Wine Wednesday: National Drink Wine Day

Today is a big day for wine lovers across the country – National Drink Wine Day.

This holiday is celebrated annually across the United States every Feb. 18. The purpose behind the day is to spread the history, health benefits and of course, the love of wine.

This grape-based drink has played an important role in relationships, history and religion. It has brought us new friends, reduced the risk of heart disease and enhanced our taste buds with delicious food pairings. Here is a look into wine’s past and exactly how it became one of our favorite beverages across the globe.

7000 B.C.E. – Fermented honey, rice and fruit residue was found in China.

4100 B.C.E. – Oldest winery was found in a cave in Armenia.

340 B.C.E. – Aristotle drinks “black wine” in Lemnos, a Greek island. He said it tasted of oregano and thyme.

0 – Jesus turns water into wine.

0-500 – Romans spread wine grapes throughout Europe.

500 – Fall of the Roman Empire.

1000 – Château de Goulaine in Loire Valley, France was built. It is one of the oldest operating wineries in existence.

1530 – Wine grapes are delivered to the New World by the Portuguese and Spanish in Mexico and Brazil.

1659 – Wine travels to South Africa.

1670 – First vineyards planted at Château Lafite-Rothschild in France.

1693 – Dom Pérignon invents Champagne.

177 – First late-harvest “noble rot” wines recorded at Schloss Johanisburg in Germany.

1830 – Modern wine bottle shape is introduced.

1836 – Wine travels to New Zealand.

1857 – First commercial California Winery – Buena Vista Winery.

1870 – Phylloxera destroys 75 percent of France’s vineyards.

1890 – Zinfandel is the most popular grape in America.

1913 – World War I.

1920-1933 – Prohibition.

1964 – Sangria is introduced to the United States and box wine is invented.

1983 – Phylloxera outbreak in Napa Valley, Calif.

2010 – A bottle of 1869 Lafite-Rothschild sells for $230,000.

2016 – $1 billion “Wine City” to open in Yantai, China.