April 28

April 28, 1775: El Grifo, the oldest bodega on the Canary Islands, was founded. In the Atlantic, between Spain and Morocco, the volcanic islands are home to a number of unique white and red grape varietals. For an in-depth guide to the region, see this article from Vinepair.

April 28, 1778: At a dinner at Sir Joshua Reynolds’s, recorded by Boswell, Samuel Johnson remarks that one of the disadvantages of wine is that it makes a man mistake words for thoughts.

April 28, 2004: The system for the registration of geographical indications in Thailand was established for foreign wines and put into operation; it was available for the registration of international geographical indicators that may be protected in their place of origin.

April 28, 2018: Destin Charity Auction was held. With nearly $2.5 million in live auction bids, the 2018 event in Miramar Beach, Florida, raised $2.8 million in total, which was $100,000 more than the total from the previous year. Following 13 years of record revenue auctions, Russell expressed his happiness at the company’s revenue growth. As in prior years, the money raised was donated to 15 organizations that support kids in the Florida panhandle. As a result of the Sonoma and Napa fire relief funding, which Russell claimed was a decision made by the board in unanimity, the organizers added another recipient for 2018. The California wine industry’s help, he said, was greatly appreciated.

April 28, 2021: The “Yamanashi” Geographical Indication (GI) was approved for use on Yamanashi wines; since then, it has also been approved for use on Yamanashi sakes. This is the first case in the nation’s history in which wine and sake have been registered under the same GI.

For more dates in wine history, click here.

Header image: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).