October 25th - 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.

• Geoffrey Chaucer died in 1400.  His work was so popular in England that he was granted a gallon of wine each day for the remainder off his life b Edward III in 1374.

• John Britton, later to be an English antiquarian was apprenticed to a wine merchant, Mr. Mendham in 1785.

• Max Stirner, German philosopher and father of nihilism was born in 1806.  He often met with a group of young philosophers called Die Freien for debates at Hippel’s wine bar in Berlin.

• Chilean football star, Elías Figueroa was born in 1946.  He is owner of Vino’s Don Elías in Chile’s Maipo Valley.

October 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.

• Abraham van Riebeeck, Dutch merchant and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies was born in 1653 in what is now South Africa.  His father, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town produced the first known wine in South Africa.

• Flemish painter Jacob Jordaens died in 1678.  His painting, The King Drinks is a celebration of food, wine and merriment among family.

• Mike Ditka, famed Chicago Bear player and coach was born in 1939.  He partnered with Terlato Wines to produce Mike Ditka Wines.

• California's Benmore Valley AVA was designated in 1991.

• Vincent DeDomenico died in 2007.  He was an inventor of Rice-A-Roni and the founder of the Napa Valley Wine Train.

October 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.

• Louis X of France was born in 1289.  He was an avid player of jeu de paume, also called real tennis and died after an exhausting match and drinking a large quantity of cooled wine.

• The California Agricultural Experiment Station received a shipment of Mondeuse grapes from the J. Gallegos, Experimental Pot, Mission San José in 1889.  The grapes were in good condition, if overripe and were crushed the same day.  

• California's Fiddletown  and Paso Robles AVAs were designated in 1983.

• Washington's Puget Sound AVA was designated in 1995.

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 June Rebellion of 1832 occurs in Paris as an attempt to over through Louis-Philippe.  The Rebellion was fictionalized by Victor Hugo in his novel, Les Misérables where students and others build barricades near the wine shop they use as a headquarters.  As in the novel, the Rebellion was squashed quickly.
• The Albana Romagna Spumante DOC was created in 1995.

April 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.

• The British government in 1796 passed an import tax of 30 £ per tun on French wine and 20 £ per tun on Spanish or Portuguese wines 
• “The Colonist” of Sydney Australia contains an advertisement for H.E.I. Company offering for sale 100 Pipes of the, “Best Cape Madeira Wine”
• Ron W. Miller, former NFL Player and Disney executive was born in 1933.  He is also owner of Silverado Winery along with his late wife, Diane Disney Miller.
• North Dakota's first bonded winery since prohibition was bonded in 2002. The winery was Pointe of View Winery. North Dakota was the last state to bond a winery.
• The French have a saying, « Avril froid à la saint Anicet, pain et vin donne, mai froid les moissonne.» or “April cold on St. Anicet's day gives wine and bread, May cold reaps them.”
• It is Malbec World Day!  We have a couple to recommend!

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.