January 27th - This Date in Wine History

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1920px-Sandro_Botticelli_-_La_Carte_de_l'Enfer.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.

  • Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.  In exile he wrote his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy.  In his vision of hell, gluttons and drunkards are fed to Cerebus in the third level.

  • Shah Abbas I of Persia was born in 1571.  There are paintings of the Shah being handed wine to drink despite Islams prohibitions against it.

  • In 1659, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first known wine in South Africa.

  • California's Stags Leap District AVA was designated in 1989.

January 27th - This Date in Wine History

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Portrait_de_Dante.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.

  • Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.  In exile, he wrote his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy.  In his vision of hell, gluttons and drunkards are fed to Cerebus in the third level.
  • Shah Abbas I of Persia was born in 1571.  There are paintings of the Shah being handed wine to drink despite Islam's prohibitions against it.
  • In 1659, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first known wine in South Africa.
  • California's Stags Leap District AVA was designated in 1989.

Stags Leap District - Wine Region of the Day

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The Stags Leap District received its AVA distinction in 1989 and is a sub-appellation of the Napa Valley AVA. Sitting on 2,700 acres, Stags Leap is only 6 miles north of the city of Napa, California. The soil of this region includes loam and clay sediments from the Napa River and volcanic soil deposits from the gradual erosion of the Vaca Mountains. The heat of the sun reflects off neighboring hills onto the vines, causing warm daily temperatures in the vineyards. In the evenings, cool, marine air flows in from the San Pablo Bay through the Stags Leap District corridor. The cooling effect of this breeze means lower nighttime temperatures. This combination of warm days and cool nights allows the grapes to achieve an excellent balance of acid and sugar, and the result is a longer growing season. The majority of grapes grown in the region are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Stags Leap District - Wine Region of the Day

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Stag's Leap District

The Stags Leap District received its AVA distinction in 1989 and is a sub-appellation of the Napa Valley AVA. Sitting on 2,700 acres, Stags Leap is only 6 miles north of the city of Napa, California. The soil of this region includes loam and clay sediments from the Napa River and volcanic soil deposits from the gradual erosion of the Vaca Mountains. The heat of the sun reflects off neighboring hills onto the vines, causing warm daily temperatures in the vineyards. In the evenings, cool, marine air flows in from the San Pablo Bay through the Stags Leap District corridor. The cooling effect of this breeze means lower nighttime temperatures. This combination of warm days and cool nights allows the grapes to achieve an excellent balance of acid and sugar, and the result is a longer growing season. The majority of grapes grown in the region are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Napa Valley - Wine Region of the Day

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Napa Valley received its designation as an AVA in 1981. Situated on 43,000 acres, Napa Valley is home to sub-appellations Los Carneros, Howell Mountain, Wild Horse Valley, Stags Leap District, Mt. Veeder, Atlas Peak, Spring Mountain District, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Chiles Valley, Yountville, Diamond Mountain District, Coombsville, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, and Calistoga. The Napa Valley floor is flanked by the Mayacamas Mountain Range on the western and northern sides the Vaca Mountains on the eastern side. The floor of the main valley gradually rises from sea level at the southern end to 362 feet above sea level at the northern end in Calistoga at the foot of Mount Saint Helena. The Oakville and Rutherford AVAs lie within a geographical area known as the Rutherford Bench in the center of the valley floor. The soil at the southern end of the valley consists mainly of sediments deposited by earlier advances and retreats of San Pablo Bay while the soil at the northern end of the valley contains a large volume of volcanic lava and ash. Several microclimates exist within the area due to various weather and geographical influences in the different sub-appellations. The open southern end of the valley floor is cooler during the growing season due to the proximity of San Pablo Bay while the sheltered, closed northern end is often much warmer. The eastern side of the valley tends to be arid because winter storms tend to drop much more precipitation on the western mountains and hills. Napa Valley is known for its world-class production of Cabernet Sauvignon but also produces Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc.

January 27th - This Date in Wine History

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Shah Abbas I of Persia with wine boy by Muhammad Qasim

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.

  • Shah Abbas I of Persia was born in 1571.  There are paintings of the Shah being handed wine to drink despite Islam's prohibitions against it.
  • In 1659, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first known wine in South Africa.
  • California's Stags Leap District AVA was designated in 1989.