May 19th - 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.

  • Alcuin scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria and first known wine writer died in 804
  • Spain's Almansa DO was created in 1975
  • Spain's Ampurdán-Costa Brava DO was created in 1975
  • Spain's Priorato DO was created in 1975
  • The Bianco Capena DOC was created in 1975
  • The Savuto DOC was created in 1975
  • California's Seiad Valley AVA was designated in 1994
  • Thomas Harris' Novel, The Silence of the Lambs was published in 1999. In the novel Hannibal Lector describes eating the census taker's liver with fava beans and a big Amarone... Not the Chianti mentioned in the movie.  Another change is that the movie used the death’s-head Hawkmoth instead of the Black Witch moth. 
  • The Nantucket Wine & Food Festival is going on!  

March 29th - 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.


  • Baron Bettino Ricasoli, the Father of Chianti Classico, was born in 1809.
  • The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ruledin 1813 that the Philadelphia Sheriff Barker was not entitled to break into Plaintiff Lyle’s house and seize 29 pipes of Madeira to pay an undetermined debt to Robert Morris.
  • Oregon's Umpqua Valley AVA was designated in 1984.