January 24th - 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.

  • Pope Stephen IV died in 817.  Under Stephen, the Frankish clergy was reformed requiring men and women be housed in separated convents, which were to hold community property jointly.  He also regulated how much food and wine they could consume.

  • Peter IV of Aragon was crowned King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca and County of Barcelona in 1336. He once had a friendly dispute with his Jewish physician about why Jewish people were not allowed to drink kosher wine touched by a Christian.  The Doctor had water brought to wash the king’s feet which he then drank to prove that impurity was not the reason for the prohibition.

  • Spain's Tierra del Vino de Zamora DO was created in 2008.

  • It is the feast day of St. Cadoc.  At his baptism a holy well that flowed milk and wine appeared. He is the patron saint of Glamorgan; Llancarfan; famine victims; deafness; and glandular disorders.