April 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.

• It is the feast day of Saint Richard of Chichester. After becoming bishop he established rules to stop clerical abuses, forced priests to abandon their concubines, celebrate mass in clean robes, use the purest wheat flour for communion hosts and wine was to be mixed with water.

• In a letter dated April 3, 1563 Sir Thomas Challoner(Chaloner)  writes to Robert Cecil that he was sending a hog’s skin of St. Martin’s wine asking that it be given to the Queen, “perchance prove her of wine to digest her strawberries better than all the purveyors at home”. Chaloner was Elizabeth’s ambassador to Philip II of Spain.

• Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, a Spanish painter in the Baroque school died in 1682.  He is known for his painting of the Wedding Feast at Cana, where Jesus transforms water into wine.

• Wine and Ale were provided for the two young men that preached that day in 1688 in Rotherham. 

• AOC Ajaccio (Corsica) was created in 1984.  It is the birthplace of Napoleon.

March 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.

• During the reign of Charles I, 1667, it was reported that Rear-Admiral Utbert took  five or six Dutch and French prizes (ships) which were filled with wine, brandy and salt.

• Philip (Filippo) Mazzei, Italian born physical and viticulturist died in 1816.  He brought plants, seeds, silkworms and farms from Lucca, Italy. Thomas Jefferson gave Mazzei land too start a vineyard.

• Pennsylvania and New Jersey's Central Delaware Valley AVA was designated in 1984.

• California's Yountville AVA was designated in 1999.

• Today is the feast of St. Joseph who is honored with a table of meatless foods (as it is lent) and wine offered to the poor.  St.  Joseph is the patron Saint of the working man.

March 17th - 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.

• Cagnina di Romagna was made a DOC in 1988

• Pagadebit di Romagna DOC was created in 1988

• Traditional date for Bacchanalia, celebrating Bacchus, God of Wine

• Date for the Liber Pater, which replaced the Bacchanalia, celebrated god of Italian fertility, wine and services

• Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  While not a holiday traditionally associated with wine, if you want a wine with green highlights may we suggest a cold climate Sauvignon Blanc or Vinho Verde (which really translates as Green Wine).

• Happy Ag Appreciation Week  Remember, without ag, there is  no wine!

• It is the feast day of St. Gertrude of Nivelles, the patron saint of gardeners and travelers.

March 13th - 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 cargo of the ship Jameson and Peggy included James Anderson’s March 13, 1776 order of 5 Pipes (713 gallons ) port wine.  The jameson and Peggy was later taken by American forces during the Revolutionary War by James Munro.

• Louis François Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Conti was died in 1814. He inherited the Romanée- Conti vineyard from his father and owned it until the National Convention stripped him of his property in 1793.  He was exiled and died in poverty in Barcelona.

• The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal for March 13, 1884 contains an ad for the “Choicest and Purest Hungarian Wines ever brought to th is country Strictly for Medicinal Use”

• The Recreation and Cultural Association of Vale do Souto (ARCVASO) was created in 1989 in part to promote Vinho Calum and other cultural treasures.

• William Vere Cruess, food scientist responsible for rebirth of the California wine industry after prohibition died in 1968.  He is also viewed as the inventor of fruit cocktail (in a can).

• It is the feast of St. Ansovinus.  He is a patron of gardeners and is invoked for good harvests.

March 10th - 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.

• Johann Rudolf Glauber was born in 1604.  He was a German-Dutch alchemist who wrote about improvements in wine making and is considered an early chemist or chemical engineer.

• Parliament passed a duty of 7l. per tun of Madeira and 10s per tun of Portuguese and Spanish wine in 1764.

• William Shilling of Baltimore, MD received a patent  in 1868 for an apparatus for distilling spiritus liquors… specifically “low” wine.

