July 20th - 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.

• Samuel Pepys reports in his diary that in 1663 he met with Captain George Cocke at his home and drank some of the Malago Sack (Malaga) which was purchased for his wife Anna Marie Cocke to improve her health, “who is, he fears, a little consumptive, and her beauty begins to want its colour”.
• Pope Leo XIII, a proponent of Vin Mariani, a wine made with coca leaves, died in 1903.
• The Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato DOC was created in 1979. The wine is made from Cortese grapes in the Piedmont region of Italy.

July 18th - 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.

• In a wildly rambling sentence written in 1665, Samuel Pepys discusses his day and how he bought a pint of wine for Ann and Miles Mitchell who were leaving London to escape the plague.
• The Sizzano and Boca DOCs were created in 1969. These regions are located in Italy’s Piedmont.
• The San Colombano al Lambro and the Colli Piacentini DOCs were created in 1984. San Colombian is near Milan and the Colli Piacentini are in Emilia-Romagna.
• The Fiano di Avellino and the Greco di Tufo DOCGs were established in 2003.  Avellino and Tufo are communes in the province of Avelino.
• French oenologist, Émile Peynaud died in 2004.

April 18th - 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.

• Today is the anniversary of the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. As a result of the quake 30 million gallons of wine were destroyed.
• The Monica di Cagliari DOC was created in 1979.
• The Nasco Cagliari DOC was created in 1979.
• The Bianco dell'Empolese DOC was established in 1989.
• In 2007, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published the results of a recent joint study by the University of Reading and University of Cagliari that showed moderate consumptions of Champagne Mayhelp the brain cope with the trauma of stroke, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease.