We already have plenty of alliterative excuses to drink wine: Malbec Monday, Tempranillo Tuesday, Wine Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Feel free to drink some wine Friday, Sauvignon Saturday, and Sunufabitch It’s Almost Monday Again, Drink Wine Sunday.
But in the event you forget any of those, a couple of which we just made up, a couple of which definitely exist, there are plenty of dates on the wine lovers’ calendar that call for wine consumption. It may be as generic as that—see below—but many holidays celebrate a specific wine grape or way of serving wine. In fact the “varietal” wine days seem like the best ideas, and clever marketing ploys to get the public interested in, or purchasing more, of a particular varietal. Though we do think Cabernet Franc needs December 4th a bit more than Chardonnay needs its May 21st.
In case you don’t already have the dates programmed into your phone, we figured we’d provide a substantial list here. Let us know if there are any we missed, since there are probably as many wine holidays as there are really creative, really thirsty people.*
February: Delaware Wine Month. A good way to liven up being…well, in Delaware.
February 18th: Drink Wine Day – Intends to “spread the love and health benefits of wine.” Also, sounds like an order. OK.
February 27th: Open That Bottle Night. The actual night changes every year (really), but the main idea is finally busting open that special bottle you have hidden away. Delaware doesn’t mess around.
March 3rd: National Mulled Wine Day . We only wish this came a bit sooner, since, well January. February. Cold and sad and stuff.
April: Michigan Wine Month. Yeah, Michigan got wine. Michigan got wine and Tim Allen.
April 17th: World Malbec Day. A serious, well-coordinated international celebration. Like an army strike, if that army just wanted you to drink good Malbec. And god bless.
May: Oregon Wine Month. ALSO Finger Lakes Wine Month. In fact, May seems to be a big month for wine holidays. For instance…
(2016) May 6th: International Sauvignon Blanc Day. Also known as Tuesday for many of us.
May 9th: World Moscato Day. Spread the sweet.
May 16th: Granholm vs. Heald Anniversary, which celebrates the 2005 court ruling that allowed out-of-state wineries to ship directly to consumers in Michigan and New York. Basically, law says more wine.
(2016) May 26th: National Chardonnay Day. Clearly two ways to celebrate: oaked or unoaked.
May 24th: Anniversary of the Judgment of Paris. Per Slate.com, the “slurp heard round the world,” when California wineries beat their French counterparts in a tasting competition—literally and figuratively putting the wine region on the world map.
May 25th: National Wine Day, which we assume must be in steep competition with February’s National Drink Wine Day? Or we hope so. Anyone fighting over getting us to drink more wine is fine by us.
June: Ohio Wine Month AND Idaho Wine Month. Cuz June don’t mess around.
August: Washington Wine Month.
August 1st: International Albarino Day. Another clever varietal day meant to get the word out, this time on a crisp, lively white that’ll feel just right in August heat.
August 14th: International Rosé Day (Hotly debated, at least insofar as Rosé Days can be; some say August is Rosé Month, and some say Rosé Day is June 10th or 11th. Cut your losses and celebrate all.)
August 18th: National Pinot Noir Day. To be celebrated with finicky delicacy.
September: California, Missouri, North Carolina, AND Illinois Wine Months! Get poppin’.
Late August/Early September: Cabernet Day. But then again, so is every day.* (Cabernet Day is technically the last Thursday before Labor Day, whenever that happens.)
September 16th: International Grenache Day (Technically held on the third Friday in September, whatever that glorious date may be.)
October: Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania all share this Wine Month.
October 11-17th: Drink Local Wine Week. Encourages exactly what you’d guess, though online coverage seems to have stopped a couple years ago. Maybe drinking local doesn’t need a special week anymore? Hurray?
October 23rd: Champagne Day (in the U.K., but we’re a former British colony, right? So celebrate here, too.)
November 7th: International Merlot Day. Not celebrated by Paul Giammatti
November 12th: Wine Tourism Day. Now in its fourth year, should bring with it some good deals, coupons, heavier pours, who knows.
November 12th: International Tempranillo Day.
November 18th: National Zinfandel Day. Doesn’t seem to be hugely national, but definitely spans the continent, appropriately for a celebration of “America’s heritage grape.”
December 4th: Cabernet Franc Day. A grape that deserves a ton more cred, on a date that isn’t just incidental.
December 5th: Repeal Day. On this date in 1933, we could all drink again.
December 20th: National Sangria Day. Not sure why we’re celebrating a “summer classic” just hours before the Winter’s Solstice. Then again, there’s always Winter Sangria. OK, you know what? We’re on board. Let’s do this.
December 31st: National Champagne Day. Makes sense.
*Egregiously missing: National Boxed Wine Day, in which we all carry a box of Franzia on our shoulders like a boom box and just keep it really, really real.