• Paul Draper winemaker at Ridge Vineyards in California was born in 1936 

• Hugh Johnson OBE, British author and wine expert was born in 1939

• It is the feast day of St. Himelin.  He became while returning from a pilgrimage to Rome.  He ask a girl for water and was refused due to plague in the area.  When she relented, the water, miraculously turned into wine.  He died of the plague three days later. 

March 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.

• The Roman Emperor Julian began the military campaign that led to his death when he moved his army from Antioch to the Sasanian Empire This was a very bad idea. He was speared in his abdomen which damaged his liver, peritoneum and intestines.  He was treated with stitches and the irrigation of the would with “dark wine” but he died.

• Lisa Gherardini married Francesco del Gioconda in 1495. She was the daughter of a Chianti vineyard owner and later married Florentine silk merchant.  She was the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting, The Mona Lisa.

• Henry VI of England issued letters of patent to John Cabot for exploration.  The following year he landed in what is now known as Newfoundland in 1497.  He was the first European to to explore the region since the Vikings landed there and called it Vinland.

• Frederick S. Cozzens publisher of Cozzens' Wine Press was born in 1818.

• It is the feast day of Saint Ciarán of Saigir the first saint born in Ireland. Legend has it that he blessed a well that the tasted of wine and honey.

• It is also the feast day of St. Thietmar of Minden (Bavaria).  He requested water from a servant who brought him wine.  After being brought wine several times by the same servant, he eventually followed the servant and watched as the water gathered by the servant transform into wine.

March 2nd - 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.

• St. Benedict of Nursia was born in 480.  He is the saint invoked against poison.  His monks tried to poison his wine and then his bread but he was saved by miracles.

• Henry Clay charged 14shillings for billiards and wine in 1804 from John Postelthwait in Lexington, KY.

• Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, the future Pope Leo XIII was born in 1810.  He appeared in ads for Vin Mariani a wine and coca leaf tonic.

• The Texas High Plains AVA was designated in 2003.

February 12th - 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.

• In 1502 Vasco de Gama set sail for his second voyage to India.  His ships stopped in Madeira to pick up water (a likely story).

• In 1664, Dominie Blom, of New Amsterdam, petitioned the magistrates of Wildwyck: "that the public, sinful and scandalous Bacchanalian days of Bastenseen (Shrove Tuesday), coming down from the heathens from their idol Bacchus, the god of wine and drunkenness, being also a leaven of Popery, inherited from the pagans, which the Apostle, in I Cor. 5, admonishes true Christians to expurge, May , while near at hand, be prescribed in this place by your Honors.”

• British Actress and courtesan, Lilly Langtry died in 1929.  She once owned a winery in California’s Guenoc Valley.

• In 2010, the last ransom note is sent to Domaine Romanée-Conti by Jacques Soltys.  He claimed to have poisoned the vines in the vineyard to ruin its reputation.

• It is the feast day of St. Julian the Hospitaller, the patron saint of innkeepers.

• The French have a saying, « Soleil qui rit pour sainte Eulalie fait des pommes et des prunes mais pas de vin. » or "A laughing sun for Saint Eulalia makes apples and plums but no wine.”

February 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.

• In 1206 King John orders Ralph the Miller to let Richard de Redvers have two tuns of wine that the king had bought.

• In 1680, the Town of Irvine payed 8 Pounds 3 shilling 8d for “8 pints of claret wine two ounces of tobacco and eight pypes” to honor Granaries sons burial day.

• Wine in the Word: An inquiry concerning the wine Christ made, the wine of the supper,etc. was an address given by Abraham Coles before the Woman's Christian temperance union of Plainfield, N. J., 

• The silent film, Liebfraumilch was released in 1929.  It starred Livio Pavanelli and Henny Porten.

• The French have a saying, « À sainte Agathe va à ta vigne, si ce n'est pour y travailler, au moins pour y déjeuner. » which translates (loosely to "To St. Agatha go to your vineyard, if not to work there, at least to have lunch there.”

February 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.

