In 1979, I was sent abroad for the first time and immersed myself in a Western society that I still didn't understand, from an almost closed environment. I learned a lot of things that I didn't know before. For personal life, aperitif is a new concept that has also influenced my lifestyle habits for decades to come, up until now |
The habit of Chinese people to drink is to drink at meals. The rich people are happy to drink delicious food. People who have no money . Salted vegetables or peanut can be used to drink. But I'm OK. I can drink it or not, but it doesn't need too much. When I was young, it was just 50-100 grams. After retirement, I sometimes drink a little. liquor about 10-15 grams, and a small can of beer. liquor I used to like Wuliangye best. Later, I found a 50 degree liquor of the "Northern Dahuang" brand. The price is very cheap, but the taste is good, at least not worse than Wuliangye. So I have eaten this kind of liquor for more than 10 years. I used to eat Danish Carlsberg beer, but later found that the 296ml Tsingtao beer in a small brown bottle made in China has an excellent taste, even better than Carlsberg and Heineken. I especially like to drink a bottle when frying hairtail, it's so beautiful! |
|
Aperitif "itself is a foreign term and a habit of Western cuisine, unlike now when everyone is familiar with it. These things were unfamiliar to most people in China in the 1970s, at least I only learned about them after arriving in France. After our group arrived at the city of Crusoe (see this page), the host hosted a banquet to entertain us and saw this apperitif Martini for the first time, It is the most popular aperitif in France and Italy, and also the most traditional around the world. Although it was my first time drinking it, I quickly fell in love with it. It was sweet with a hint of cola bitterness, had a low alcohol content but gave a moderate stimulation, making me want to take a few more. I asked the owner for its name and took note of it, which opened up another drinking preference for the second half of my life, forty or fifty years
|
Later on, I gradually learned that this type of wine is called "Vermouth" (WEIMEISI) in China. There are hundreds or thousands of varieties, and the most famous ones are produced in France and Italy. Almost all Vermouth used in bars are produced in these two countries. There are two types of colors: white (bianco) and red (rosso). Usually, the color of "dry" Vermouth is colorless, transparent or light yellow, while "sweet" Vermouth is red or rose red. What I like is the latter one, the red Martini. In addition to drinking Baijiu and beer, a glass of martini alone often gives you a feeling of recalling the past and the present, spanning time and space. My retirement life, worse off than some, better off than many。 it is much better than most of my friends in the country whose per capita monthly income is below 3441 yuan (Annual average of 41314 yuan. According to national statistics in 2024). I hope our country can become prosperous and strong as soon as possible, and the wealth gap can be resolved as soon as possible, so that more impoverished friends can have the conditions to enjoy a better life. |
Unfortunately, after returning to China in the 1980s, it was no longer possible to purchase this type of wine. I just remember in the early 1990s, there was a sailor's mall opened by China Ocean Shipping Company at the intersection of Hunan Road and Hubei Road in Nanjing. There were many imported goods that were not seen in the past, and I finally saw this kind of wine there The patterns on the wine bottles back then were different from those now, with colorful decorations and a vintage feel. |
|
At that time, it was priced at over 100 yuan, which was equivalent to half a month's salary for me. Although it was expensive, I gritted my teeth and bought it. I like the sweeter red one. When I opened it to taste, it was so good, it was still that unforgettable flavor, just like an old friend reuniting with another old, very happy |
With the deepening of reform and opening up, I gradually saw these imported goods in many other large shopping malls, and later, I could also find them on Taobao. The price hasn't changed much, but my salary has increased dozens of times. Buying this kind of wine to eat can be considered a piece of cake, which makes me feel the real benefits that the reform and opening up has brought to ordinary people. Retired without going out, I can drink the world's wine. "It has been 27 years since retirement, and I basically drink 1-2 bottles of this wine every year to enrich my retirement life |
At the end of last year, I almost ran out of Martini and needed to buy another bottle. At this moment, I suddenly remembered that when I was editing Volume 3 of the " Ennio Morricone Fans Handbook" in 2023, I noticed that Master Morricone had arranged music for an advertisement for an Italian aperitif in his early years. The music and scene illustrations left a deep impression on me. Why didn't I personally taste them? I opened the storage hard drive and finally found this article on page 332 of volume 3. Its serial number is FU6404 |
|
Ah, Punt e Mes, The Italian Piedmont Sardinian language, translated as "one and a half" or "one and a half" , tells the following story: |
Its story is said to be this: On April 19, 1870, a stockbroker was discussingthe stock price of the day (up a one plus half point) with his colleagues atthe wineshop Carpano in Turin, and he ordered the usual Carpanoabsinthe, But ask the bartender to add half the amount of bitters. As thethen bartender Maurizio Boeris recalls, the drink instantly becamepopular as a pre-lunch aperitif. Wine shop "regulars" typically ask forPunt e Mes with a gesture: they just have to raise their thumb for a pointand draw a straight line up in mid-air for half a point, and the bartender can immediately understand that they want a Punt e Mes.
