January 30th - This Date in Wine History

Georg_Friedrich_von_Baden-Durlach.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.

  • A Parisian Ordonnance of 1330, forbade the mixing of two wines together; no wine-seller was to give a false name to a wine, or to give a wrong description of its age ; the penalty was confiscation of the wine and a fine.
  • Georg Friedrich Margrave von Baden-Durlach was born in 1573.  He founded an exchange bank in Upper Baden which was supposed to organize the wine and grain trade.
  • Peter II of Russia died in 1730.  One of his early governesses was the wife of a Dutch vintner.
  • Salvador Dalí married Elena Ivanovna Diakonova, better known as Gala in 1934. He later created a wine book, The Wines of Gala, as well as a cookbook, The Dinners of Gala in her honor.

November 30th - 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.

  • Winston Churchill, known for enjoying a glass of hock for breakfast was born in 1874.  He is also known to have said,  “Champagne should be cold, dry and free”? 
  • Oscar Wilde dies in Paris in 1900. He is famously quoted as saying while sipping champagne, "And now, I am dying beyond my means.”
  • California's Wild Horse Valley AVA was designated in 1988.
  • Oregon's Dundee Hills AVA was designated 2004.

May 24th - 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.

  • União Vinícola Regional de Bucelas was created in 1934.
  • The Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC was created in 1968.
  • "Judgement of Paris" takes place in 1976.
  • The Bivongi DOC was created in 1996.
  • The Colli dell'Etruria Centrale DOC was established in 1997.

January 30th - This Date in Wine History

The Palais du Louvre


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.


  • A Parisian Ordonnance of 1330, forbade the mixing of two wines together; no wine-seller was to give a false name to a wine, or to give a wrong description of its age ; the penalty was confiscation of the wine and a fine.
  • Peter II of Russia died in 1730.  One of his early governesses was the wife of a Dutch vintner.