April 16th - This Date in Wine History

/
StFructuosus.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. 

  • Vitellius becomes Emperor of Rome after defeating Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum in 69 AD.  His 9 month reign was marked by feasting and sending the navy to procure rare delicacies until he was deposed by Vespasian.
  • Joseph Black, the Scottish chemist who discovered magnesium and carbon dioxide was born in Bordeaux in 1728.  Both his mother and his father’s family were in the wine trade.
  • Spain's Ribera del Guadiana DO was created in 1999.
  • The French have a saying, « Gelée à la Saint-Fructueux rend le vigneron malheureux. » or “Ice on Saint Fructeuex’s day make winemakers unhappy.”