April 10, 1663: Samuel Pepys, best known in the modern day for his extensive diaries detailing his daily life in 17^th century London, was served a vintage of Haut Brion (spelled Ho Bryan in his account) at the Royal Oak Tavern. His brief judgement on the wine in his diary, “that hath a good and most particular taste that I never met with,” is considered the earliest surviving instance of wine criticism in the English language.

April 10, 1941: Ante Pavelic, the head of the Utase organization and operating under the alias Poglavnik, presided over the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet government collaborating with Nazi Germany. Before 1943, most Partisan soldiers were Serbians who fought Paveli’s repressive and genocide-inducing policies. To serve as the interim body of Partisan rule, the State Anti-Fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia (ZAVNOH) was founded in 1943. The majority of non-Communist politicians who reigned during the interwar years, particularly the leaders of the Croatian Peasant Party, were party members. Following its liberation in May 1945, the People’s Republic of Croatia joined the Yugoslav federation under communist rule. Croatia subsequently seized Dalmatia and Istria, two former Italian provinces. Tihomir Cipek, a historian, notes that compared to the previous Karaorevi dynasty, the Communist regime had significantly more popular backing. In the party and local organizational cells, the Serb population—which made up between 10 and 15 percent of Croatia’s total population—was disproportionately large. Wine production in Yugoslavia was centralized in sizable cooperatives under the communist government, and private vineyard ownership was discouraged. Quality was no longer the priority; quantity was.

April 10, 2016: On this day, the first episode of The Wine Show was released. Each week, there is a spotlight on local wines, the winemakers who craft them, and the histories and traditions of the vineyards. There is also a regular segment on wine devices which keep wine fresh for transport. The show also includes international segments from wine specialists Joe Fattorini and Amelia Singer.

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