April 29

April 29, 1759: John Adlum, known as the father of viticulture, was born. He was also a farmer and surveyor from York, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his role in developing the Catawba grape.

April 29, 1984: The International Wine Challenge (IWC) was introduced. Since 1984, the International Wine Challenge (IWC) has been held every year in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Robert Joseph, a British wine writer, but is currently carefully maintained by William Reed Business Media.

April 29, 1992: Mélanie Pfister was born. In 1780, Mélanie Pfister’s family began producing wine in the Alsace region of France. She founded the diVINes d’Alsace, an organization of female winemakers and vineyard managers, to pioneer innovative ways to display the region’s wines in non-traditional ways and to champion women in wine.

April 29, 2005: Trinity Lakes AVA was established. The region is in Trinity County, surrounding Lewiston and Trinity lakes and encompassing a portion of Trinity River. The AVA is more inland and remote than most nearby AVA, making it more intriguing and unique. The AVA boasts a rugged terrain with centuries-set soils rich for cultivating Vitis vinifera. In the 96,000-acre AVA, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir are the principal varietals.

April 29, 2017: Smith Story Wine Cellars in Philo, California, opened its wine tasting to the public. Smith Story Wine Cellars began with inspiration from the land – from places in California and Europe that are important to founders Eric and Ali (and their dog Sandwich). Their philosophy is to respect the earth while offering stunning expressions of each grape to Smith Story Wine Cellars followers.

April 29, 2022: The awards ceremony of the 24^th Pinot Noir Days began. In the ceremony, Pinot Noirs from all over Italy were tasted, allowing people to learn much about the future of the grape variety in South Tyrol. These days were devoted to identifying the competition’s winners as well as all the participating labels. 35 winemakers were asked to taste red wines made from Italian Pinot Noir grapes blind in March.

For more dates in wine history, click here.

Header image: Flocci Nivis — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).