February 7th - 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.

Empress Matilda of the Holy Roman Empire was born in 1102.  She became a claimant for the English throne when her brother, William Adelin died when the vessel he was on, the White Ship foundered due to excessive drinking by the crew.  Eventually, The Empress’s son, Henry became Henry II of England.

James Busby, father of Australian wine industry born in 1801.

An 1863 The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art includes an ad from James L. Denman, Wine Merchant who sells  Greek, Hungarian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian wines.

In 1890 Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular reports that the Senate Finance Committee is “bent upon having the administrative customs bill become a law as soon as possible,” despite objections from New York importers.

December 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.

• The Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery left England in 1606 with colonists who would found Jamestown, Virginia.  Jamestown was underwritten by the Virginia Company that required settlers to provide for their own needs and hence viticulture came to Virginia.
• A note from 1834 in the Register of Debates in Congress indicates that American’s imported $200,000 of wine from France in 1824 and increasing to $920,000 in 1833.
• In a letter from 1883, Giuseppe del Puente of 5th Ave., New York praises Dr. Angelo Mariani for his fine wine, Vin Mariani. Vin Mariani was made from Bordeaux wine treated with coca leaves.