Wine has a knack for making us remember. Most of the time, we just open a bottle of wine — it’s beautiful, uncomplicated pleasure. But sometimes, we open a bottle of memories. Wine is a clever catalyst — it whets the mind, and, if you’re patient, gives you the key to Pandora’s Box.
Recently, I had the opportunity to taste a bottle of 1980 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva. My father received the bottle as a gift — from the wine cellar of a dear friend who passed away a couple of years ago. His son works with my dad now, and from time to time, he shares a bottle that belonged to his father. I love the idea of drinking wine to remember — wine and remembrance aren’t accidental partners.
I recognized Mastroberardino as an Italian wine from the Taurisi DOCG, but after that . . . mental crickets. So off I went to the Big Board (the Internet) to learn more. Mastroberardino is located in the Campania region of sourthern Italy, about 45km east of Naples. In addition to the Anglianico wines of Taurisi, Mastroberardino has been a champion of underdog wines like Lacryma Christi, Greco di Tufo and Fiano de Avellino. Mastroberardino is also spearheading the Villa dei Misteri project in Pompeii — replanting the ancient vineyards destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. One of these years, I’m gonna make it to Pompeii.
And so we uncorked the 1980 Mastroberardino Taurasi Riserva . . . and we raised our glasses to the memory of our old friend, Horst. Prosit!
But now my mind was whet, and the key was already turning in Pandora’s Box . . . so I started thinking about some of the things that were going on in 1980, the year this wine was bottled.
I was a tween in 1980 — I was very busy wallpapering my room with posters of Shaun Cassidy. Also, I may or may not have had a Smurf collection.
I met him on a Monday and my heart stood still . . . da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron. They don’t write deep lyrics like that anymore. Swoon!
It’s tough to follow Shaun Cassidy, but there were some other things going on in 1980 . . .
The Iranian Hostage Crisis: Fifty-two Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days. Those are 444 days I will never forget. A family friend of ours was one of the hostages. This is my hostage bracelet. I’m pretty sure it was the prototype for the rainbows of rubber “cause” bracelets that folks wear today. I wore it until we cut the yellow ribbon off the tree in our front yard.
And this a photo of our family friend, Lt. Col. David Roeder, returning to Rhein-Main US Air Force base in Frankfurt, Germany. Over three decades later, and I still can’t look at this photo without getting all lumpy-throated and verklempt.
John Lennon was assassinated — an event that didn’t even register on my tween radar in 1980. (I wasn’t hanging John Lennon posters in my room). Lennon’s song, Imagine, used to grate on my last good nerve. It’s about as lively as a funeral dirge. But I’m older now, I get it. And I think it’s brilliant. Because . . . just imagine.
Sidebar: Imagine is #3 on Rolling Stone’s list of the Greatest Songs of All Time. Da Doo Ron Ron comes in at #114 on that list. Just sayin’.
The US boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games. Sigh. For the record, Misha was one of the best Olympic mascots ever — before Olympic mascots got all esoteric and weird (I’m still bitter about the Atlanta Izzy debacle). The photo on the left is the Misha my dad brought home from the Moscow Olympics. I ❤ Misha. The photo on the right is . . . well, no one knows what Izzy is.
Mount St. Helens in Washington blew her top. Literally. Interesting geeky note: I’ve read a couple of reports that credit volcanic explosions in the Cascade Mountains with the success of Washington viticulture. Something about ash combining with sandy soils to form loess, which is something the vines love. Maybe one of you sciency people can investigate that claim further . . .
Pac-Man was released. I hate to think how many quarters and how many hours of my life I wasted trying to run away from Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde.
Rubik’s Cube was Toy of the Year. I still haven’t been able to solve more than two sides of that damn cube. Maybe if I had spent less time playing Pac-Man with Shaun Cassidy . . .
And because this was an Italian wine we opened, here are a couple of Italian memories from 1980:
The Bologna Massacre — 85 people were killed in a terrorist bombing of the Central Station in Bologna. The attack was attributed to the neo-fascist terrorist organization, Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari. File that knowledge away — you might need it on Final Jeopardy one day.
