June 15th - This Date in Wine History

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The Mona Lisa or La Gioconde

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.

  • Lisa del Giocondo was born in 1479. She was the daughter of a Chianti vineyard owner and later married Florentine silk merchant.  She was the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting, The Mona Lisa.
  • California's Mendocino and Monterey AVAs were designated in 1984.
  • It is the feast day of Saint Germaine of Pibrac (France).  She was known to sleep on a pallet vine cuttings from her infancy until the time she died at the age of 22.