March 2nd - This Date in Wine History

Photo by USDA-Agricultural Research Service

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. 

• St. Benedict of Nursia was born in 480.  He is the saint invoked against poison.  His monks tried to poison his wine and then his bread but he was saved by miracles.
• Henry Clay charged 14shillings for billiards and wine in 1804 from John Postelthwait in Lexington, KY.
• Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, the future Pope Leo XIII was born in 1810.  He appeared in ads for Vin Mariani a wine and coca leaf tonic.
• The Texas High Plains AVA was designated in 2003.

February 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. 

• Samuel Pepys drank a pint of wine at the Greyhound Tavern with Mr. Pierce and William Howe in 1660.
• Wine writer, Andre Simon was born in 1877. 
• Mario Andretti was born in 1940.  He is one of the founders of Andretti Winery in Napa Valley.
• California's Rockpile AVA was designated in 2002.
• California's Trinity Lakes AVA was designated in 2005.
• The French have a saying, « Beau ciel à la saint Romain, il y aura des denrées et du bon vin. » or "Beautiful sky at St. Romain, there will be food and good wine. "

February 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. 

• English Protestant martyr, Rowland Taylor died in 1555.  He was a supporter of Lady Jane Grey who was overthrown by Mary.   He tried and found guilty of heresy for objecting to the doctrine of transubstantiation where bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  He was burned at the stake. 
• Max Schubert, Australian winemaker responsible for Penfolds Grange Hermitage was born in 1915.
• Race Car Driver, Kevin Buckler was born in 1959.  He owns Adobe Road Wines in Sonoma.
• Connecticut's Western Connecticut Highlands AVA was designated in 1988.
• The Australian Geographical Indication "Adelaide Hills" was registered in 1998.
• New Jersey's Outer Coastal Plain AVA was designated in 2007.

January 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.

• Michigan was admitted to the Union in 1837.  It is home to the Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula and Tip of the Mitt viticultural areas.
• Paul Newman, founder of Newman's Own which included a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon was born in 1925.
• It is the feast day of St. Alberic of Cîteaux who founded the Cistercian Order of Monks.  Cistercians are known to support their abbeys through making products for sale.  St. Alberic arranged a donation of a vineyard to support his abbey.  That vineyard is known today as Meursault.
• It is the feast day of Saint Timothy.  He was an evangelist in Turkey and Greece.  He was also known to be sickly and is the patron of gastrointestinal disorders.   In letters, St. Paul urges Timothy to  "use a little wine for your stomach's sake".

January 22nd - This Date in Wine History

Photo by Charterhouse Auctioneers & Valuers

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 Gordon Byron, known as Lord Byron was born in 1788. He used a skull found at Newstead Abbey as a wine cup. He wrote the poem Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed from a Skull.
• Antonio Todde was born in 1889.  A Sardinian shepherd, he is known for saying, "Just love your brother and drink a good glass of red wine every day,"
• Alexandrina Victoria, known later as Queen Victoria died in 1901.  She was known for enjoying a mix of claret and whisky.
• Food Network star, Guy Fieri was born in 1968.  He is owner of Hunt & Ryde Winery.
• California's Atlas Peak AVA was designated in 1992.
• Feast day of Saint Vincent of Saragossa, patron saint of vintners.

January 20th - 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.

• Enoch L. Johnson was born in 1883.  He was an Atlantic City political and crime boss who was quoted as saying, “We have whisky, wine, women, song and slot machines. I won't deny it and I won't apologize for it. If the majority of the people didn't want them they wouldn't be profitable and they would not exist. The fact that they do exist proves to me that the people want them.”  He was fictionalized in Boardwalk Empire as the character, Nucky Thompson.
• Baron Philippe de Rothschild died in 1988.
• California's San Francisco Bay AVA was designated in 1999.
• The owner of Trump Winery, Donald J. Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States in 2017.

January 18th - 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.

• Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town and produced the first known wine in South Africa died in 1677.
• Messrs. Bouchard, père et fils report to Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular in 1890 about the quality of the new Burgundy which is said to be their best in years.
• Hermann Müller, a Swiss botanist and oenologist created the Müller-Thurgau varietal in 1882 died in 1927
• Oregon's McMinnville AVA was designated in 2005.

