302035 Tue May 16 11:34:03 -0700 2006 52 34 Wine 0 1688242 For a while, there was a time when cold duck was popular. It is basically champagne with sparkling burgundy and a touch of sugar. I always thought it was a horrid drink and like most bad fads I was happy to see it go. Time passed and I discovered Lambrusco, a mildly carbonated red wine. Was cold duck just a bad version of Lambrusco? One day wandering down the ailes of Raley's I noticed that Andre was selling cold duck. Ok, Andre is not fine wine at its best, but was cold duck as bad as remembered? Maybe I wasn't ready for this at the time. It lived up the the horror of my memeory. Bad burgundy made with mediocre sparkling wine with enough sugar to make it even more cloying and awful. Who thought this up? Some drunken marketing team? A company with too much bad sparkling wine and bad burgundy? What twisting thinking created this? Turns out that cold duck has its origins in Bavaria and was called kalte ende ("cold end"). It was a way of not wasting champagne. Ende became ente, or duck. If you see it, don't duck .. run. Link: http://allrecipes.com/advice/ref/ency/terms/5963.asp Tue May 16 11:34:03 -0700 2006 0 rworange 1 1688243 Cold duck? Lambrusco? You never stopped at Boone's Farm on your voyage of wine discovery? Come on. Admit it. Tue May 16 11:44:26 -0700 2006 1688242 0 Bob Martinez 2 1688246 Or Ripple. Way back when, Cold Duck was one of the standard gifts we gave at Christmas! Heck, we were glad to receive it too! Tue May 16 12:00:53 -0700 2006 1688243 0 DT 3 1688253 don't forget riunite's cousin canei and correct me if i'm mistaken wasn't the character's name in the commercial aldo? Tue May 16 12:42:59 -0700 2006 1688246 0 byrd 4 1688270 I think Aldo was Cella, as in "Chill a Cella". Tue May 16 14:49:57 -0700 2006 1688253 0 coll 2 1688248 My introduction to wine was Boone's farm. Hey, Lumbrusco is good ... but that's from someone who started with Boone's Farm ... actually it was a sip of Manishevitz every Christmas. What's wrong with Lambrusco? Even my local fine wine shop sells it. While admitting it isn't a fine wine, it calls this one "just plain delicious ... A wine to be drunk, not talked about" Link: http://www.klwines.com/find/search.asp?g=&w2=lambrusco&ob=an%2Bavi%2Bap&submit=Search&cmd=show&cmd=show&ppg=50&id=29&pg1=1 Tue May 16 12:04:13 -0700 2006 1688243 0 rworange 3 1688252 I drank my share of Boone's Farm too and some Lambrusco as well. What was that orange stuff that was sort of like pre-made screwdrivers? Tango? Brrr. And then there was Yago Sangria and it's evil cousin, Spanada, which was only drinkable between 33 and 35 degrees Farenheit. It came in 2 liter teardrop shaped jugs and was foul, nasty stuff. But with some fresh fruit added and poured into a pitcher full of ice you could fool your tastebuds for awhile. Unfortunately the stomach and liver saw through this charade. Most Spanada nights ended badly. Shudder. Tue May 16 12:32:02 -0700 2006 1688248 0 Bob Martinez 4 1688256 I've consumed a lot of trashy drinks in my life, but, for me, cold duck always sits at the bottom. Even in my Boone's Farm days I could never drink more than a sip or two. IMO, the Germans should have just tossed the unused wine or made vinegar out of it. There was no reason for this. Then again, there are alot of very sweet German wines, so perhaps that's where the tolerance came in. Like this other link about cold duck says "a corruption of "Kalte Ende" (cold end) which refers to the practice of marrying all of the left over wine after a banquet. There is an urban myth that the wine was a mixture from the dump buckets after a tasting" I don't think that is a myth at all ... cold duck itself is a corruption. Link: http://www.wineeducation.com/glosc.html Tue May 16 12:54:21 -0700 2006 1688252 0 rworange 5 1688272 There are a number of things about the "kalte ende" story that strike me as an urban legend. First, every appearance of the story is identical, so there's no real authority. Second, the stories all refer to Bavaria. Even if there was wine in Bavaria, which for all practical purposes there is not, it would not be red wine and it would not be sparkling. One of the references refers to the "traditional" practice of mixing the wines together after a banquet. I have been to a fair number of banquets in Germany. One pretty solid tradition is that there is no wine left over at the end. Tue May 16 14:58:25 -0700 2006 1688256 0 Jef 4 1688258 "What was that orange stuff that was sort of like pre-made screwdrivers? Tango? Brrr." In philly, it was 'Orange Driver'. To this day I can rememeber how bad my head hurt, how badly it tasted and how sick it made the lovely Bernadette Manning, who spewed vast, vast quantities