Whoever coined the phrase “the past is the past” never envisioned Facebook. While hearing from old high school chums and former flames may not appeal to everybody, my Facebook experience has been a hoot — especially when friends post long forgotten images of us from back in the day.
I’ve been particularly interested in what we were drinking in some of those shots. Many of the wines we used to buy religiously 25 years ago are still around, so I thought I’d see how a couple of them have aged.
In the ’80s Hungary’s Szekszárdi Vörös ($9.80 – $12.05) was a tannic gut wrencher. Made with the local Kékfrankos grape the current 2007 vintage (still sold by the litre) is now light and juicy with a touch of spice that makes it a fine pizza/pasta red.
Fancy drinking at the time meant Mouton Cadet Rouge ($13.94 – $17.96). Recently reinvented, the 2006 on shelf now is a softer, fruiter interpretation that lets it go cork-to-cork with Aussie and South America wines. If you’re looking for a food-friendly introduction to red Bordeaux, this is still it.
Now if I could just live down my former A Flock of Seagulls hairdo.
Prices reflect the range across the country. Some products may not be available in all provinces.
– Peter Rockwell is the everyman’s wine writer, working in the liquor industry for more than 25 years and travelling the globe looking for something to fill his glass and put into words; liquidassets@eastlink.ca.
