July 11, 1936: On this day, the Austro-German Agreement was made. The governments of the Federal State of Austria and Germany decided to resume normal and friendly relations as a result of their conviction that they were making a valuable contribution to the development of peace in all of Europe and their conviction that doing so was in both states’ best interests. This move led to major changes in the Austrian wine sector, including the enactment of the new federal law that highlighted regulations of viticulture. The law prohibited any new establishment of vineyards and the planting of direct-producer hybrids to strengthen protectionist tendencies.

July 11, 2019: On this day, Rippon Vineyard was recognized as one of the best vineyards of 2019 by World Best Vineyards. It was the highest ranking of the four vineyards to make the list from the Australasia region out of the 50 vineyards total. The family run vineyard has been producing wines on Lake Wānaka since 1989.

For more dates in wine history, click here.