I have no idea who creates these so called national days of commemoration.  In one of the recent glossy periodicals that I receive Hour Magazine that is about Detroit and the Tri-County area, I saw a little message that reads “Feb.18 is Drink Wine Day.”  The concept and theme are fine for me, and I am sure that the wineries, their associations, distributors, stores and not to mention restaurants will all concur that this is a great day to celebrate.  Of course most people, who appreciate wine, can find a reason to open up wine any day of the year, and they really don’t need a created day to do it.  I also get a kick out of the concept of “Wine Wednesday,” and I do appreciate that some merchants and restaurants are trying to capitalize on the idea, by promoting special pricing for it.

As I reflect on “Drink Wine Day” I realize that there are many countries where wine is part of the heritage, and where wine is now becoming a major industry, when it was not even a decade or two ago.  Here in the United States, I have read several times that there are wineries now in every state of the Union.  I am sure that some people may not agree that every “winery” is a winery, but one has to applaud the individuals that are attempting to fulfill their dreams.

As I look at the labels that I have amassed over the years from trying to save them, as keepsakes from all of the bottles that I have tried, I am amazed at the amount of countries that I have encountered the fruits of their labors.  I was going to say that there was only one continent that I had not had the pleasure of having any wine, but then I thought that yes, I have tried Sake, so even the Orient has been covered.  It is fun to try some wines out of the ordinary; some may never be repeated, while others become new favorites.  I went and looked for a couple of unique back labels from bottles of wines, and came up with two different ones from Spain.  One is a very large “Guarantee of Origin” label that is very colorful for Sherry wines.  I went into the cellar to see if I had another fresh bottle, to see if this label is still being used, but I do not have any in stock.  The other back label is from one of my favorite areas of Spain, the Rioja.  This label shows a somewhat detailed map of the Rioja region and the three sub regions that are there, I also checked on some of the Rioja wines that I have cellaring, and the newer bottles do not have this back label.  So even though this may never become a big national day, I am sure that there will be plenty of people that will want to take advantage of “Drink Wine Day.”