December 17th - 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 first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in 497 BC.

• Jamal ad-Din Rumi, Muslim poet, jurist, scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic died in 1273.  He wrote:

On the seeker’s path, wise men and fools are one.

In His love, brothers and strangers are one.

Go on! Drink the wine of the Beloved!

In that faith, Muslims and pagans are one. -Quatrain 305

• Humphry Davy was born in 1778.  He was a chemist known for isolating potassium, calcium and strontium among others.  He is also known for experiments with nitrous oxide which he mixed with wine and tried as a hangover cure (his notes said it worked).

• This day in 1794 would have been the 27th day of the month Frimaire under the French Revolutionary Calendar. The day of the month was respresented by the Cork Oak Tree (Liège) and the month by Frost (Frimaire).

• 50 Alsatian Grand Crus were established in 1992.