Vitis

The genus of the plant kingdom to which grapevines belong. Within the genus Vitis there are some sixty separate species. The most famous species—and the only one to have originated in Europe—is VITIS VINIFERA, which includes all of the well-known wine grapes, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, and so on (and accounts for virtually all of the wines made today). Most species of vines, however, originated in North America. These include VITIS LABRUSCA, Vitis riparia, Vitis rupestris, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis berlandieri, among others.

April 7th, National Beer Day, honors the day when the first brewery opened in the United States.

Answer: False.

National Beer Day honors the day on which beer was once again legalized in the U.S. after Prohibition (1920-1933). The Eighteenth Amendment, which passed in 1919 and took effect in 1920, prohibited the sale, transportation, and production of alcohol. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Act in March 1933, which allowed low-alcohol beverages like beer to be made and sold in the U.S. (Hard liquor was still outlawed until the Volstead Act passed in December of 1933). The Cullen-Harrison Act took effect on April 7 of that year. Happy National Beer Day!

Mocha Tequila? Painful.

Call us old-fashioned, but we like the idea of things tasting like the thing itself. Sauvignon blanc like sauvignon blanc; tequila like tequila, and so on. Here’s where we part company with ParTea, a new… Continue reading

Get WineSpeed