Martini & Liebframilch

Wine continues to boom, it seems to be everybody's cup of tea! Quality assured we see many purchases between £5.99 & £8.99, 3 bottles for a tenner seems long gone.

Going back to the 70's, 80's it was very different, Liebfraumilch was all the rage in 75cl & 1.5litre bottles. A Semi Sweet, the name literally meaning a “Beloved Ladies Milk” its quality varied tremendously but most came from the Rheinhessen region. The grape used had to be at least 70% Riesling, Silvaner or Muller-Thurgau hence the variation, the alcohol content was then around 9%.

Martin & Ross the Italian Vermouth company used to sell loads of Italian 2 litre bottles of wine under the Augusto label, the biggest seller was the white Amabile which meant medium-sweet.

The 70's were “anytime, anyplace anywhere, that's the time for Martini,” sales were huge but this surge in popularity was particularly due to Martini's competitor Cinzano who launched a series of adverts starring Leonard Rossiter who played a pretentious oaf, throughout the ten 30 second commercials he managed to throw a glass of Cinzano over the prim straight laced lady of society Mellissa, which was played brilliantly by the very attractive Joan Collins. The ads were so popular that in 1981 there was talk of the two making a film.

These adverts were the funniest I've ever seen and ranks with Peter Sellers Inspector Clouseau and John Cleese as Basil Faulty in Faulty Towers. The adverts must have worked as we sold literally thousands of bottles of Vermouth, the dry being the most popular by far followed by Bianco which Cinzano edged sales with, Rosso came in third and they brought out a Rosa which fell somewhat short.

Where have all “It's a bright one, it's the right one – That's Martini” drinkers gone?

I guess there drinking wine!

Last Updated: 03/09/2014

Author: Mitchells Wine