• Samuel Pepys reports going to the Nag’s Head Tavern with several old acquaintances and drank a bottle of sack (Sherry) with them in 1664.  The term “sack” comes from the Spanish “saca” which means extraction from a Solera.

• Carl Michael Bellman, a Swedish composer, musician, poet, and songwriter was born in 1740.  He is best known for Freedman’s songs and Freedman’s epistles which included themes of pleasure, drunkenness and sex.

• The Alsace - Klevener of Heiligenstein AOC was created in 1997 Rose of Savignin is a permitted grape for this region.

• It is the feast day of St. John de Britto, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary to India who evangelized by adopting the dress and diet of the the people by abstaining from all  meat products and wine. 

February 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.

•  "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored" The Battle Hymn of the Republic is first published in 1862.

• In 1888, New York City Excise Board Commissioner revoked licenses for individuals with licenses to sell beer, ale and wine for selling “spirituous liquors”.

• The California Agricultural Experiment Station reports that the wine from Ploussard grapes from J.T. Doyle’s experimental plot in Cupertino was checked.  The lees were found to contain much lactic ferment in 1890.

• It is the feast day of Saint Tryphon. He was from Campsada in Phrygia (Turkey) and is the Eastern Orthodox patron saint of gardeners and winegrowers. His head is located in the Cathedral of St. Tryphon in Kotor, Montenegro.

January 31st - 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 Boston Gazette in 1737 advertised that James Bowdoin had the richest good Canary wines for sale at 8 Shillings per gallon.

• Celebrating the conclusion of the American Revolution in 1778, William Ross, an Innkeeper in Lancaster, PA, hosted a party for 100, including General Mifflin, which included a cold collation, wine, punch and sweet cakes. The party lasted until 4 am on February 1st.

• The Economist reported that the UK imported 1,338,535 gallons of wine in the month ending January 31, 1875.

• Theodor Heuss, the first President of West Germany was born in Brackenheim in 1884.  Brackenheim is a the largest wine growing community in Baden-Württemberg.

• St. John Bosco died in 1888.  During his youth he worked at the vineyard of Louis Moglia to earn month for his education.

January 21st - 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 Paschal II died in 1118.  During his reign he appointed a Bishop to oversee the territories of Greenland and Vinland (Newfoundland)

• Jefferson Davis resigned from the United States Senate.  A step before becoming the President of the Confederacy.  He was a participant in the  West Point Eggnog riot.  He escaped punishment.

• Esther Lachmann, known as La Païva died in 1884. A courtesan, she had a bathroom at her Hôtel de la Païva, that had three taps, one for water, milk and champagne for bathing.

• Thomas Munson, the American horticulturist who's work with grape rootstock led to phylloxera-resistant stocks died in 1913

• It is the feast day of St. Agnes of Rome.  She is the patron saint of crops and gardeners as well as Girl Scouts.

• Happy Babinden!  This Russian, Bulgarian and Serbian holiday celebrates midwifery and includes Young Mother’s Feast which includes grilled chicken and wine.

January 17th - 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.

• Saint Roseline de Villeneuve died in 1329.  Her shrine is now a winery in Provence.

• Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy was born in 1342.  He outlawed the cultivation of the Gamay grape in favor of pinot noir. to improve the quality of Burgundy wines.

• Lola Montez, royal courtesan of Ludwig I of Bavaria, who's antics incited the people to rebellion by breaking a champagne glass over the head of a police officer died in 1861. Despite her claims of being a Spanish dancer, she was in fact an Irish peasant.

• It is the feast day of Saint Sulpice The Pious.  He was buried at a basilica in Navis near a number of vineyards.

January 16th - 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.

• French authorities in 1914 abolished wine license taxes for saloon owners. It was seen to encourage the drinking of hard spirits in lieu of the more 'wholesome' wine, beer and ciders.

• Prohibition began in the United States in 1920.