of the vile stuff into my 58 Chevy's Naugahyde backseat. And down inside the side window, and across the rear window and down the outside of the sparkling white paint job. The Farimount Park Police arrived before I got the chance to thank her. Tue May 16 13:11:31 -0700 2006 1688252 0 FatBob 4 1688260 And let's not forget Bali Hai ?wine. Tue May 16 13:35:40 -0700 2006 1688252 0 Taralli 5 1688273 Oh do let's forget Bali Hai. Agree that Cold Duck is the worst of the worst, but Bali Hai's right after it. Though rivaled by "imitation" Boone's Farm "wines" that I have mercifully forgotten the details of. Tue May 16 15:05:57 -0700 2006 1688260 0 Aromatherapy 6 1688293 And Pagan Pink Ripple...HOOO hah! Tue May 16 17:48:05 -0700 2006 1688273 0 Will Owen 7 1688384 The Ripples were what I was trying to remember yesterday along with the Bali Hai. Thunderbird also occurred to me. Wed May 17 15:06:17 -0700 2006 1688293 0 Taralli 8 1688405 And while we're at it, no discussion of gut busting wines would be complete without a mention of Mad Dog 20/20. I've done a number of questionable things in my life but drinking Mad Dog is not one of them. Link: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/53/Maddog2020.jpg/180px-Maddog2020.jpg Image: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/53/Maddog2020.jpg/180px-Maddog2020.jpg Wed May 17 16:46:26 -0700 2006 1688384 0 Bob Martinez 6 1688343 Imitation Boones Farm... Thank god I never sank that low. I've never met a Lambrusco that I liked--dry or semi-sweet. But the faint hint of vomit flavor that I have always encountered has kept me from delving too deeply... Wed May 17 09:54:30 -0700 2006 1688273 0 butterfly 3 1688330 I, too, enjoy Lambrusco. I don't find it cloying or harsh at all -- and my Italian friends enjoy drinking it with me as well. Wed May 17 00:23:20 -0700 2006 1688248 0 gus 3 1688331 It should be noted that the Barbolini Lambrusco, unlike the other wines being discussed here, is dry and not sweet. Disclaimer: my friend imports this wine. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/296155#1630337 Wed May 17 00:58:09 -0700 2006 1688248 0 Melanie Wong 4 1688333 Olivettos was serving Barbolini during their whole hog dinner a couple of years ago. It turns out to be the *perfect* pork wine. And at about $10 retail is a fantastic bargain. I don't think I'd call it dry, exactly, but definitely closer to that end of the spectrum. Apparently Lambrusco can actually be quite good. I wonder what the economics were that made it such a garbage wine back 30 years ago? Wed May 17 02:12:08 -0700 2006 1688331 0 Jef 5 1688334 The Barbolini is especially good with salumi. I've been told that dry or dryish lambrusco is the preferred style in Italy. Likewise dry or near dry prosecco, rather than the sweeter stuff sold here. Sweet Riunite lambrusco may be something designed for American tastes, and not a reflection of what was produced for local consumption 30 years ago. I checked the website and the residual sugar in Riunite is 6% (60g/L). Link: http://www.riunite.com/products/howwinesaremade.html Wed May 17 02:36:06 -0700 2006 1688333 0 Melanie Wong 6 1688415 It was always my understanding that the sweet version was specially designed for us gringos. I have had decent lambrusco in Italy, good with really fatty sausages and such. Wed May 17 18:09:15 -0700 2006 1688334 0 Aromatherapy 7 1688425 I don't know. I never had lambrusco in the US, but I have had it here in Spain and some of it is very sweet. Wed May 17 20:14:57 -0700 2006 1688415 0 butterfly 2 1688255 Boone's Farm is from my youth, too!! Also, there was another horrid wine- I think it was called Zapple! Tue May 16 12:54:09 -0700 2006 1688243 0 maccsa 2 1688263 I admit to visiting Boone's Farm. It served an important purpose for me. On the long, slow road from growing up with Manischevitz to learning to appreciate wonderful wines, I had to transition from the Kosher stuff to Boone's, then to White Zin (remember when that was trendy?) to get to where I am today Tue May 16 13:57:33 -0700 2006 1688243 0 Dev 3 1688277 white zin was trendy? i remember my aunt asking for it at defunct mc2 in sf and the pro of a waitress saying we don't have that, but how about this white with a little cassis added? aunt was happy. this stays in my memory because her husband was a wine collector. a case of Cold Duck under the xmas tree always brings a big smile to my brother's face. confirmed with mom that neither of us was adopted. bartlby's wine coolers? Tue May 16 15:33:55 -0700 2006 1688263 0 semmel 2 1688294 One of the "benefits" of being elderly is remembering when such things as Lambrusco and Annie Green Springs were notable improvements over what had gone before. I remember when the