August 1st - This Date in Wine History

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EleanorandJohnMural.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.

  • Eleanor of Aquitaine became Queen of France in 1137.  Her dowry included Aquitaine including the vineyards or Bordeaux, which remained hers through the marriage and afterwards.
  • Queen Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland died in 1714.  A political opponent once wrote of a statue of her, “it was fitting she was depicted with her rump to the church, gazing longingly into a wineshop”.
  • Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876.  It is home to  the Grand Valley and West Elks viticultural areas.
  • Germany's Qualitätswein mit Prädikat (QmP) is renamed Prädikatswein in 2007.
  • There is an old French saying “S’il pleut le jour de la Saint-Pierre-ès-Liens, la vinée réduit du tiers,” or approximately “If it rains on the Festival of the Liberation of Saint Peter, the wine will be reduced by a third”.

July 29th - This Date in Wine History

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Still life with bottle, two glasses, cheese and bread

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.

  • Nicole-Barbe Ponsardin Cliquot, the Veuve Cliquot, died in 1866.
  • Vincent van Gogh died in 1890.  He was famous for painting still life like Still Life Still life with Bottle, Two Glasses, Cheese and Bread.
  • Opening of the 1999 Fête des Vignerons (Winegrowers Festival) in Vevey, Switzerland.  The next fete will be in 2019.

February 13th - 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.

  • Parentalia, the Roman festival of the ancestors was celebrated by offerings of flower-garlands, wheat, salt, wine-soaked bread and violets.
  • The Challenge of Barletta was fought in Italy of 1503.  The tournament was provoked after Charles de la Motte of France, drunk on the local wine, insulted the Italians.
  • Under a federal law passed in 1862, it was illegal to provide to any alcohol to an Indian under the authority of the Indian Bureau. A fine of $500.00 was charged for each violation.