August 19, 2019
The ancient Romans celebrated the festival of Vinalia Rustica (loosely translated The Country Wine Fest) on this date, to mark the beginning of the autumn grape harvest. The festival corresponded to the Vinalia Urbana (The City Wine Fest), on April 23, when the previous year’s wine was sampled and prayers were offered for good weather to benefit the coming year’s vintage.
So, if you needed an excuse to pop a cork when the work day’s done today, you’ve got one! (Toga optional.)
(Sources: Wikipedia, History and Archaeology Online)
