Happy California Wine Month!

August 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.

• Hieronymus Bosch dies in 1516.  He was a Dutch painter known for his detailed works such as The Marriage at Cana; The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, and the Allegory of Gluttony and Lust. 
• Mary Randolph, author of the cookbook, The Virginia House-Wife; Or, Methodical Cook was born in 1762.  She includes recipes for currant wine and mead and included recipes that included wine.
• Henry David Thoreau’s Walden; or, Life in the Woods was published in 1854.  It contains "I would fain keep sober always.... I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man; wine is not so noble a liquor.... Of all ebriosity, who does not prefer to be intoxicated by the air he breathes?” (crazy talk!)
• William Vere Cruess, food scientist responsible for rebirth of the California wine industry after prohibition was born in 1886.  He is also credited with creating the formula for fruit cocktail.

July 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.

• Frances Stewart Howard, Duchess of Richmond was born in 1578.  After being orphaned at 14, she was married off to the son of a rich wine merchant, alderman and patron of the the Virginia Company.  
• The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal in 1842 had an article the treatment for insanity including medicines made with warm water, wine and molasses.
• In a letter dated July 27, 1888, J.W. Hyde of Grace Church, Waterville, NY, took the opinion that if the Lord chose wine as one of the symbols of the Eucharist, that it is not the job of men to question his wisdom.
• In a 1901 report from Ambassador Thornwall Haynes indicates that Portuguese wine producers requested permission to distill some of the 132,000,000 gallons of surplus wine to ease the storage crisis.
• Olympian Peggy Fleming was born in 1948. She was owner of Fleming Jenkins Vineyards and Winery with her husband.  The winery closed in 2012.

July 26th - 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.

• Nikephoros I of the Byzantine Empire was killed in 811 at the battle of Pliska.  His skull was turned into a wine cup for his vanquisher. 
• Mary Frith, also known as Moll Cutpurse died in 1659.  She was once required to do penance for her “evil living” at St. Paul’s Cross and she was observed as being very penitent weeping bitterly.  However, it was also reported that she ‘maudlin drunk’ having drunk  most of a bottle of sack (sherry).
• The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal dated 1831 follows the case of a gentleman with smallpox.  He was treated with calamine, bark, wine, brandy, potash, senna and rhubarb.  The patient survived.
• Spain's Navarra DO was created in 1975.

July 12th - 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.

• Erasmus died in 1536.  He was known to suffer from gallstones and complained that Queens’ College, Cambridge could not supply him with enough decent wine which was used to treat the illness.
• Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk was born in 1628.  His second wife was Jane Bickerton, daughter of Robert Bickerton, Gentleman of the Wine Cellar for Charles II.
• Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817. He once wrote, "I would fain keep sober always.... I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man; wine is not so noble a liquor.... Of all ebriosity, who does not prefer to be intoxicated by the air he breathes?” (crazy talk!)
• The City of Montreal left the Port of Liverpool bound for NYC loaded with wine. It was the ship’s last successful trip to NY.
• California's Red Hills Lake County AVA was designated in 2004.

May 22nd - 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 Hashshashin attempt to assassinate Saladin near Aleppo in 1176.  In 1169, Saladin repented wine drinking and frivolity.
• Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau was born in 1622.  He was a French soldier, courtier, Governor of New France and Founder of Fort Frontenac.  The hybrid wine grape Frontenac, developed by the University of Minnesota was named in his honor.
• Nathaniell Sparhawke of Cambridge, MA was issued a license to drawe wine and strong water in Cambridge in 1639.
• English writer, wine-merchant and Master of Wine, Pat Simon died in 2008.
• It is the feast day of St. Rita of Cascia.  Her attributes include a forehead wound (partial stigmata), Roses, bees and grapevines.

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. 

• 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. "

February 11th - 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. 

• Emperor Claudius’ heir Britannicus is thought to have been poisoned by Nero in AD 55 by poisoning the water used to cool Britannicus’ wine.  The water had been previously tasted and found safe.
• Carl Michael Bellman, a Swedish composer, musician, poet, and songwriter died in 1795.  He is best known for Fredman’s songs and Fredman’s epistles which included themes of pleasure, drunkenness, and sex.
• Lydia Maria Child was born in 1802 in Massachusetts.  She was an abolitionist, novelist, and activist for women’s and native American rights.  She is famous for writing “Over the River and Through the Wood” and the American Frugal Housewife which included recipes for food and cures that include wine as well as for wines themselves.
• The term Eiswin was coined on this day in 1830 to describe the wines of the 1829 harvest in Bingen-Dromersheim. 
• William Thomas Brande died in 1866.  A chemist, he was the first to be able to calculate the alcohol content of  wine, cider and ale.  He also believed that distilled spirits were toxic, while wine and beer, wholesome.
• Seyssel AOC was named in 1942.

February 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.

• Massachusetts ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788.  It is home to the Southeast New England and Martha’s Vineyard viticultural areas.
• Isabella Beeton, author of Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management died in 1865.  Her book included all elements of household management including, the manufacture of wine, beer, cordials, and cocktails.
• The Malvasia di Cagliari DOC was created in 1979.
• Feast day of St. Amandus, patron saint of beer brewers, innkeepers, vintners, merchants and the Boy Scouts.

January 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. 

• Massachussett's Martha's Vineyard AVA was designated in 1985.
• The Falerno del Massico DOC was established in 1989.
• Antonio Todde died in 2002 at age 112 years, 346 days.  A Sardinian shepherd, he is known for saying, "Just love your brother and drink a good glass of red wine every day."

September 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 town records of Marblehead, Massachussetts granted Moses Maverick the right to sell a tun (252 gallons) of wine to the inhabitants of the town in 1638.
• It is the feast day of St. Magnus of Füssen.  He is the patron saint of crops and against pests.
• Happy California Wine Month!

July 12 - 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.

• Erasmus died in 1536.  He was known to suffer from gallstones and complained that Queens’ College, Cambridge could not supply him with enough decent wine which was used to treat the illness.
• Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817. He once wrote, "I would fain keep sober always.... I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man; wine is not so noble a liquor.... Of all ebriosity, who does not prefer to be intoxicated by the air he breathes?” (crazy talk!)
• California's Red Hills Lake County AVA was designated in 2004.

January 3rd - 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.

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• Massachussett's Martha's Vineyard AVA was designated in 1985.
• The Falerno del Massico DOC was established in 1989.

Massachusetts

You asked for it, and we responded!

 

Qorkz now ships to Massachusetts

We are adding new wineries all the time here at Qorkz, and along with that comes new states that we are able to ship wine to. We've been asked many times "when are you shipping to Massachusetts?". And we are thrilled to announce that our latest winery Humanitas can ship their entire selection to Massachusetts! We're talking exquisite Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and their exclusive Red Blend Signum. Check them out on the Qorkz Marketplace today!