January 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.

In a report of 1749, The Sporting Magazine reports on “The Bottle Conjurer” who performs at the New Theatre in the Haymaket who disappears into a “common wine bottle”.

Virginia’s Rocky Knob AVA was designated in 1983.

• The Alsace Grand Cru Kaefferkopf AOC was established in 2007.

January 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.

• Connecticut ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788. It is home to the Western Connecticut Highlands and Southeastern New England viticultural areas.
• Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson was given a state funeral in 1806.  He died several months earlier at the battle of Trafalgar but was preserved in a barrel of Brandy mixed with camphor and myrrh.
• Dave Matthews Band frontman, Dave Matthews was born in 1967.  He owns Blenheim Vineyards in Albemarle, Virginia.
• The Barbera d'Asti DOC, Barbera del Monferrato DOC and Rubino di Cantavenna DOC were created in 1970.
• The Bianco Valdinievole DOC was established in 1976.
• The Lacrima di Morro d'Alba DOC was created in 1985.
• The Rosso Conero Reserve DOCG designation were established in 2004.

January 4th - 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. 

• Johann Menge, originally of Steinau, Germany, explored Australia's Barossa Valley and extolled its potential for viticulture was born in 1788.  He is also thought to have discovered the first opal in Australia.
• Thomas Jefferson wrote to John F. Oliveira Fernandes, a physician and merchant from Norfolk, Virginia in 1805 regarding an order of Portuguese wine.
• California's Arroyo Grande Valley AVA was designated in 1990.

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."

January 2nd - 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. 

• Georgia ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788.  It is now home to the Upper Hiwassee Highlands AVA.
• Virginia's Eastern Shore AVA was designated in 1994.
• It is the feast day of St. Adalard of Corbie.  He was the cousin of Charlemagne and is patron saint of gardeners.

December 14th - 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.

• George Washington died in 1799.  He was a member of the Virginia’s House of Burgesses from 1758-1765.  He plied the voters with 170 gallons of rice punch, beer, wine, hard cider and brandy.
• Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes the French painter was born in 1824.  He is known for his work, The Wine Press.
• ‘I heard it Through the Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye was #1 on the charts in 1968.
• Spain's Conca de Barberá DO was created in 1989.
• Chile's Declaration of Appellations was approved in 1994.
• Oregon's Applegate Valley AVA was designated in 2000.

December 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.

• 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.

December 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.

• California's Ben Lomond Mountain AVA was designated in 1987.
• North Carolina's Yadkin Valley AVA was designated in 2002.
• Oregon's Yamhill-Carlton District AVA was designated in 2004.

December 8th - 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 Vouvray AOC was established in 1936. 
• The Australian Geographical Indication "Kangaroo Island" in 2000.
• The Southern Oregon AVA was designated in 2004.

December 7th - This Date in Wine History

Texoma Council of Governments - http://www.texoma.cog.tx.us/departments/planning-

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.

• André Tchelistcheff, the "dean of American winemakers was born in 1901.
• The Australian Geographical Indication "Lower Murray" was registered in 1996. 
• California's Ramona Valley AVA was designated in 2005.
• The Texoma AVA was designated in 2005.
• Washington's Wahluke Slope AVA was designated in 2005.

December 1st - 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.

• A Report to the Superintendent of the Census for December 1, 1852 includes a history of viticulture from colonial days to the mid-19th century.
• Oregon's Willamette Valley AVA was designated in 1983.
• Spain’s Ribera del Duero DO was established in 1992.

November 30th - 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.

• Winston Churchill, known for enjoying a glass of hock for breakfast was born in 1874.  He is also known to have said,  “Champagne should be cold, dry and free”? 
• Oscar Wilde dies in Paris in 1900. He is famously quoted as saying while sipping champagne, "And now, I am dying beyond my means.”
• California's Wild Horse Valley AVA was designated in 1988.
• Oregon's Dundee Hills AVA was designated 2004.

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.

• 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.