August 18th - This Date in Wine History

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Virginia Dare Baptism

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 Siege of Málaga ended in 1487.  This was part of the Reconquista of Moorish Spain, specifically the Emirate of Granada.  The Spanish victors brought “legal” wine back to Málaga.
  • Pope Alexander VI dies after drinking poisoned wine in 1503.
  • Virginia Dare, the first English child in the New world was born in 1587.  She disappeared with the rest of the Roanoke Island settlers.  There is a winery named in her honor.
  • Hacienda de San Lorenzo, the first winery in the Americas was begun in 1597 by Don Lorenzo Garcia in Santa María de las Parras, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico.
  • California's Anderson Valley and Willow Creek AVAs were designated in 1983.