December 4th - 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.

• Nicholas Breakspear was declared #Pope #AdrianIV in 1154.  His #papacy would end five years later when he #choked on a #fly in his #wine

• U.S. Gen. George Washington held a dinner to bid farewell to his officers in 1783.  He toasted them with the words,  "[w]ith a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glorious and honorable." As he later asked to take each one of his officers by the hand for a personal word.

• California's McDowell Valley AVA was designated in 1981.

• California's Santa Cruz Mountains AVA was designated in 1981.

• California's Sonoma Valley AVA was designated in 1981.

• Falcon Crest, an American primetime television soap opera about an American winemaking family debuted 1981.

• Happy Cabernet Franc Day!

November 6th - 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.

• Julian was named Caesar of the Western Provinces in 355.  He later tried to conquer the Persians but was injured.  He died as a result of having his wound irrigated with “dark wine”.

• The Synod of Rome was called by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I in 962.  During this Synod, Otto deposes Pope John XII on the grounds that he was depraved and worldly (and incited rebellion against the Emperor).  Witnesses claimed that the Pontiff had toasted the devil with wine.

• The French Bonnezeaux AOC was created in 1951.

• National Nachos Day… What wine would you pair with Nachos?

February 20th - 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. 

• Andreas Hofer of St. Leonhard in Passeier died in 1810.  He was a Tyrolean Innkeeper, and wine and horse tradesman who was a leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion against Napoleon.  He was eventually captured and executed.
• Pope Leo the XIII was born in 1878. He appeared in advertisements for Vin Mariani, a wine made with Coca leaves.
• California's Mt. Veeder AVA was designated in 1990.

January 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.

Jan 24

• Pope Stephen IV died in 817.  Under Stephen, the Frankish clergy was reformed requiring men and women be housed in separated convents, which were to hold community property jointly.  He also regulated how much food and wine they could consume.
• Peter IV of Aragon was crowned King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca and County of Barcelona in 1336. He once had a friendly dispute with his Jewish physician about why Jewish people were not allowed to drink kosher wine touched by a Christian.  The Doctor had water brought to wash the king’s feet which he then drank to prove that impurity was not the reason for the prohibition.
• Spain's Tierra del Vino de Zamora DO was created in 2008.
• It is the feast day of St. Cadoc.  At his baptism a holy well that flowed milk and wine appeared.  He is the patron saint of Glamorgan; Llancarfan; famine victims; deafness; and glandular disorders.

January 1st - This Date in Happy New Year

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.

• Charles II of Navarre, known as Charles the Bad died in 1387.  At the end of his life he was so decrepit that his doctor order him wrapped like a mummy in linen soaked in brandy (aqua vitae).  A maid dropped a candle and WHOOSH! This was seen as a sign of God’s justice.
• Pope Alexander VI, the former Roderic Borgia was born in 1431.  He was known for frequently poisoning the wine of rivals, using the Cup of Borgia, and then confiscated their wealth.
• Henry, Duke of Cornwall was born in 1511.  He was the first living child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.  To celebrate guns were fired, bells were rung, fires lit and free wine was given to the public.  The baby did not survive.
• Pieter Claesz, Dutch golden age painter died in 1660.  Wine was often featured in his still life paintings.
• Gregory Blaxland, the first exporter of Australian wine died in 1853.

January 1st - 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.

• Charles II of Navarre, known as Charles the Bad died in 1387.  At the end of his life, he was so decrepit that his doctor ordered him wrapped like a mummy in linen soaked in brandy (aqua vitae).  A maid dropped a candle and WHOOSH! This was seen as a sign of God’s justice.
• Pope Alexander VI, the former Roderic Borgia was born in 1431.  He was known for frequently poisoning the wine of rivals, using the Cup of Borgia, and then confiscated their wealth.
• Henry, Duke of Cornwall was born in 1511.  He was the first living child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.  To celebrate guns were fired, bells were rung, fires lit and free wine was given to the public.  The baby did not survive.
• Pieter Claesz, Dutch golden age painter died in 1660.  Wine was often featured in his still life paintings.
• Gregory Blaxland, the first exporter of Australian wine died in 1853.

November 6th - 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.

