April 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.

• Jan van Riebeeck, who planted in the first grapes in Cape Town was born in 1619.

• The Cullen-Harrison Act went into effect in 1933.  This law was an amendment the Volstead Act and allowed the sale and taxation of low alcohol beers and wines.  It was signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt.

• Suzanne Valadon, artist model and painter died in 1938.  She was the subject of the Toulouse Lautrec painting, The Hangover.

• Director Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939.  He owns Niebaum Coppola, Rubicon Estate, Inglenook, and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.

• California's Yorkville Highlands AVA was designated in 1998.

• Spain's Penedés DO was created in 2002.

March 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.

• James VI of Scotland became James I of England and Ireland after the death of Elizabeth I in 1603.  Later in his reign James suffered from arthritis, gout and kidney stones and was described as having urine, “dark red color of Alicante wine”. (That ain’t right)

• Pieter de Hooch, a Dutch painter died in 1684.  He is known for “A Woman Drinking with Two Men” and “A Woman and Two Men in an Arbor”.

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died in 1882.  An American poet and educator, he is the author of “Ode to Catawba Wine”.

• The Coteaux-Varois AOC was created in 1993.  The primary grapes are Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsaut, Mourvédre, Syrah and Carignan.

• The Cour-Cheverny AOC was created in 1993. The only grape allowed for this wine is Romorantin.

March 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.

• In 1524 Hernán Cortés, Marquis of the Oaxaca Valley decreed that all Spaniards with encomiendas should plant 1,000 Spanish and native grapevines for ever 100 indians in their service.

• The Dutch East India Company was created in 1602.  The South African wine industry, started by Jan van Riebeeck, a company y employee is a legacy.

• Friedrich Hölderlin, German lyric poet was born in 1770 He is known for the poem, Brod und Wein.

• James Christie imported 621 1/2 of port wine and 600lbs of Jesuits bark (cinchona bark, the source of quinine) in 1776.

• Ferdinand Foch, French General, military strategist and Supreme Allied Commander during WWI died in 1929.  The grape Marechal Foch was named in his honor.

• Spain's Plá I Llevant  DO was created in 2001.

• Happy Spring!  It is the Vernal Equinox.

March 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.

• Traditional date for Bacchanalia.

• Johann Rudolf Glauber died in 1670.  He was a German-Dutch alchemist who wrote about improvements in wine making and is considered an early chemist or chemical engineer.

• In 1818, President James Monroe signed a bill set apart and dispose of public lands for the encouragement and cultivation of “the vine and olive”.  The documents were sent to Treasury Secretary, William H. Crawford.  The land was in Alabama (it didn’t work).

• The 1872 Medical Times and Gazette describes a new French patent medicine made of quinine, cacao and iron mixed with Malaga wine as a tonic for blighted children.  Quinine wines are still sold as aperitifs (Byrrh, for example).

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

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. 

January 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.

• 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.

January 27th - 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.

• Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.  In exile he wrote his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy.  In his vision of hell, gluttons and drunkards are fed to Cerebus in the third level.

• Shah Abbas I of Persia was born in 1571.  There are paintings of the Shah being handed wine to drink despite Islams prohibitions against it.

• In 1659, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first known wine in South Africa.

• California's Stags Leap District AVA was designated in 1989.

January 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.

• Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town and produced the first known wine in South Africa died in 1677.

• Messrs. Bouchard, père et fils report to Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular in 1890 about the quality of the new Burgundy which is said to be their best in years.

• Hermann Müller, a Swiss botanist and oenologist created the Müller-Thurgau varietal in 1882 died in 1927.

• Oregon's McMinnville AVA was designated in 2005.

November 9th - 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.

• Albrecht III, Elector of Brandenburg was born in 1414.  He established the right to levy taxes on wine after he was crowned.

• The Mayflower see Cape Cod, Massachusetts today in 1620. Previously, the Mayflower shipped wines from France to London.

• Aert van der Neer, a Dutch landscape artist died in 1677.  His work was undervalued that he was forced to open a wine tavern on the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam.  

• An 1889 report in Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular describes the Hungarian wines from Lake Platten were red “not very deep in color, but have a fine body and are capable of developing well”.

• The movie, Wine, Women and Song debuted in 1915.  It starred Gilbert Anderson, otherwise known as Broncho Billy.

September 9th - 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 Basel, Switzerland council resolved in 1482 to present to to Duke Phillip of Savoy an honorable reception upon his arrival including a gift of 8 pitchers of wine, six sacks of oats and salmon.
• The London Chronicle date 1763 contains news from the Hague on the quality of wine being produced in Saxony.
• In a letter dated 1842 from Downing Street, London, Henry Goulburn requested the opinion of the wine trade regarding tariffs on Port wine.
• California was admitted to the union in 1850.  It is home of the largest number of wineries in the United States.
• Happy California Wine Month!

May 23rd - 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.

