October 14, 1066: On this day, the Norman Conquest of England began with the Battle of Hastings, a conflict between an English force led by Harold Godwinson and a Norman-French army led by William, the Duke of Normandy. Following the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror and his heirs began viticulture as soon as possible to supply sacramental wine to church ceremonies in England. At the same time, a thriving wine industry centered on export to England emerged in the parts of France under English rule where wine was produced.

October 14,  1639: On this day, Simon van der Stel was born. Van der Stel planted the first vineyards in the Dutch Cape region in 1679 and is considered the father of the South African wine industry. His wine became popular in the 19^th century, especially in Great Britain, after Great Britain imposed an embargo on French wine.

October 14, 1940: On this day, Cliff Richard was born. He is the third-best-selling musical artist in the history of the UK charts, beaten only by The Beatles and Elvis. Richard is also the long-time owner of Adego do Cantor, which began solely as a vineyard in the Algarve region of Portugal and eventually expanded into producing its own wines, winning multiple awards.

October 14, 1995: On this day, Jamie Goode was born. As a wine writer for The Sunday Express, Jamie Goode is an author with a Ph.D. in plant biology. Goode is also a contributor to Harpers, The World of Fine Wine, Decanter, Grapes TALK, and Sommelier Journal, as well as several other wine publications. In 2005, he wrote Wine Science: The Application of Science in Winemaking. As a result of his books Wine Science and Wine Bottle Closures, Goode received accolades and the Glenfiddich Drink Book of the Year award.

October 14, 2005: Dos Rios AVA was established. It is located in the northern part of Mendocino County, developed by Ralph Cater. The AVA’s soils are infertile compared to other AVAs in the county. Only a single winery, Vin de Tevis, operates in the AVA and has six acres of planted vineyards. The AVA’s main grapes are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel.

October 14, 2012: On this day, Prokupac Day was established to celebrate the Serbian wine-making traditions surrounding the titular red grape.

October 14, 2016: On this day, Sour Grapes was released in the US. It is a documentary on the fine and rare wine auction business, focusing on a counterfeiter who befriended the wealthy and influential and sold millions of dollars worth of fake wine through the top auction houses.

October 14, 2019: On this day, the Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS) study and certification program was formally introduced by The Wine Scholar Guild (WSG). The program was created by the WSG Education team under the direction of Rick Fisher, the director of SWS Education, to become the standard in Spanish wine education. The SWS curriculum, according to Rick Fisher, “will help students understand how tradition and modernity properly coexist and why Spain is one of the most fascinating and coveted countries on the world wine scene.” The highly regarded French Wine Scholar and Italian Wine Scholar study programs offer an unmatched degree of detail and academic rigor that is mirrored by the Spanish Wine Scholar program. According to Julien Camus, “The Wine Scholar Guild has become the world’s top provider of specialist certification programs,” covering all three of the major nations that produce and export wine.

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