August 21st - This Date in Wine History

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Lady Mary Mortley Montagu

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.

  • Philip II, or Philip Augustus of France was born in 1165.  He was known for the construction of Les Halles, the central market of Paris, Notre-Dame de Paris, the Louvre and the Sorbonne.  He was also known for commissioning a great wine tasting competition that was known as the Battle of the Wines.
  • Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer, traveller and poet died in 1762.  In her descriptions of her travels, she lamented that European travel literature contained “trite observations…. superficial [accounts of] boys [who] only remember where they met with the best wine or the prettyest women.”
  • The Soave DOC designation was established in 1968.  These wines are from the Veneto region near the city of Verona.