October 12th - This Date in Wine History

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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.