It’s a little-known historical factoid that the very first “Wine-down Wednesday” occurred in the famous Tuscany region of Italy, beloved by many wine aficionados as the home of the world’s finest wines. In 1864 an itinerant guitarre player named Goffredo Forestale approached a local inn called ‘Bere Insieme’, offering to perform his music in return for board and an undisclosed sum of lira.
The innkeeper, one Warrene di Columbanus, hearing the wonderfully dulcet tones of Goffredo’s guitarre, took a chance that the added attraction of live music (enhanced by a nice discount on select vintages) would boost his business. Since Wednesdays were typically slow, Warrene decided to launch the promotion on that day. Goffredo suggested they bill the event as Vino-Giù Mercoledì (Wine-down Wednesday), and thus it was.
Well, the very first Wine-down Wednesday was a resounding success. Turns out tourists were quite taken with the unique experience offered them on their travels, and the locals appreciated a nice mid-week evening on the town, and soon became regular patrons whom Goffredo came to know by name.
Goffredo continued his engagement at Bere Insieme for many years, becoming somewhat of a local celebrity, until his eventual retirement from the entertainment business. He then joined a local monastery to devote his golden years to playing his guitarre in solitary praise to God for granting him such a blessed life. The date of Goffredo’s passing is unknown.
And ever since, numerous restaurants, pubs, inns, taverns and other venues of superior hospitality have adopted Goffredo and Warrene’s formula for success. Today, there are literally thousands of Wine-down Wednesdays happening throughout the world on a weekly basis.
And since 2013, your local Wine-down Wednesday at the Hobnob Corner Restaurant in beautiful downtown Nashville, Indiana continues to attract discerning diners and wine enthusiasts from all across the country. The tradition lives on!
BTW, the term “Hump Day”, referring to Wednesday, was coined by Walter E. Hisaw, a blue-print specialist at Ingles Shipyard, Land Based Test Facility, Pascagoula Mississippi in 1973. Walter is also reputed to have toyed with the idea of creating “Hors d’oeuvre Hump Day”, but the notion never caught on… probably because no one in their right mind can spell “hors d’oeuvre”.
