October 7, 1571: On this day, the Battle of Lepanto began. The Ottoman Turks and Christian allies of the Holy League engaged in naval combat in the waters off southwest Greece at the Battle of Lepanto, which took place during an Ottoman campaign to seize the Venetian island of Cyprus. The conflict was the culmination of the age of galley warfare in the Mediterranean and the first big success of a Christian naval force against a Turkish fleet. The ongoing struggle and naval conflicts in the Aegean began to have an effect on wine growing as well, bringing the war into the world of wine.

October 7, 1840: On this day, Hannah Elizabeth Rabbe Weinberger, was born in New Albany, Indiana. Hannah was married to John Weinberger, an immigrant from Weissenburg. He had arrived in New York in 1848, then met Hannah while living in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, before moving to California in 1870, where he set up a winery. In 1882 he was abruptly killed, and the now-widowed Hannah took over management of the winery, making her the first woman winemaker in Napa Valley. Hannah continued making wine until prohibition forced her to shut her operations down.

October 7, 2011: On this day, the wine documentary Boom Varietal was released. The award-winning documentary follows Argentine vineyards from their humble local beginnings growing Malbec all the way to their current status producing one of the world’s most popular wines. Local figures from the Argentine wine industry contribute their viewpoints on the business prospects.

October 7, 2021: On this day, Muratie Wine Estate received a golden award at Veritas Wine Awards, South Africa’s premier wine awards show. The only winery to receive a Gold Medal for a wine produced from Pinot Noir was Muratie Wine Estate, the first wine farm in South Africa to grow the varietal.

For more dates in wine history, click here.