On Baby Duck

The Canadian Museum of Civilization has this exhibit going on about the history of wine. No, no wine tastings or anything like that, but a lot of pottery and glassware with lots of documentation showing this history of wine worldwide.

This being Canada, of course there's a section on the Canadian wine industry. One thing that surprised me was a display on Andre's Baby Duck wine.

Baby Duck is technically a sweet sparkling wine. It's also what people call a "soda pop" wine, because that's pretty much what it tastes like. A fruity pop with a slight kick.

Back in the 1970s -- before it became fashionable to be sophisticated about wine -- Baby Duck was one of Canada's most popular wines. I suppose you could say Duck was the equivalent of Ripple Wine in the States.

I remember drinking Baby Duck when I was in my teens. My parents liked to serve it for holiday dinners like Easter and Christmas, and they allowed us kids to have a small glass each on the theory that there wasn't enough alcohol in it to do us harm.

A couple of days ago, I saw they were still selling the brand, and I bought a bottle. Still dark, still bubbly, still tastes a lot like soda pop that I can imaging some restaurant wine stewards shuddering at the thought.

Still, it does go nicely with a light salad and sandwich. It won't ever be my regular drink, but a little Baby Duck now and then does make for a nice change of pace, especially during the summer months.