Well, it was good old Mateus Rose.
My parents used to serve it to dinner guests - we are talking about the 1960's here - and I remember it for two reasons. One it seemed to be the height of fashion to have a bottle of this on the table and it wasn't just because of the unusual bottle shape. This was Scotland in the 1960's where the usual tipple was beer or whiskey so this was out of the ordinary, dare I say "chic".
The second reason I remember it was because of the explosion when my Dad used a compressed air bottle opener - again the height of fashion - to take the cork out. I still have a clear picture of him holding the top of the bottle in his hands with the rest of the bottle on the floor in pieces. And where was the wine? It was all over my Mum's new velvet curtains.
I recall nothing about the taste of the wine. I may not even have been of drinking age at the time but I do remember the event very vividly after all these years. It was my first exposure to wine - to this beverage which was to absorb and captivate me for the rest of my life.
I went and bought myself a book by Hugh Johnson. I took every opportunity I could to taste wine and eventually decided to get some qualifications from the WSET, ending up with the Diploma. It was the exercise of studying for this final qualification over a 2 year period that prompted me to start a blog about my experiences. And all because of a bottle of Mateus Rose all these years ago.
You can read about other bloggers' stories over at The Corkdork.
2 comments:
Mateus! I always loved the distinct shaped bottle. This was the wine that we drank on our honeymoon - well, we were struggling students at the time!
I would be very surprised if there was not more people out there who picked the same. Thank you for your story.
My very first wine experience was also with my parents but it was Blue Nun which was the height of wine fashion back in the 80's in central California! I remember sneaking a sip from the bottle on the fridge door and thinking ewwww! ;)
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