Revisiting the Retro Wines of Our Youth

Interesting article by MaryOrlin:
RetastingRetro
on retasting the retro wines of our youth (which, for me, was not all that long ago) like Lancers & Riunite & BlueNun.
Tom

[Robin Garr]

Ha! I tried a Riunite within the past few years. It wasn't too terrible with hot Thai food.

For some reason Giaccobazzi Lambrusco was more popular in my teen years than Riunite. It appears that both are still made, so I might need to do a shoot-out. A college suite-mate always kept a gallon bottle of Carlo Rossi (which flavor I don't recall, but red) in our fridge, and we thought it was pretty naff, even then. Having said that, I was recently served a glass of a white Carlo Rossi by accident (shows you the classy restaurants I frequent) and it was not bad...somewhat like halb-trocken Riesling.

I started with Blue Nun and Mateus rose.

Maybe different formulations for different markets. Article says Blue Nun is 100% Muller Thurgau, but in UK the main Blue Nun is 100% Riesling Qualitatswein from Rheinhessen, Germany.

They have an 'original' Blue Nun in a (urghh) blue bottle, - no grape variety is name and no productin region, just EU which means its contents are sourced from anywher in the EU.

I understand Mateus was been made drier at its relaunch, but I haven't tasted it...

[Jenise]

A few years ago I put on a rose tasting here wherein my email pitch suggested that men, in particular, were reluctant to drink rose having formed an opinion decades ago on an occasion that involved a girl, the backseat of a car, and a bottle of Mateus Rose. To nail the joke, I included Mateus Rose in the tasting.

It was my entry wine, too, and actually better all those years later than I thought it was going to be. .

[Robin Garr]

No love for Taylor Lake Country Red? That was the first wine I tasted that I actually thought tasted like grapes - labrusca, d'oh!

Regarding wine commercials, Paul Masson did a series of them with Orson Welles as their spokesman. the slogan was, "we will sell no wine before its time". Johnny Carson did a hilarious parody on his show. First is Carson dressed up as Orson Welles saying, "at Paul Masson we will sell no wine before its time". Cut to Carson as a skid row drunk with a bottle in a bag. He checks his watch, exclaims "It's time!", and starts guzzling. There's also a hilarious outtake video of Welles recording one of the commercials while blotto.

-Paul W.

The wine of my early youth was Mogen David. (Not Manischewitz, which was dominant on the coasts; we lived in Cleveland.)

I'd snorkel a whole bottle of Blue Nun before I'd revisit Mogen David.

The wine of my early youth was Mogen David. (Not Manischewitz, which was dominant on the coasts; we lived in Cleveland.)

I'd snorkel a whole bottle of Blue Nun before I'd revisit Mogen David.

Mogen David was made in Westfield, NY, between Buffalo and Erie on the lake, so it you might consider it a Cleveland regional wine. Made me remember the classic bum wines like MD 20/20, which used to mean 20% abv/20 oz. Current iterations show it to be all watered down and fruit flavored.

BTW, I was curious to see if the Carlo Rossi website had anything about the grapes used in their wines and I found this gem on describing their Burgundy: A region of France and a style of wine, Burgundy wines are bold and can be made from any number of red wine grapes. Learn some new stuff every day.

Careful; every time you use the phrase "Clevel--- regional wine," somewhere a Riedel shatters.

But, on the principle of pairing local wines with local cuisine, it's probably a great match with Chef Boy-Ar-Dee (or Davis Bakery Coconut Bars).