Thank you so much to everyone that joined us for 'Rocketman with Wine' on Friday night.
Read on for details on all the wines from the evening, our gallery of photos, and a grand piano full of Rocketman trivia.
As promised, these are the star quality wines we enjoyed ...
The Elton John Collection ..
Gratien & Mayer Cremant de Loire Rosé - Tesco £12.50
Our replacement for Elton's Laurent Perrier Rosé. Elton served this with chocolate pudding and ice cream at his wedding to David Furnish.
A delicious drop to get us started, bursting with fresh strawberry and buttery brioche notes.
Thierry Delaunay Touraine Sauvignon Blanc - Majestic £12.99 or (£9.99 mixed six)
Our replacement for Elton's Pouilly-Fume. Both are sauvignon blancs from the Loire Valley but the Majestic version is just 15% of the price Elton paid for the Baron de L served at his wedding, paired with Wild Mushroom Soup & Truffle Cream.
This fresh, grassy and zesty Sauvignon scores similarly on the Majestic website, to Baron de L's 4.3/5 on Vivino at £67 a bottle.
Cave de Lugny Chardonnay Mâcon-Villages Burgundy, France £13.99
Our replacement for Elton's decadent rider choice of Pouilly-Fuisse. Both are Chardonnay and both are from Southern Burgundy but Elton's choice is aged in oak whereas tonight's Macon Chardonnay is unoaked.
Fresh and fruity, our Macon Village Chardonnay surprised many with it's Chablis style minerality.
Dogajolo Carpineto Sangiovese / Cabernet Sauvignon, Tuscany, Italy - Majestic £13.99 (or £11.99 mixed six)
Our replacement for Elton's Wedding Breakfast choice of Tuscan 50&50 Sangiovese / Merlot blend. This was served at the wedding with Beef Shortrib, caramelised onion pie, roast potatoes, parsnips with horseradish butter. For us though, this delicious Italian drop was great on it's own.
Soft, fruity and jammy. Red fruits on the nose, red cherry on the palate and a dark fruit finish.
Rémy Ferbras Ventoux, France - Waitrose £9.49
Our replacement for Elton's rider choice of Chateauneuf du Pape, just happens to be from a neighbouring Southern Rhone village, Ventoux, using the same Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes.
This delicious blend offers soft, approachable juicy red fruit flavours, hints of wild herbs and a touch of spice.
Gallery
Tony's Rocketman Trivia
Some highlights from last night's trivia ...
Elton wanted Justin Timberlake to play him and it was going to be Tom Hardy but he struggled with the singing. James McEvoy and Daniel Radcliffe were both considered.
Taron Egerton does all of his own singing in the film.
Taron's favourite song is Your Song, he even sang it at his drama school audition.
Three Elton / Taron movie connections – Taron sings I’m still standing in SING, Elton appears in Kingsman Golden Circle, and this film.
Taron wore 53 different pairs of glasses during the movie.
Producers wanted a 12 rated film. Elton said no way, he’s not led a 12 rated life.
Director Dexter Fletcher (from Press Gang / Hotel Babylon) also produced Bohemian Rhapsody. Also, Eddie the Eagle. Rami Malek due to make cameo as Freddie but scrapped.
Manager John Reid played by Richard Madden. Madden's Game of Thrones co-star Aidan Gillen plays same part .. John Reid in Bohemian Rhapsody. Broke up in ’75, manager until ’98.
Jamie Bell (Bernie Taupin) played lead role in Billy Elliot. Elton John helped develop Billy Elliott stage musical
During the "Rocket Man" sequence, the lyrics are changed from "I miss my wife" to "I miss my life” for the movie.
The "I'm Still Standing" music video in the film takes most of its footage from the original music video, only replacing the real Elton John with Taron Egerton
We look forward to welcoming you back to another of our events very soon but why not check out our website or sign up to our monthly mailing list to find out about new events first:
Goodbye Norma Jean and all the best from Tony and the Wine Events Co Crew