November 28, 1862: Charles Heidsieck, aka “Champagne Charlie” the founder of the Charles Heidsieck champagne house and the man responsible for champagne’s popularity in the United States, was released from Fort Jackson, Louisiana, after being imprisoned by the Union on charges of spying. He was bankrupt until 1863 when the brother of his deceased agent gave him deeds to land in Denver as payment for unpaid debts. Charles later sold the land at a profit and used the money to restart the Charles Heidsieck brand. For more on his life, see this article from Vinepair.

November 28, 1975: On this day, Sigurd Wongraven was born. A founding member of the Norwegian black metal band Satyricon, a black metal band from Norway, Wongraven is also the founder of Wongraven Wines, in Piedmont, Italy.

November 28, 2013: On this day, on Thanksgiving, two plumbers stormed into a Seattle wine store and spent 13 hours emptying 200 cases of wine before attempting to burn it down. When one of the thieves was recognized on the surveillance camera because he had purchased wine at the shop, the robbers were apprehended.

For more dates in wine history, click here.