October 10th - This Date in Wine History

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Charles_le_Mauvais.jpg

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.

  • Charles II of Navarre, known as Charles the Bad was born in 1332.  At the end of his life he was so decrepit that his doctor order him wrapped like a mummy in linen soaked in brandy (aqua vitae).  A maid dropped a candle and WHOOSH! This was seen as a sign of God’s justice.
  • Melchor de Concha y Toro, businessman, lawyer, Chilean politician and Marquis of Casa Concha by the Spanish Crown planted vines in the valley of the Maipo River thus creating the Concha y Toro winery was born in 1833.
  • New York's North Fork of Long Island and Texas' Bell Mountain AVA were designated in 1986.
  • AOC Anjou - Coteaux de la Loire was established in 2003.

July 27th - This Date in Wine History

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Waterville, NY

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 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.

July 3rd - This Date in Wine History

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Louis XI

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.

  • Louis XI was born in 1423. He negotiated the Treaty of Picquigny ending the Hundred Years’ War bragging that his father had driven the English out by force of arms while he had driven them out by force of pâté, venison and good French wine.
  • Samuel Pepys met with Mr. Butler and William Bowyer at Westminster Hall and took them to the Sun Tavern where he gave them lobster and wine.
  • New York's Seneca Lake AVA was designated in 2003.

June 6th - This Date in Wine History

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Alexander Byzantine Emperor

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 Byzantine emperor, Alexander died in 913 after playing tzykanisterion (Byzantine polo). He was viewed as lazy, lecherous, drunk and malignant.
  • The Alex. D. Shaw & Company received a trademark for Sherry-Wine in 1911.
  • The Australian Geographical Indication "Southern Fleurieu" was registered in 2001.
  • The Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane DOCG designation was established in 2003.

Champlain Valley of New York - Wine Region of the Day

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Champlain Valley of New York

Most regions seeking to be designated an American Viticultural Area submit long applications indicating their unique history, soils and climate.  In the case of the Champlain Valley of New York, the only significant factor is climate.  It is cold.  How cold you may ask?  Canada cold.  Winter Olympic cold.  

The Champlain Valley was formed by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age and were once part of what was called the Champlain Sea and then later Glacial Lake Vermont.  Eventually the ice retreated and the majority of the water drained from the region forming Lake Champlain as we know it today.

Abutting the Canadian border and found along Lake Champlain which forms the northern boundary between the States of New York and Vermont, this new appellation is 500 square miles in size and has 15.47 acres under vine (talk about growth potential). The most unique part of the region is that it has a growing season on average two weeks shorter than the surround areas.  Even at the same latitude on the Vermont side of the lake it is warmer.  Why?  Well the prevailing winds blow from west to east crossing over the lake.  Water has a moderating effect on temperature by keeping the ambient temperature warmer.  What is the effect of the shorter growing season? Well, traditional wine grapes (vitis vinifera) can't be reliably cultivated.  Instead the appellations wineries grow North American cold-hardy hybrids such as Frontenac, La Crescent and Marquette.  Not familiar with these grapes?  Give them a try!  You might like them.

Oh, and as an added bonus?  Visitors to the region have an opportunity to looks for the area's most famous resident.  Champy, is the cryptozoological equivalent of the Loch Ness Monster or Okanagan's Ogopogo.  

May 16th - 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.

  • Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders was crowned the first Emperor of the Latin Empire in 1204 at the Hagia Sophia.  His reign ended with Tsar Kalyan of Bulgaria killed him in 1205 and turned his skull into a drinking cup.
  • New York's The Hamptons, Long Island AVA was designated in 1985.
  • Robert Mondavi died in 2008.

May 15th - 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.

  • The Exposition Universelle of 1855 opens in Paris. Emperor Napoleon III ordered the reclassification of Bordeaux wines. This is the basis of the AOC classification system in France.
  • The Monbazillac AOC was created in 1936.
  • The Cassis AOC was created in 1936.
  • California's Santa Lucia Highlands AVA was designated in 1992.
  • Texas' Escondido Valley AVA was designated in 1992.
  • New York's North Fork of Long Island AVA was designated in 2001.

March 25th - 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.

  • Greece declared its independence from Turkey in 1821 freeing wine production from the onerous taxes of the Ottoman Turks .
  • French winemaker, Jean-Michel Cazes was born in 1935.
  • New York's Cayuga Lake AVA was designated in 1988.
  • The Australian Geographical Indication "Clare Valley" was registered in 1999.
  • The Australian Geographical Indication "Perricoota" was registered in 1999.
  • The Australian Geographical Indication "Adelaide Plains" was registered in 2002.

 

January 11th - This Date in Wine History

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Ezra Cornell

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.

  • Mt. Etna erupts in 1693. The eruption enriches the fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south
  • Ezra Cornell was born in 1807.  Cornell was a founder of Western Union and endowed Cornell University in Ithaca, New York which isknown for its viticulture, enology and agricultural sciences programs.