Also, there was a massive earthquake in the Irpinia region of southern Italy, killing almost 3,000 people and injuring over 10,000. If you’re still reading this, I’m about to make one of those fun, full-circle connections. That 1980 earthquake destroyed much of the Mastroberardino winery, along with 45,000 bottles of wine, as well as the Mastroberardino family home. After the winery was rebuilt, Mastroberardino started using the name Radici (roots) on their Taurisi wine — a nod to the family’s unshakable connection to the land.
So how was the wine? Here’s what a 33-year old Italian wine cork looks like . . . beautiful, no?
Tasting Notes: 100% Aglianico. Visually, it’s a lovely garnet red in the glass. The nose is pure smoke — think bacon, cooking in a cast iron skillet, over an open campfire. I love that smell. Tastes like a Slim Jim rolled in tobacco leaves and sprinkled with black pepper — not necessarily a bad thing. Tannins to spare. This is a wine that’s screaming for food . . . game or lamb would be perfect. I tried to find some fruit left in the bottle, but the only thing I could come up with was a smoky raisin.
Somehow, it’s fitting that a 1980 wine tastes a little like a Slim Jim — I ate more than one Slim Jim as a tween. Who’s up for some mechanically separated chicken?
Like all good things, this bottle came to an end before we were ready . . . thanks for the memories!
Salud!
I love the nostalgic trip. Fabulous!
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Thanks so much, Tracy! Salud!! 😃
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Wow does this bring back memories, when I lived in Italy my house was at the base of the road that leads to Vesuvio and I used to drink Lacryma Christi all the time. I really liked it at the time, I must give this one a try. I love the wines of Southern Italy.
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How cool that you used to live in Italy! You must have been in wine heaven . . . Salud!!
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Oh I was, I used to buy my wine from barrels, it was really incredibly good for every day drinking wine. I miss it!
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That is BEYOND cool!!
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Great post!
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Thanks, Anatoli! Salud!!
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Enjoyed your post and the memories – could picture you then! We have our David M Roeder bracelet and the yellow ribbon we gladly cut off the tree. I hope nobody ever forgets your historical milestones – each so important in many ways. Best wishes, Betsy
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Thanks, Betsy! I’ll bet we aren’t the only ones who still have those bracelets (LM). Really enjoying your Good Montana Morning cookbook . . . so many yummy things! 😃
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David Roeder is my godfather, we still have our bracelets too.
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Loved the post and it connected with me like others above – my son Andrew was born in 1980, I got my best ever job in 1980, and at this very moment we are in Ravello and planning our week which includes a visit to Pompeii and Herculaeun, and now I am scouring the enotera for a Mastroberardino wine. Thanks.
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1980 was a good year . . . 😃 Have a fantastic trip to Italy . . . will be looking forward to reading all about it . . . and the wines you tasted!! Cin Cin!
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I love that about wine–it takes you back to another time. Your memories about 1980 were spot on (but curiously no mention by either you or Anatoli of disco!).
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Um . . . I was waaay too young to disco! As far as you know. 😉 I was, however, quite good at the Molly Ringwald/Breakfast Club “We are Not Alone” moves . . . Salud!
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Great post! Taurasi is for some reason often overseen. The Agliancio grape makes excellent wines. I like your trip through time. Recently I bought a bottle of 1999 Riesling and thought how the world was back then. Wine always takes back to another time (just like Jeff said).
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Oooh! A ’99 Riesling . . . how was it?? I LOVE older Rieslings . . . they age so well!! Prost!
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I haven’t opened it yet. I plan to do so on Saturday. Riesling-expert Oliver from The Winegetter said that the wine should be very good and recommended it. The store who sold it obviously didn’t know that certain Riesling get better with age and sold it to me for just 9€. I’ll probably buy the rest of the stock if the wine is still good 🙂
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Fingers crossed!
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What a wonderful post, and what wonderful memories! I have to admit, I haven’t thought about the 80’s in forever. I’ll even forgive the Shaun Cassidy thing – we were all young then – LOL!
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Thanks, Connie! Were you singing the Doo Ron Ron Ron all day?? Salud!
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