December 19th - This Date in Wine History
/Virginia commemorative quarter showing the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery
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.
- 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.