June 17th - 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.

  • The London magazine: Or, Gentleman’s Monthly Intelligencer includes a review for a Ridotto Al Fresco at Spring Gardens, Vaux-hall which included a “rural Scene, sacred to the God of Wine,”
  • In a letter dated 1740, Thomas Gray wrote his mother about his travels in Naples and the concerns of the people about the weather which was presumed to injure their corn, wine and oil.
  • Gregory Blaxland, the first exporter of Australian wine was born in 1778.
  • The British government passed a temporary regulation in 1793 about the distillation of spirits made in Scotland and shipped to England and those made in England and shipped to Scotland.  Wine measures become the standard unit.