staple beverage at any quasi-artsy party was gallon jugs of Red Mountain, a substance only a slightly deeper red than mercurochrome, with a distinctly high-volatile chemical topnote and a finish so nasty you had to drink more just to quell it. I also remember a party at which one gallant, emulating the champagne-from-a-slipper tradition, drank Mountain Red from Teresa Palmer's sneaker. He had to use his finger to stop up the hole in the toe... Tue May 16 17:58:17 -0700 2006 1688243 0 Will Owen 2 1688418 Boone's Farm? Please! I was educated abroad so Ripple was my beverage of choice ;-) Wed May 17 18:49:06 -0700 2006 1688243 0 Scagnetti 1 1688275 Ahh, those '70s. I remember Cold Duck had a lot of friends: Cella Lambrusco, "Chill a Cella!" Riuniti, "Riuniti on ice. That's nice!" Martini & Rossi, "Martini & Rossi on the rocks. Say yes!" Asti Spumante Boones Farm Strawberry Hill Mateus Lancers Andre pink champagne, "Andre for the holidays!" Tue May 16 15:22:58 -0700 2006 1688242 0 Jef 2 1688280 Don't forget the very upscale Blue Nun for those with wine savy. Tue May 16 15:59:51 -0700 2006 1688275 0 rworange 3 1688338 We always bought the German wines because they were $1, in a barrel by the door. I think we liked Schwartenkeller Katz which had a black cat on the label. My favorite wine at the time though was Catawba Pink: a friend brought some over a few years ago because he remembered I liked it, yuck!!!! Wed May 17 08:11:57 -0700 2006 1688280 0 coll 3 1688412 I recall getting any cheap white wine and just adding a pack of grape Kool-Aid..this was pre Jim Jones.. Wed May 17 17:43:22 -0700 2006 1688280 0 Phu Bai 3 2306676 Was a time -- think Stiller & Meara -- when Blue Nun was the #1 imported wine in the U.S. So, too, for Lancer's and Mateus. Mon Feb 19 08:54:39 -0800 2007 1688280 28122 zin1953 2 1688282 Who doesn't have fond memories of Champale? I'll never forget loading up in my best friend's grandmother's blue Cadillac with a bunch of frineds, picking up some pink Champale, and going to the drive-in theater to see "The Rose". It was a lovely evening. Tue May 16 16:25:02 -0700 2006 1688275 0 Sister Sue 3 1688299 That reminds me of Sanford & Sons, which I was just old enough to watch with my grandfather: Champiple -- champagne and ripple Tue May 16 18:15:21 -0700 2006 1688282 0 Dev 3 1688310 the Chamnpagne of Beers...and my mom drank it on those really special nights at the Elks Lodge. Tue May 16 19:20:11 -0700 2006 1688282 0 Babs 2 1688285 Annie Green Springs, anyone? This is all bringing up (no pun intended) memories of alot of puking. Tue May 16 17:11:23 -0700 2006 1688275 0 chittachef 3 1688288 When Boone's Farm was too $$$... Tue May 16 17:33:14 -0700 2006 1688285 0 Aromatherapy 4 1688398 Hence the puking........ Wed May 17 15:59:21 -0700 2006 1688288 0 chittachef 2 1688292 "Youuuu...are going onnnn a gentle Joooourney... So take youuuur...loving tiiiiime - You're moving on...you're grooooving on Cribaaaaari...Cribari wiiiiiine, Oooh wo wo wooooah!" Thirty-five years if it's a day, and I still can't get that damned thing out of my head. What's worse, in a way, was that it was actually not bad as jug wine went. Just cheap zinfandel, back when that was your standard Italian-style cheap red. Back when it came in fifths, quarts and gallons... Tue May 16 17:45:14 -0700 2006 1688275 0 Will Owen 3 1688311 With a portrait of Papa Cribari on the label. You just knew his nose was red! Tue May 16 19:33:09 -0700 2006 1688292 0 suzannapilaf 3 1688320 Even now, I occasionally say "Cribari zinfandel was better than this". Fond memories. Tue May 16 21:22:48 -0700 2006 1688292 0 wally 2 1688305 Boone's Farm, Blue Nun, Riunite, Lambrusco, etc. Been there done that!!! ROFLMAO!!!! They were good times! Tue May 16 18:59:57 -0700 2006 1688275 0 Linda VH 2 1688341 OMG- Matues. Forgot all about that. Remember drinking that in my teen years on Martha's Vineyard- thought it was upscale, because it had a cork!! Wed May 17 09:06:59 -0700 2006 1688275 0 macca 1 1688281 My girlfriend and I drank Andre Cold Duck in the late 60's and thought it was wonderful, I know I wouldn't touch the stuff now. Tue May 16 16:06:15 -0700 2006 1688242 0 malibumike 1 1688291 Reading the entries in this thread had me flashing on a bit from the National Lampoon Radio Hour from the 70s in which a James Taylor imitator sang a commercial jingle with the line: "Oh, my favourite juice is Mother Goose's Sweet Potato Sparkling Wine" Tue May 16 17:40:50 -0700 2006 1688242 0 Fydeaux 1 1688336 This whole discussion is verrry INteresting, if you know what I mean. I admit to being too young (at almost 40) to remember most of these wines, except for commercials seen as a child. But it got me thinking about the reason for it. The