March 6th - This Date in Wine History

Byzantines_under_Nikephoros_Phokas_besiege_Chandax.png

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 final assault in the Surge of Chandax occurred in 961.  Previously, a  Byzantine forces had scoured the countryside in search of supplies which them to become drunk only to be attacked by the Emir’s troops.  The final sign on modern Heraklion was a success for the Byzantine forces.

  • Australian viticulturist, Dr. Richard Smart was born in 1945 .

  • Max Schubert, Australian winemaker responsible for Penfolds Grange Hermitage died in 1994.

  • Colorado's West Elks AVA was designated in 2001.

  • Ernest Gallo died in 2007.

August 1st - This Date in Wine History

EleanorandJohnMural.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.

  • Eleanor of Aquitaine became Queen of France in 1137.  Her dowry included Aquitaine including the vineyards or Bordeaux, which remained hers through the marriage and afterwards.
  • Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland died in 1714.  A political opponent once wrote of a statue of her, “it was fitting she was depicted with her rump to the church, gazing longingly into a wineshop”.
  • Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876.  It is home to  the Grand Valley and West Elks viticultural areas.
  • Germany's Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) is renamed Prädikatswein in 2007.
  • There is an old French saying “S’il pleut le jour de la Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens, la vinée réduit du tiers,” or approximately “If it rains on the Festival of the Liberation of Saint Peter, the wine will be reduced by a third”.

March 6th - This Date in Wine History

Byzantines_under_Nikephoros_Phokas_besiege_Chandax.png

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 final assault in the Surge of Chandax occurred in 961.  Previously, a  Byzantine forces had scoured the countryside in search of supplies which them to become drunk only to be attacked by the Emir’s troops.  The final sign on modern Heraklion was a success for the Byzantine forces.
  • Australian viticulturist, Dr. Richard Smart was born in 1945 .
  • Max Schubert, Australian winemaker responsible for Penfolds Grange Hermitage died in 1994.
  • Colorado's West Elks AVA was designated in 2001.
  • Ernest Gallo died in 2007.

November 25th - This Date in Wine History

Appletons'_Columbus_Christopher_Santa_María_-_Pinta_-_Niña.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.

  • Colorado's Grand Valley AVA was designated in 1991
  • Spain's Condado de Huelva DO was created in 2002.  The wines from this area are known as the wines of the Discovery of America.

March 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.


  • Australian viticulturist, Dr. Richard Smart was born in 1945 
  • Max Schubert, Australian winemaker responsible for Penfolds Grange Hermitage died in 1994
  • Colorado's West Elks AVA was designated in 2001
  • Ernest Gallo died in 2007