We’re in the boom times for midcentury ‘now’ wines

“Now” is a powerful word, with marketers and their customers, journalists and their readers on an endless hunt for the new(s). Sure, there’s plenty of “now” in wine, such as new packaging that reduces carbon footprint. However, as a beverage with a 13,000-year history, wine has a whole lot of “then.”

Here’s a look at one then: U.S. wine’s formative era in the mid-1900s and how it influences what we drink (or don’t) today.

In the Boom

Before the 1960s, we drank wine for religious services, holidays and at Nonna’s house.

Economic prosperity stimulated business people to direct personal wealth into the cost-intensive wine enterprise. In 1968, for instance, Kaiser Companies CEO Eugene Trefethen founded Napa’s Trefethen Vineyards, with input from son John’s MBA project analyzing the wine industry. Without farming know-how, this new breed of winemakers relied on business savvy, science and technology — such as televised ads and the new Cornell Grape Harvester — to launch a U.S. industry that soon surpassed centuries of Old World experience in sales and international recognition.

The joke at the time: “How do you make a small fortune? Start with a huge fortune and open a winery.”

At the same time, Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) returned to the land and wine. The 1967 Summer of Love rock festivals were littered with empties, not of vodka preferred by their parents, but jugs labeled California Chianti and Mountain Chablis. California producers began labeling wine for its grape variety, a break from the Old World, where wine is named for its region.

The losing battle

While early Chardonnays and Cabernets were prohibitively expensive, the trend reached mainstream acceptance in the 1980s with “fighting varietals,” i.e., wines that fought for sales at low cost (about $3 in Chicago). Now, many Old World regions have rejiggered their wine law to permit varietal labeling.

Here’s my beef: A varietal is a wine named for a grape variety. No matter which influencer dubs Chianti, Bordeaux or any regional wine a varietal, it’s not. The widespread misuse of these terms tells me I’m losing this battle.

Rosè all Day? Sim, Sim, Senhor!

Decades before our current raves for rose, Portugal’s sweet, fizzy pink Mateus graced millions of U.S. tables with its unique, flask-shaped bottle. Soon, Mateus was fixed in our national consciousness by televised ads and rock stars like Jimi Hendrix and Elton John endorsing getting “juiced on Mateus.” Today, Mateus, in a slightly drier version, remains Portugal’s top-selling wine.

Taste one of this century’s finest roses — France’s Triennes — paired with lobster rolls and flank steak off the grill, along with four additional wines and dessert during Sunset Sips and Savory Supper, held on The Chopping Block’s patio from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6. For details and to register, visit: Sunset Sips and Savory Supper: A Patio Wine and Food Experience (getoccasion.com)

It’s not easy being blue

TV introduced us to another icon, the smiling face of Germany’s Blue Nun. “Sell the safety” was the marketing imperative developed by an original Mad Man Jerry Della Femina, with ads touting “the wine that’s correct with any dish.” At its peak in 1984, Blue Nun was one of the world’s top wine brands, selling 1.25 million cases in the U.S.

Sadly, the boom led to a bust. The simply sweet Blue Nun became linked in the consumer’s mind with all German wine, including the statuesque and often dry Rieslings of the Mosel, Rhine and Pfalz, which still struggle in the U.S.

To reacquaint yourself with these delicious wines, try Clean Slate Riesling, with delicately sweet and refreshing flavors of stone fruit, lemon/lime and classic mineral accents. Serve with delicately sweet and/or spicy dishes including sushi or barbecue, or as a refreshing cocktail. It’s less than $12 at area chains and specialty grocers.

• Mary Ross is an Advanced Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers), a Certified Wine Educator (Society of Wine Educators) and a recipient of the Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award of Excellence.” Write to her at food@dailyherald.com.