Hooray, it is National Wine Day in the USA! Personally, I wouldn’t need a dedicated day to enjoy wine but I’ll take it. That’s not all that has been happening in the past week, however, as you will find out in this latest edition of the JollyCellarMaster Weekly:
Anniversaries, Proper Public Events and Covid responses
National Wine Day x 17
Before we get to other news, let’s dwell for a moment on the fact that today is National Wine Day in the USA. It isn’t entirely clear who came up with the idea of having a dedicated day to celebrate all things wine, but on the good, old Internet it can be traced back till 2000. The same source reminds us not to confuse it with National Drink Wine Day in February. But that’s not all. Just having a bit of a look around, you could find 17 wine related national days in the US alone. Add a couple of more countries or even globally celebrated anniversaries like the Malbec World Day in April (why did nobody tell me last month?!?) or the International Sauvignon Blanc Day (another one I missed ) and you soon don’t run out of an excuse to open a bottle of wine – if we ever needed one, right?
Public Events in Person
Really great news though come in the form of the slow reopening of restaurants and wineries as well as the return of wine events like the guided visits in Tuscany promoted by the European Food Agency or the announcement of a Vinitaly special addition in October.
Thankfully, we don’t have to wait that long with the 2021 edition of the Cantine Aperte just around the corner. This Saturday and Sunday as well as the weekend of 19/20 June, almost 300 wineries across Italy open their doors for wine lovers, obviously all in compliance with the current Covid rules. The 29th edition is accompanied by other wine events like the new Vigneti Aperti event with guided vineyard tours and activities or the Christmas edition of the Cantine Aperte in December.
Help in Times of Need and the latest Conversation
The Cantina Valle Isarco, the cooperative winery of the Eisack valley in South Tyrol, has come up with a special edition of its Sylvaner to support local aid agency, Südtirol hilft. If you have an idea what the wine should be called or what the label should look like, you can share your thoughts with the organization and with a bit of luck win a magnum bottle of the new wine.
Talking about the most northern producing wine region of my adopted home South Tyrol, I talk in the latest episode of the JollyCellarMaster podcast with Carmen Augshöll who was born and raised in the pretty Eisack Valley, but is now with the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (ÖWM), national service body for the Austrian wine industry. We talked extensively about how she got to where she is now, Austrian wine, how the industry has been impacted by the Covid crisis and what the ÖWM did to tackle the effects. You can listen to our conversation here in German or read shortly about it in English and Italian.
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And that’s all for this week. If you have an interesting story, connect on Twitter and if you want to stay in the loop about things happening at the JollyCellarMaster and the world of wine, make sure you sign up to our newsletter.
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Disclaimer: As always, I’d like to be completely transparent about affiliations, conflicts of interest, my expressed views and liability: Like anywhere else on this website, the views and opinions expressed are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. The material information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. I endeavor to keep this information correct and up-to-date, I do not accept any liability for any falls in accurate or incomplete information or damages arising from technical issues as well as damages arising from clicking on or relying on third-party links. I am not responsible for outside links and information is contained in this article nor does it contain any referrals or affiliations with any of the producers or companies mentioned. As I said, the opinions my own, no liability, just thought it would be important to make this clear. Thanks!