(Below: Punt e Mes in Piedmontese, meaning 1.5 point . Graphic line of famous design consisting of one point and half point)
|
|
This film is directed by Morricone's old friend Luciano Emmer ( the two ofwhom have collaborated many times, see Volume 2 of this BOOKFA6714A, B, FA8309, FB8001, etc. According to the fans Ma Yong, theycollaborated on several commercials in 1969, 1971 and 1984), RomanoBertola composed the music, and Morricone arranged the song titled "IRemember Torino" . Judging from the chronological record, this shouldbe the first time Morricone intervened in the music of a commercial,although he was not the original composer. This commercial is really welldone, whether it is plot, image, music, it is impressive, it won the "BestFilm of the Year Award" at the 7th Trieste Film Festival in 1964 |
|
|
This article (including online music listening) consists of 6 pages. Interested friends can click here to download its PDF file (0.7M， Including online music listening) and browse it on their own |
| This video was published on YT website. If you have any inconvenience, you can click here to download the video file MP4 7.8M 02'58" provided by our website“ |
|
|
I opened Taobao and searched for "Pantomi", which showed that there were more than 10 sources of goods, but many of them had to be shipped from Italy, which took a long time. Finally, I chose a " Wine Tasting Pavilion" in Shanghai. This is a product exclusively for CARPANO company, but at that time, Panther had not yet arrived. I contacted the online service and they told me that several other types of wine are also good, among which "BIANCO" has a slightly sweet taste that many people like. With the idea of trying more, I bought a bottle first, and it's like this: |
|
The package arrived a few days later, and when I brought it home for dinner, I opened it and tasted it. It lived up to its reputation and could be compared to Martini. I also believe the online saying: "The most famous Vermouth is still produced in France and Italy |
In about two months, I almost finished this bottle of wine. So, I remembered to go check if "Pantomi" had arrived again. I opened the Wine Tasting Pavilion website and sure enough, Pantomi had arrived at a price of 135 yuan. I quickly paid for it, and three days later, the package arrived. |
At dinner, I opened this bottle of "Punt e Mes" (meaning "half past one" in Piedmont Sardinia, Italy) and tasted it carefully. It lived up to its reputation, and the additional half point added mainly added a bit of bitterness, becoming the "bitter sweet vermouth". It's like people who often drink coffee always feel that the coffee flavor is not strong enough, they even don't add sugar and just want coffee. This flavor is exactly suitable for the needs of this' Wei Mei Si veteran '. I can't be considered an “veteran”, but I can indeed feel the satisfaction of this need when tasting it。 |
This advertisement appeared in 1964. The advertising creativity is very good. In just 3 minutes, it describes a young couple of lovers bidding farewell at the airport. in Turin, the third largest city in Italy known as the "cradle of Italian freedom," the "capital of Italian cars," and the "hometown of sweet vermouth. An article states, "In Turin, people can try various cuisines, but drinking an aperitif before dinner is a program that cannot be abandoned." This video first shows the panoramic view of Turin centered around the 160 meter tall Mole Antonelliana, followed by the ancient city walls. The yacht on the Po River, the palace castle, and the dignified and beautiful female protagonist played by the famous German actress Margaret Rose Keil shuttle up and down, her gestures and movements are very graceful, and her youthful vitality is enviable. The shot of Punt e Mes wine appears multiple times but perfectly, with the element of "1 point and half a point" appearing twice, concise and eye-catching, and finally ending with a couple toasting in the bar. The video is embedded with Morricone's arrangement from beginning to end, and the theme song "I Remember Torino" sung by Italian jazz singer Nicola Arigliano is shown under the guidance of church bells, full of ups and downs, passionate, and enduring. The entire video incorporates the rich aroma of this bottle of Punt e Mes wine, and it is only natural that it won the "Best Film Award of the Year" at the 7th Trieste Film Festival in 1964 |
|
I hope that every fan of Morricone has the opportunity to visit this ancient and beautiful city of Turin. If you like it, I also hope that you can personally taste this rich and fragrant bitter and "bitter sweet vermouth" - "Punt e Mes" and experience this unforgettable song "I Remember Turin" |
|
|
April. 18, 2025 |
|
