April 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.

• Famed actress, Helena Modjeska died in 1909.  She and a small group of Polish artists and aristocrats emigrated to Anaheim, California to create a colony based on Brooks Farm.  They grew muscat grapes which no one would buy but instead stole… The colony failed and Modjeska returned to the theater but created her home at Arden in Anaheim until 1906.

• The Salice Salentino DOC was created in 1976.

• The Kanawha River Valley AVA was designated in 1986.

• It is the feast of St. Walter of Pontoise.  He is the patron saint of prisoners, prisoners of war, job-related stress and vintners.

March 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.

• Henry XI of Legnica died in 1588.  He spent several years at the court of Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand the 1st acting as the Grand Cup-Bearer.

• Florida joined the union in 1845.  It has been producing wine since the 1500s when the French settled Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida.

• The Frascati DOC was created in 1966.

• The Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG designation was established in 1966.

• Spain's Somontano DO was created in 1984.

• It is National Mulled Wine day.

December 19th - 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 Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery  left England in 1606 with colonists who would found Jamestown, Virginia.  Jamestown was underwritten by the Virginia Company that required settlers to provide for their own needs and hence viticulture came to Virginia.

• A note from 1834 in the Register of Debates in Congress indicates that American’s imported $200,000 of wine from France in 1824 and increasing to $920,000 in 1833.

• Albert Abraham Michelson, the first American to win a Nobel Prize in a science was born in 1852.  Born in Poland, he moved to California in 1855.  His childhood home in Murphys Camp is now a tasting room for Hovey Wine.

• In a letter from 1883, Giuseppe del Puente of 5th Ave., New York praises Dr. Angelo Mariani for his fine wine, Vin Mariani. Vin Mariani was made from Bordeaux wine treated with coca leaves.

November 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.

• Ignace Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer and statesman was born in 1860.  In 1913 he moved to Paso Robles, California and later planted Zinfandel.

• The California Fruit News of 1916, indicated that the steamship “Governor” left San Francisco for British Columbia with a shipment of wine, fruits, vegetables and legumes. 

• California's Sierra Foothills AVA was designated in 1987. 

• Belgium's "Heuvellandse wijn,” "Vlaamse landwijn,” (vin de pays flamand) and "Vlaamse mousserende kwaliteitswijn” (vin mousseux de qualité kwaliteitswijn " AOCs were designated in 2005.

October 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.

• King Belshazzar of Babylon offers his guests wine from goblets taken from the temple in Jerusalem as the city falls to Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE

• The first Oktoberfest happened in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghhausen.  Tasting of wine and beer took place on the Theresienwiese.

• The 1824 Reflections on the Works of God, and on his Providence by Christopher Christian Sturm describes wine as a “Present of the Divine Goodness, which should excite our warmest gratitude.”

• Helena Modjeska was born in 1840.  She and a small group of Polish artists and aristocrats emigrated to Anaheim, California to create a colony based on Brooks Farm.  They grew muscat grapes which no one would buy but stole… The colony failed and Modjeska returned to the theater but created her home at Arden in Anaheim until 1906.

• Bonforts Wine & Spirits Circular reports that it is anticipated that Champagne will produce a small yield for the 1888 vintage.  This is due a snow and heavy frost in October 1887.

April 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. 

• Famed actress, Helena Modjeska died in 1909.  She and a small group of Polish artists and aristocrats emigrated to Anaheim, California to create a colony based on Brooks Farm.  They grew muscat grapes which no one would buy but instead stole… The colony failed and Modjeska returned to the theater but created her home at Arden in Anaheim until 1906.
• The Salice Salentino DOC was created in 1976.
• The Kanawha River Valley AVA was designated in 1986.
• It is the feast of St. Walter of Pontoise.  He is the patron saint of prisoners, prisoners of war, job-related stress and vintners.

October 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.

• King Belshazzar of Babylon offers his guests wine from goblets taken from the temple in Jerusalem as the city falls in 539 BCE.
• Bonforts Wine & Spirits Circular reports that it is anticipated that Champagne will produce a small yield for the 1888 vintage.  This is due a snow and heavy frost in October 1887.
• Helena Modjeska was born in 1840.  She and a small group of Polish artists and aristocrats emigrated to Anaheim, California to create a colony based on Brooks Farm.  They grew muscat grapes which no one would buy but stole… The colony failed and Modjeska returned to the theater but created her home at Arden in Anaheim until 1906.

April 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.

---

• Famed actress, Helena Modjeska died in 1909.  She and a small group of Polish artists and aristocrats emigrated to Anaheim, California to create a colony based on Brooks Farm.  They grew muscat grapes which no one would buy but instead stole… The colony failed and Modjeska returned to the theater but created her home at Arden in Anaheim until 1906.
• The Salice Salentino DOC was created in 1976.
• The Kanawha River Valley AVA was designated in 1986.