February 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.

• Matthaus Schwarz a German accountant was born in 1497. He was the son of wine merchant. He is best known for Trachtenbuch, or Book of Clothes cataloging the clothes that he wore between 1520 and 1560.

• The Peruvian volcano Huaynaputina exploded in 1600.  This eruption led to famine in Russian, bitterly cold winters  and disruption of the wine harvest in France, Germany and Peru.

• The Donner Party was rescued by a search party from Napa Valley in 1847.

• Nathaniel de Rothschild, founder of the French wine-making branch of the Rothschild family died in 1870.

• Spain's Cataluña DO was created in 1991.

July 3rd - 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.

• Louis XI was born in 1423. He negotiated the Treaty of Picquigny ending the Hundred Years’ War bragging that his father had driven the English out by force of arms while he had driven them out by force of pâté, venison and good French wine.
• Mr. Blakeman, a visiting preacher to Rotherham was paid a pint of Sack (sherry) in 1688.
• Werlé & Co. received a patent for their champagne in 1877.  The company was the successor of Veuve Clicquot.
• Idaho was admitted to the union in 1890.  It is home to the Eagle Foothills, Lewis-Clark Valley and Snake River Valley viticultural areas.
• MFK Fisher was born in 1908.  She was a pre-eminent food writer and also founder of the Napa Valley Wine Library.
• New York's Seneca Lake AVA was designated in 2003.