• The French have a saying, « Saint Marcellin, bon pour l'eau, bon pour le vin » which translates (roughly) to "Saint Marcellin’s Day, good for water, good for wine"

• It is the feast day of St. Fursey.  After performing several miracles in France he was offered any site in the King’s dominion for a monastery.  He selected a location along the Marne covered with woods and vineyards.

January 14th - 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.

• Saint Nino, Patron Saint of Georgia has her feast day. She arrived in Georgia after fleeing Cappadocia bearing a cross of vinewood and bound with her hair.

• The Council of Troye approves the creation of the Knights Templar in 1129. The Knights grew wealthy by purchasing land and vineyards through out the Christian world (including the entire island of Cyprus) by protecting pilgrims to the Holy Land.

• Napoleon III died in 1873.  He was both President and Emperor of France (sadly, in that order) who was married to  Eugénie de Montijo, grand-daughter of a Scottish wine merchant.

• California Grape Grower printed a letter dated 1922 from W.H. Harrison rebutted the assertion that Black Hamburg grapes were the most common variety grown in British hothouses. As an aside, the California Grape Grower, is now known as Wine and Vines and is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2019.

December 26th - 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.

• Lord George Gordon, head of the Protestant Association and and the focal point of the Anti-Catholic Gordon Riots was born in 1751.  In 1787 he converted to Judaism while undergoing a trial for defaming Marie Antoinette. While imprisoned in Newgate prison, he was supplied with kosher meat and wine.

• Days of Wine and Roses starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick was released in 1962.

• It is the feast day of St. James the Just who was known for drinking no wine nor the eating of meat and wore only fine linen.

• The French have a saying, « À la saint Étienne, pas de vent, pour le vin c'est excellent. » or "To St Stephen, no wind, for wine is excellent. “

• « Dans la nuit qui amène saint Étienne, s'il fait du vent, le vin sera très abondant » or "In the night that brings St. Stephen, if it makes the wind, the wine will be very abundant “.

• Happy Boxing Day!

November 28th - 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.

• Ferdinand Magellan passes through what became known as the Strait of Magellan. When provisioning his ships he paid more for Sherry than for weapons. This was perhaps the wrong choice as he was killed during the battle by angry Filipinos.

• California Fruit News in 1916 reported that the steamer Sonoma left San Francisco for Australia and the South Pacific carrying wine bound for Australia and Honolulu.

• Maynard A. Joslyn who lead the research to rebirth the California wine industry following the end of Prohibition in 1933 died in 1984. His research included quality issues with wine, including alcoholic content, and content of unfavorable items in alcohol (acidity, sulfur dioxide, and turbidity).

• The Appalachian High Country AVA was created in 2016.

• It is the feast day of St. James of the Marches.  An Italian friar, he is depicted with a wine filled chalice often with a snake trying to escape.  It is thought to refer to his attempted poisoning by King Tvrtko of Bosnia.

November 26th - 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.

• Considerations Upon Christian Truths and Christian Duties  includes an examination of the parable of the Vineyard, Matt. 21:33  The volume was written by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Challenor and published in 1773 in Cork, Ireland.

• Ohio's Loramie Creek AVA was designated in 1982

• The DOC named Lambrusco di Reggiano was revoked. The wine becomes known as Colli di Scandiano e di Canossa. Reggiano becomes known as a description for cheese only.

• It was the feast day of Conrad of Constance.  He is represented as a bishop holding a chalice with a spider over it.  Though all spiders were thought to be poisonous, Conrad drank from the chalice out of faith.

November 16th - 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.

• Oklahoma was admitted to the Union in 1907.  It is home to the Ozark Mountain viticultural area.  

• The Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin was reformed in 1934 in the Caveau Nuiton of Nuits-Saint-Georges.

• Spain's Alella DO andTarragona DO were created in 1976.

• It is the feast day of St. Othmar. He died in exile on the island of Werd in Lake Constance.  His body was moved to St. Gallen in Switzerland.  The men that rowed his body had only one barrel of wine left but it never emptied, no matter how much they drank.  The barrel became one of his attributes.