Roughly only five out of every ten years was the weather good enough to make a vintage bottle. Matching this increase in demand was a consistent supply throughout the region of Champagne. “Were it not for the sensational development in coolers, champagne/sparkling would have been the brightest spot on the wine scene” according to Jobson’s Wine Marketing Handbook 1986. had more than doubled with Champagne exports increasing more than 50 percent from 1983 to 1986. By 1987, the sparkling wine market in the U.S. “Our research shows that the show-off aspect is an important part of champagne drinking,” said one brand manager for Piper-Heidsieck.
But with the emergence of yuppie culture, this bubbly libation took off as both an apéritif and as a status symbol for social climbers looking to show off their new found wealth. Prior to 1980, Champagne and sparkling wine was something most people drank only on special occasions. (anything but Chardonnay) gained traction, as other white wines demanded their time to shine as the 80s came to a close. Additionally, with growers planting Chardonnay grapes like they were going out of style, a backlash known as A.B.C. So as tastes gravitated towards reds and lighter whites in the 1990s, New World oaked-Chardonnays that were all the rage a decade before had quickly become a cliché. However, unlike the Chardonnays of today, the 1980s were all about vintages with heavy vanilla and butter-like flavors that dominated one’s palate. All of a sudden, if you wanted to be in-vogue, you asked the waiter for “a glass of Chardonnay” instead of “a glass of white wine.” Instead of generic categories, their wines would be labeled by varietal, which quickly became the industry standard. And in looking to differentiate themselves from the region’s mass-produced wines, experienced chardonnay growers came up with a brilliant marketing strategy.
Following the Judgment of Paris in 1976, a surge of interest in Golden State wines swept the nation. That’s because as California exploded onto the national scene, Chardonnay-the state’s largest varietal-also became its signature grape. If you were a child of the 80s, you might remember Chardonnay as the wine your yuppie parents ordered at a fancy restaurant. government quintupled the excise tax on wine that year, most manufacturers switched over to blending malt-based alcohol, reducing the wine cooler market to less than 0.1 percent by 2006. Unfortunately for the industry, by 1991, the party was over. Remember the two old men known as Bartles and Jaymes or a young, pre-Die Hard Bruce Willis letting us know that “this is where the fun starts”? The result was that by 1987, over 50 million cases were sold across the United States, representing a staggering 22 percent of all American wine consumption. Mixing cheap wine with a variety of artificial fruit flavors, this carbonated and low-alcohol (usually 6-7%) spritzer conquered the market with some unforgettable advertising campaigns. While oenophiles today cringe at the wine cooler phenomenon of the 1980s, there was no denying its massive popularity during that time. So relax and travel back in time (in a DeLorean hopefully!) as we explore five popular wine trends from the 1980s-some good, some bad, but all of them truly memorable! And in the world of wine, there were no exceptions. Of course, while there are some things we like to look back at with rose-colored glasses, there are other 80s trends that have been buried deep in our minds in hopes that they’ll never see the light of day again.
Keaton and legwarmers! Back when women teased their hair, men rolled up the sleeves of their sport coats and an unconditional war had been declared on fatty foods, the 1980s have become retro-chic with many fads from that era now getting their second wind in 2015. With a growing demand for 80s nostalgia, more and more people are happily reliving a decade that gave us Reaganomics, Alex P. By User:Matema (edit dari file: rubix_cube.jpg), via Wikimedia Commons