This Day in Wine History is a website for history and wine lovers alike. If you enjoy pairing world-class wine with award-winning documentaries, then this site is for you! Our articles are broken into DAYS (this day in wine history for all 365 days!), ARTICLES and IN-DEPTH, which focuses on deeper research, academic citations, and longer essays for the true history lover. Enjoy the latest articles from our talented writers from all over the world.
The British Empire and the Emergence of the Global Wine Industry
The terraced Douro, cradle of Port — one of many wines the British thirst helped to create. Via Wikimedia Commons.By Ken Wytsma✓ Researched, fact-checked & […]
Natural Wine Movement
The hills of Beaujolais, where a Beaujolais chemist and four rebel growers lit the fuse of the modern natural-wine movement. Via Wikimedia Commons.By the This […]
Napoleon and Wine
The grand cru vineyards of Gevrey-Chambertin — source of the Chambertin that Napoleon insisted on drinking, even on campaign. Via Wikimedia Commons.By the This Day […]
November 25
Welcome to November 25 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
August 11
Welcome to August 11 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
July 25
Welcome to July 25 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
June 23
Welcome to June 23 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
May 27
Welcome to May 27 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
May 22
Welcome to May 22 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
March 15
Welcome to March 15 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
February 29
Welcome to February 29 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
February 15
Welcome to February 15 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
February 10
Welcome to February 10 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
January 15
Welcome to January 15 in This Day in Wine History. We are still researching the notable events, discoveries, and figures tied to this date. Check […]
Mustum: The Vatican’s Half-Fermented Loophole for Priests Who Cannot Drink Wine
Plain grape juice is invalid at Catholic Mass. So how does a priest who cannot drink alcohol consecrate the cup? The answer is mustum — wine caught at the first instant of fermentation.
Aléria, 1975: The Wine Scandal That Sparked the Corsican Conflict
In August 1975, Corsican nationalists seized a wine cellar over a fraud scandal. The deadly Aléria standoff launched roughly forty years of the Corsican conflict.
How Phylloxera Created the AOC: The Birth of Appellation Law
French appellation law began as an anti-fraud measure. Phylloxera caused the shortage, the shortage caused the counterfeiting, and the counterfeiting produced the AOC.
Charles Valentine Riley: The American Who Helped Save French Wine
Charles Valentine Riley (1843–1895) confirmed phylloxera’s identity, shipped resistant American rootstock to France from 1870, and was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
Jules-Émile Planchon: The Botanist Who Named the Devastator
Jules-Émile Planchon identified and named phylloxera in 1868 — a botanist who had spent his career naming plants, including the kiwifruit, before he was asked why France’s vines were dying.
Ungrafted Vines: The Survivors of the Phylloxera Plague
A few vineyards never needed grafting. Santorini, Colares, Chile and the Barossa still grow vines on their own roots — living relics of the pre-phylloxera world.
When Phylloxera Came Back: California’s AXR#1 Disaster
In the 1980s phylloxera returned — in Napa. A rootstock France had abandoned in 1903 was planted across 70% of the valley, and biotype B destroyed it, forcing a $1bn replant.
Why Almost Every Wine Grape Grows on American Roots
Grapevines are grafted because of phylloxera — European fruit above ground, American roots below. How grafting works, where rootstocks come from, and why growers now choose them as carefully as the grape.
The History of Wine: A Complete Timeline
From the first fermented grapes of the Caucasus to the modern global industry — the complete history of wine, era by era, in one verified timeline.
The Judgment of Paris: The 1976 Blind Tasting That Remade the Wine World
California wine country, where the 1976 winners were grown. Photo: John Morgan / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons ✓ VERIFIEDBy the This Day in […]
Taylor’s: A Port House Since 1692
The Port lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro from Porto, where houses like Taylor’s have aged their wine for centuries. Photo: Wikimedia […]
