Which day should be national wine day?

Name a food and chances are it has its own “national” day. Granola bars — January 20. Cheese fondue — April 11. Spumoni — August 22. Last Friday Fat City featured coq au vin Day. You may not have realized it when you woke up but today is National Hazelnut Cake Day and Friday is National Doughnut Day (more on that later this week).

With all these meaningless foods (no offense spumoni) getting their own day, one would think there would be a National Wine Day. But due to oversight, bickering or both, there is not. The two closest events are National Drink Wine Day, February 18, and the Unofficial National Wine Day, May 25. Did you celebrate either? You might have but not in the name of wine. The days are overshadowed by nearby Valentine’s Day and Memorial Day respectively.

That’s why the National Wine Day Web site is asking people to vote on an official date for wine, one that isn’t close to any other holidays and that wine-makers will get fully behind. It lists 16 possible dates, one for each month along with the day Prohibition was repealed, Robert Mondavi’s birthdate, Mondavi’s date of passing and an “other” category.

So far the vote-leaders are the day Prohibition was repealed (the first Tuesday of December) and the current unofficial holiday, May 25.

Whether the Web site and its votes have any influence are another matter. The site doesn’t say who is behind it, and provides no contact information or e-mail address.

I voted anyway. To me, August 28 is the perfect day because there’s nothing else going on in August. People are in a bad mood because it’s hot. Kids are in a bad mood because school has started again. What better way to break up the monotony and get in the spirit of upcoming Labor Day than with wine! But so far, only one other person who has taken the poll agrees with me.

Even if August 28 isn’t the date, wine should have its own day.

(Image via Flickr: Foxtongue)