• Julian was named Caesar of the Western Provinces in 355.  He later tried to conquer the Persians but was injured.  He died as a result of having his wound irrigated with “dark wine”.
• The Synod of Rome was called by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I in 962.  During this Synod, Otto deposes Pope John XII on the grounds that he was depraved and worldly (and incited rebellion against the Emperor).  Witnesses claimed that the Pontiff had toasted the devil with wine.
• The French Bonnezeaux AOC was created in 1951.

September 20th - 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.

• Robert of Geneva was elected Pope Clement VII in 1378.  He was the first of the Avignon Popes which brought us the delicious Chateauneuf-du-Papes.
• Ferdinand Magellan left with 270 sailors from Cadiz Spain in 1519 to circumnavigate the globe.  When provisioning his ships he paid more for Sherry than for weapons. This was perhaps the wrong choice as he was killed during the voyage by angry Filipinos.
• Italy’s Solopacaand Malvasia delle Lipari DOCs were established in 1973.
• Portugal’s Rota dos Vinhos do Dão was created in 1995.
• Happy California Wine Month!
• The French have a saying, “Gelée blanche pour Saint-Eustache grossit le raisin qui tache.“ or White jelly for Saint-Eustace magnifies the grape that stain.

August 18th - 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 Siege of Málaga ended in 1487.  This was part of the Reconquista of Moorish Spain, specifically the Emirate of Granada.  The Spanish victors brought “legal” wine back to Málaga.
• Pope Alexander VI dies after drinking poisoned wine in 1503.
• Virginia Dare, the first English child in the New world was born in 1587.  She disappeared with the rest of the Roanoke Island settlers.  There is a winery named in her honor.
• Hacienda de San Lorenzo, the first winery in the Americas was begun in 1597 by Don Lorenzo Garcia in Santa María de las Parras, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico.
• California's Anderson Valley and Willow Creek AVAs were designated in 1983.

August 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.

• Pope John XXII was elected in 1316. Under his reign wines of the region began to be referred to as "Vin du Pape”
• Mata Hari the Dutch courtesan, dancer and spy was born in 1876.  While she was awaiting execution she was brought a steady supply of champagne and meals from nearby restaurants.
• The Wine and Spirit Bulletin of 1908 has an announcement of the Marriage of Lee Mida of Mida’s Criterion was married to Miss Louise Henrietta Gueth.

July 20th - 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.

• Samuel Pepys reports in his diary that in 1663 he met with Captain George Cocke at his home and drank some of the Malago Sack (Malaga) which was purchased for his wife Anna Marie Cocke to improve her health, “who is, he fears, a little consumptive, and her beauty begins to want its colour”.
• Pope Leo XIII, a proponent of Vin Mariani, a wine made with coca leaves, died in 1903.
• The Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato DOC was created in 1979. The wine is made from Cortese grapes in the Piedmont region of Italy.

June 5th - 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.

• Clement V was elected to Pope in 1305 and became the first of the Avignon popes. The Popes promoted the vineyards of the area in order to improve the quality of wine that they produced. The result was Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
• Louis the X of France died in 1316 after playing an exhausting game of “real tennis” (jeu de paume) and then drinking a large quantity of cooled wine which brought on pneumonia. or poison. 
• The Albana Romagna Spumante DOC was created in 1995.

February 20th - 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.

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• Pope Leo the XIII was born in 1878. He appeared in advertisements for Vin Mariani, a wine made with Coca leaves.
• California's Mt. Veeder AVA was designated in 1990.

January 21st - This Date in Wine History

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Bulgarian Women celebrating Babinden

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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.

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• Pope Paschal II died in 1118.  During his reign he appointed a Bishop to oversee the territories of Greenland and Vinland (Newfoundland).
• Thomas Munson, the American horticulturist who's work with grape rootstock led to phylloxera-resistant stocks died in 1913.
• Happy Babinden!  This Russian, Bulgarian and Serbian holiday celebrates midwifery and includes Young Mother’s Feast which includes grilled chicken and wine.

January 1st - Happy New Years

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Image of Gregory Blaxland.

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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.

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• Gregory Blaxland, the first exporter of Australian wine died in 1853.
• Pope Alexander VI, the former Roderic Borgia was born in 1431.  He was known for frequently poisoning the wine of rivals, using the Cup of Borgia, and then confiscated their wealth.