wines our forefathers drank were madeiras, ports and sherries, all sweet wines -- wines that could withstand the trip by ship from Europe (madeiras, for one, were used as ballast in the shipping trade), so fortified wines for many years were all that people in America knew. Whatever wine trade that might have been burgeoning in American pre-the early 20th Century was by prohibition. So, it's not that remarkable that when translating American wine preferences to the commercial, the marketers/manufacturers went with sweet wine. It was our only heritage -- all that people knew. Thankfully we've moved beyond that, but the history backing the preference for sweet wine is there. Wed May 17 06:41:21 -0700 2006 1688242 0 DanaB 2 1688337 Oops, that was supposed to read, "Whatever wine trade that might have been burgeoning in American pre-the early 20th Century was DONE IN by prohibition." Wed May 17 06:43:48 -0700 2006 1688336 0 DanaB 2 1688378 It probably had nothing to do with tradition, but getting wasted cheaply and pleasantly. It had more to do with marketing to people who were moving on from soda. The Baby Boomers were legal (or almost) and needed party booze for little money. It made me laugh when someone said that Annie Green Springs was what you bought when you couldn't afford Boone's Farm. I remember pooling spare change with friends to buy a bottle of Boone's Farm. It was alcohol and you didn't need to develop a taste for it like beer. It taste like soda ... with a buzz. And it is all too true that Boone's Farm was the gateway to moving up the wine ladder. First apple, then ... wow ... strawberry Boone's farm ... hey, that looks like white zin ... yeah ... this isn't bad, not as sweet as the Boone's farm stuff and no formaldehyde (don't know if that was an urban legend) ... I wonder what else is tasty in wine that is better than white zin ... and so it went. So the wine industry should give Boone's Farm its due. Serious wine with food was jugs of Carlo Rossi ... and let us not forget authentic Italian chianti that could be used to decorate the table in the future by putting a candle and letting the wax melt down it. So romatic. A lot of it was geared to working class families who had no tradition of wine at home. Other than the Christmas Manoshevitz, the closest my family came to wine was when Mr. Barberi next door would once a year share a bottle of his home-made wine with grapes he grew himself ... and Connecticut was not exactly grape-growing territory. That brings up the late Italian Colony ... "That little old wine-maker, me". A step up from the Gallo, at that time. Odd that in that time period when so many people knew so little about wine, even then, people didn’t have nice things to say about Gallo. IMO, this had a lot to do with providing ‘fortified soda’ rather than sweet wine. Wed May 17 14:33:00 -0700 2006 1688336 0 rworange 3 1688419 In that same vein, ever since I can remember, my family served a sweet white wine from Wente Brothers for holiday meals. I went to their website, and they don't even make it anymore. If you look at the older wineries in So. Cal. (Wente, Galleano, San Antonio, Joseph Filippi), they all used to focus on sweet and fortified wines, because that was what people drank up until the wine revolution that accompanied the "California cuisine" movement of the 1970s/80s. I really think it was a function of there not being other alternatives/not being a history of wine drinking (other than church, etc.) in this country as there was in Europe, rather than a marketing coup. Wed May 17 19:02:11 -0700 2006 1688378 0 DanaB 2 1688428 and bronco wine in california got sued by the feds during the barbera wine craze for selling truckloads of "inferior" grapes nicely topped with barbera grapes. why do i remember these things? Wed May 17 21:35:58 -0700 2006 1688336 0 semmel 1 2304985 Riuniti, "Riuniti on ice. That's nice!" I'm only 27 (next week.) and never had the joy of experiencing these fine drinks you speak of. But, for some reason, the Riuniti ad is stuck in my mind forever. I didn't even know what it was for when I would burst out the line as a childhood memory. My mother laughs about the horrible things she would drink, and every time she does Ripple, Night Train, and Cold duck are mentioned. I've never had them and my stomach turns at the mere thought of what they contained. Sun Feb 18 13:54:26 -0800 2007 1688242 75599 lonedreamer 1 2305081 No one mentioned Thunder Bird, Night Train, or Richard's Wild Irish Rose... So I did. Sun Feb 18 14:45:39 -0800 2007 1688242 75618 ClemsonLip 1 5202361 Does it get any better with age??? I've got a bottle that's been in the cupboard for over 25 years. Mon Nov 23 09:29:03 -0800 2009 1688242 1126818 Jerry19