• Antony Oliver disguised as a wine merchant with his merchandise (but really arms for soldiers) drove into the Citadel of Antwerp under the nose of Louis of Nassau in 1572.
• South Carolina ratifies the US Constitution in 1788 as the 8th American state.  South Carolina is home to more than 30 wineries.
• Hungarian painter József Rippl-Rónai was born in 1861.  He is known for the work, “My Father and Uncle Piacsek with Red Wine”.
• The John Ellwanger Co. of Dubuque, Iowa received a trademark for its San Felice wines in 1905.
• Racing legend Frank Arciero died in 2010.  He was owner of Arciero Family Vineyards and EOS Estate Winery  in Paso Robles.

April 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.

• Edward II of England was born in 1284.  He was married to Isabella of France (above) in 1308.  The wedding was celebrated at Westminster Palace with a fountain that contained wine and pimento which is described as a spiced medieval drink.  By the way, the bride was 12 years old. ugh.
• The Dutch fleet destroyed the Spanish fleet at Gibraltar in 1607.  This was part of the Eighty Years’ War between The Netherlands and Spain and it depressed the prices of grains, herring and wine (among other products).
• North Carolina's Swan Creek AVA was designated in 2008.

April 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. 

• Jan van Riebeeck, who planted in the first grapes in Cape Town was born in 1619.
• The Cullen-Harrison Act went into effect in 1933.  This law was an amendment the Volstead Act and allowed the sale and taxation of low alcohol beers and wines.  It was signed into law by Franklin Roosevelt.
• Suzanne Valadon, artist model and painter died in 1938.  She was the subject of the Toulouse Lautrec painting, The Hangover.
• Director Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939.  He owns Niebaum Coppola, Rubicon Estate, Inglenook, and the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.
• California's Yorkville Highlands AVA was designated in 1998.
• Spain's Penedés DO was created in 2002.

April 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. 

• Jan van Riebeeck established a supply camp near the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.  This would become Cape Town and van Riebeeck would plant the first vineyard there.
• The British Medical Journal for December 13, 1862 reports on the care Margaret McCaffrey by the physicians at Liverpool Northern Hospital as she suffered from double bronchopneumonia.  She was treated from January 1st 1862 until April 6th by several glasses of port wine with other medicines.  She recovered.
• Actress Candace Cameron Bure was born in 1976.  She is owner of Bure Family Wines in St. Helena, California. 
• Spain's Chacolí de Getaria-Getariako Txakolina DO was created in 1990.

March 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. 

• Traditional date for Bacchanlia.
• Johann Rudolf Glauber died in 1670.  He was a German-Dutch alchemist who wrote about improvements in wine making and is considered an early chemist or chemical engineer.
• In 1818, President James Monroe signed a bill set apart and dispose of public lands for the encouragement and cultivation of “the vine and olive”.  The documents were sent to Treasury Secretary, William H. Crawford.  The land was in Alabama (it didn’t work).
• The 1872 Medical Times and Gazette describes a new French patent medicine made of quinine, cacao and iron mixed with Malaga wine as a tonic for blighted children.  Quinine wines are still sold as aperitifs (Byrrh, for example).
• Happy Ag Appreciation Week  Remember, without ag, there is  no wine!

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.  

January 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.

• 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.

January 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.

• Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town and produced the first known wine in South Africa died in 1677.
• Messrs. Bouchard, père et fils report to Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular in 1890 about the quality of the new Burgundy which is said to be their best in years.
• Hermann Müller, a Swiss botanist and oenologist created the Müller-Thurgau varietal in 1882 died in 1927
• Oregon's McMinnville AVA was designated in 2005.

January 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.

• Cavalier poet, Edmund Spenser, died in 1599.  He wrote:

Poure out the wine without restraint or stay,
Poure not by cups, but by the belly full,
Poure out to all that wull,
And sprinkle all the postes and wals with wine,

- Epithalamion

• Jan Brueghel the Elder died in 1625.  He is the Dutch painter of One of, “The Senses of Hearing, Touch and Taste” show a huge feast with an assortment of wine cups. 
• Patent #37,424 was issued to A. Myers of Springfield, OH for Improved Sorghum Wine in 1863.
• The Chablis AOC was designated in 1938
• The French have a saying, « À la Saint-Hilaire, le vin gèle dans le verre. » which translates to, “On Saint Hillary’s Day, the wine freezes in the glass. "

April 25th - 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.

• Edward II of England was born in 1284.  He was married to Isabella of France in 1308.  The wedding was celebrated at Westminster Palace with a fountain that contained wine and pimento which is described as a spiced medieval drink.  By the way, the bride was 12 years old. ugh.
• The Dutch fleet destroyed the Spanish fleet at Gibraltar in 1607.  This was part of the Eighty Years’ War between The Netherlands and Spain and it depressed the prices of grains, herring and wine (among other products).
• North Carolina's Swan Creek AVA was designated in 2008.