December 31, 1941: Sir Alex Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Considered one of the greatest football managers in history, he was in charge of Manchester United for almost 30 years. Ferguson had a habit of sharing a glass with the opposing team’s manager and maintained a large and rare wine collection that he is beginning to sell now that he’s retired (but don’t worry – it’s so he can travel and experience new wines).

December 31, 1998: On this day, in his weekly radio address, President Clinton encouraged Congress to cut the national blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving to 0.08 percent, in accordance with 17 states and the District of Columbia. The remaining thirty-three states have a 0.10 percent.

December 31, 2001: On this day, the regional wine committees were founded in Austria. These committees were made up of well-known members of each region’s wine-growing community. They worked closely with the Austrian Wine Marketing Board to establish idiomatic and regionally typical wine styles to improve the marketing and positioning of the area. Their main objective was to improve sales coordination (for instance, through standardization of contracts in contract management and qualification measures). The national wine committee was responsible for supervising and coordinating the work of the regional wine committees.

December 31, 2006: HuanRen Ice Wine gained its geographical indications (GI) protection products on this day.

December 31, 2011: On this day, Tursan AOC was named. Tursan is a lesser-known appellation in the South West of France. The region is mostly associated with light, fruit-forward red and rosé wines created primarily from Cabernet Franc and Tannat, though there are also White Tursans that is derived largely from Baroque grapes.

December 31, 2011: On this day, Vins d’Entraygues et du Fel AOC was named. The appellation is found in the South West of France and predominantly produces rich red wines.

December 31, 2022: In addition to being the last day of the Gregorian Calendar year, this is also National Champagne Day in the United States.

For more dates in wine history, click here.