Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you, thank you very much to everyone that joined us for our screening of 'Elvis with Wine' at The Electric on Saturday evening.
Read on for details on all the wines from the evening, our gallery of photos, and a bunch of trivia.
As promised, these are the wines we enjoyed ...
Wines fit for a King
Champagne Veuve Delattre, France – Lidl £12.99
The King of Sparkling Wines .. Champagne! Master of Wine Richard Bampfield scored this 86 points. Ripe apple and lemon zest notes, incredible value.
Cave de Turckheim Riesling Reserve, Turckheim, Alsace, France £13.99
There are two Kings of white wine grapes and this is our first .. Riesling.
A dry, fresh Riesling from the Alsace. A richly developed aromatic nose. Cave de Turckheim Reserve Riesling has complex fruit flavours, a hint of petrol and fantastic length on the finish.
King’s Legacy Chardonnay, Marlborough, New Zealand - Majestic £15.99
(£11.99 as part of a mixed case of six)
Our second King of White Wine Grapes .. the legendary Chardonnay. Chardonnay is the grape of Chablis, a key component in Champagne and the super star white grape of Burgundy. This wonderful example from New Zealand warrants the name, King's Legacy.
Grapes sourced from two plots; mature Wairau and youthful Brancott Valley vines. 10 months aging in oak. Flavours of fresh apple, nectarine, tangerine, toasted almonds and spice.
Kings Wrath Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand - Majestic £15.99
(£11.99 as part of a mixed case of six)
Thin skinned red wine grape. Aromas of damson, plum and toasty oak. Flavours of blackberry, cassis and hint of smoke. Winemaker Brent Marris, is also credited for creating the famous 'The Ned' sauvignon blanc.
Man with an Axe Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, California, USA - £11.99
The most popular wine of the evening, you can find this wine on sale by the glass at Hotel du Vin, a fantastic example of the King of red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Ripe blackcurrant and wild berry fruit on the nose complimented by sweet vanilla oak. Rich cassis and black cherry fruit on the palate with a soft, juicy, yet long finish.
The Graceland Gallery
If you're looking for the Trivia, you came to the right place ...
The film was released on the 45th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. It is the second highest grossing musical biopic after Bohemian Rhapsody. It is Director Baz Luhrman’s sixth movie, his highest grossing movie and his first since The Great Gatsby in 2013.
The basic premise of the Elvis: '68 Comeback Special (1968) seen in this film is basically true. Elvis Presley was appalled that "Colonel" Tom Parker had agreed with a sponsor and the NBC TV network that he would do an hour-long special in which he would be doing cheesy skits and singing Christmas songs in a terrible sweater. So, he effectively plotted with director Steve Binder and producer Bob Finkel to do a special showcasing his career. Rehearsals started in June 1968, with filming commencing in late June 1968. Elvis, Binder, and Finkel did as much as they could to keep Parker out of the studio during recordings. This move worked. Although four hours of footage was shot, it was finally edited down to 50 minutes. The show aired on December 3, 1968, to huge success. It was the number 1 most watched TV show that week in the US.
The success of the endeavor led to Elvis having a new enthusiasm for resurrecting his live singing career, which he did in 1969, once he had fulfilled the rest of his MGM movie contract.
When Elvis approaches Steve Binder about working on his Christmas Special, Binder says that he doesn't really work on Christmas specials. The year after Elvis died, Binder directed The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), widely considered the worst Christmas special ever made.
For his audition tape, Austin Butler originally recorded himself singing "Love Me Tender." When he watched it, he felt like it was an Elvis impersonation, and refused to submit it. A few days later, he had a nightmare that his deceased mother was dying again. Overwhelmed with grief and with the Elvis audition still on his mind, he decided to pour his emotion into music. Thinking of the lyrics to "Unchained Melody," he remembered, "I always take it for granted that that's to a romantic partner, [but] what if I sing that to my mom?" He sat down at the piano in his bathrobe and filmed it. "And that way of channeling those emotions just felt true," the actor said. The video immediately caught director Baz Luhrmann's attention, as he was both confused and intrigued. Luhrmann stated, "Was it an audition? Or was he having a breakdown?" The director expressed that the audition felt like a spycam. Luhrmann asked to meet with Butler and eventually gave him the part.
While doing press for the movie, Austin Butler still had a bit of the southern accent he used to portray Elvis Presley. In an interview, Butler said that because he spent so much time preparing and filming the movie, when he's in front of a lot of people, there's a trigger and the accent just comes out.
After filming had wrapped, Austin Butler went through an existential crisis after spending two and a half years working on this film. Butler feared that he might sink into depression. He confided in director Baz Luhrmann and Tom Hanks about his woes. Luhrmann suggested to him that he "jump right into something else." And Hanks suggested that he read books that have nothing to do with the project. Austin followed their advice and stayed busy with other projects. Eventually, he went on to shoot Masters of the Air (2023).
After wrapping up the filming of the movie, Austin Butler was rushed to the hospital where he's been bedridden due to the virus which simulates appendicitis.
In addition to Austin Butler, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Harry Styles auditioned and tested for the role of Elvis Presley.
Lisa Marie Presley was initially nervous about seeing the film. Presley stated that toward the middle of viewing the film, Austin Butler's performance made her relax more.
Austin Butler and Elvis Presley are actually 16th cousins twice removed. Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, and Austin's mother, Lori, share a common ancestry.
RCA purchased Elvis Presley's contract from Sam Phillips and Sun Studio for $35,000, just under $400,000 in 2021 dollars. At the time, it was the largest amount ever paid by a record label for a contract. Elvis, Phillips, and Sun were constantly on the brink financially because Phillips didn't have the means to cut records at the cost and pace of a larger record company. The $35,000 kept Sun in business for years, and helped Phillips launch other notable Sun stars like Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Phillips later became a principal investor in the Holiday Inn chain of hotels. Sun Studio remains open in Memphis, Tennessee as a national landmark.
When production moved to Australia, Tom Hanks sent Austin Butler a chrome typewriter. Attached to the typewriter was a note. Hanks had written the note as "Colonel" Tom Parker. In response, Butler used the typewriter to write a note back to Hanks as Elvis Presley. The two actors end up sending letters back and forth. Butler stated that it was an amazing way to rehearse.
While doing a cast round table for Entertainment Weekly, Tom Hanks stated that the letters that he and Austin Butler had written to one another during production are, overall, based on actual letters Parker and Elvis had written to one another.
Elvis Presley wore makeup in real life. It was due to the fact that he was a blonde, with blonde eyelashes, which do not look good with his dyed black hair. The film implies that he wore general makeup in the modern sense from his early days of performing but that was not the case. This movie exaggerates this wildly. He used mascara to cover the blonde lashes. Once he got into making movies, makeup became more of a normal thing. While he was working as a movie theater usher as a teen, Elvis would watch films starring Tony Curtis and became a huge fan of the actor. Several years later, while filming The Rat Race (1960), Elvis finally met Curtis and they became friends. Tony taught him how to apply eyeliner and give it a somewhat smokey look. This was an occasional practice for some male actors and entertainers but was far from being the norm.
The film had a 12-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival after the screening was over.
Though the film depicts Colonel Parker as trying to control Elvis' song choices, Tom Parker never interfered with Elvis Presley's music. He stayed on the business side and fully trusted Elvis to know what was best for his music. The Colonel thought even all the controversy was good press. The only time Colonel Parker ever told Elvis what to sing was when he asked if Elvis would record "Are You Lonesome Tonight" because it was his wife's favorite song.
Trivia courtesy of IMDB
Thank you, thank you very much. Tony Elvis and the Wine Events Crew
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