Thank you so much to everyone that joined us for our screening of 'Mamma Mia with Wine' on the Island of Kalokairi (The Hub at St Mary's Lichfield.)
Wow, another super-fast sell out .. thank you!!
Read on for details on all the wines from the evening, a few photos, and a bunch of trivia.
As promised, these are the wines we enjoyed ...
Super Trouper Mediterannean Wines
Codorníu ‘cuvee original’ organic Cava, Penedes, Spain - Majestic
£12.00 per bottle or £9.00 as part of a mixed case of six
Pound for pound, Cava has got to be the best value sparkling wine on the market.
Made in the Traditional method (secondary fermentation in the bottle) using indigenous grapes Xarelo, Macabeo, Parellada
Codorníu is the longest standing Cava producer in Spain, with some 450 years of winemaking know-how.
Citrus, green apple, honey and toast with a smooth creamy finish.
Best Assyrtiko, Armyndeon, Greece - Morrisons £10.25
The vines grow at an altitude of 700 meters on the mountainous vineyards of Armyndeon (also known as Amynteo) is a plateau located in north-west Macedonia in Greece.
On the nose delicate citrus aromas with flavours of apple and a fresh mineral, saline acidity.
Finest Falanghina, Campania, Italy - Tesco £9.25
An ancient grape variety in the mountaneous wine region of Campania, 40km east of Naples.
Flavours of fresh orange peel, stone fruit and acacia flowers, this wines has a long fresh finish.
Espirit de Bugnany, Provence, France - Waitrose £14.99
A blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah with just a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon from the southern French region of Provence, nestled on the inland side of Maures mountains which separate warm vineyards from the beaches of the Cote d’Azur and Saint Tropez.
Picked early in the morning so the grapes don’t start fermenting before getting back to the winery.
Ripe cherry on the nose, luscious red fruits and citrus notes on the palate.
Thymiopoulos ATMA Naoussa Valley Xinomavro, Macedonia, GRE, £13.00 Waitrose
Xinomavro is one of Greece’s star grapes, Olly Smith called it one of world's hidden gems. Xinomavro translates directly as 'sour black' but wine making techniques have improved vastly since this grape was named thousands of years ago and this wine from maverick young winemaker Apostolos Thymiopoulos is tasty and approachable. Apostolos is known as the master of Xinomavro grape and creator of this modern style.
The Nasoussa Valley is in Greece’s Macedonia, in the North West.
Similar in style to Italy's Nebbiolo grape which makes blockbuster classic wines such as Barolo and Barbaresco.
Bursting with red berry and forest fruit aromas, with a smooth, fruity palate.
Knowing Me, Knowing You - Our Gallery
Does Your Mother Know, our Mamma Mia Trivia?
Some highlights from our movie trivia ...
Pierce Brosnan had no idea what the project was about when he signed on. The producers told him it was being filmed in Greece, and Meryl Streep was starring. Brosnan said he would've signed on for anything involving Streep, describing her as "that gorgeous blonde I fancied terribly in Drama School."
Meryl Streep first saw the musical in October 2001 with her daughter Louisa, and her daughter's friends in Manhattan. Streep wrote to the producers to praise them for bringing a little happiness and fun to the lives of New York City's people following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Meryl Streep went to Stockholm, Sweden to record her vocal for the song "The Winner Takes it All". She finished it in one take. Benny Andersson, former ABBA member and co-composer of the songs, called Streep "a miracle".
The cast members performed their own singing .. as you will have noticed and to varying degrees of success! :)
Stellan Skarsgård on why he flashed his behind: "We decided I should be cooking on the boat. I thought I should have an apron on. The director (Phyllida Lloyd) did not know I would be naked under there, and have those butt tattoos. So when the camera rolled, I turned around right in front of it. The cameraman jumped and screamed, while Phyllida keeled over laughing."
Phyllida Lloyd also directed the original Broadway play.
In December 2008, this movie became the highest grossing movie of all time in the U.K., smashing the previous record set by Titanic (1997). Avatar (2009) has beaten that record.
Colin Firth once stated that if Heaven exists, when he arrives he wants to hear God say "I personally thought you were very good in Mamma Mia". Unsurprisingly, it is one of his favourite movies.
Several night scenes, including "I Have A Dream", were shot during the day, then transformed in post-production.
Cher was offered the role of Tanya Wilkinson. On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) season nineteen, episode forty-two, "Episode #19.42", she said she had to decline the role due to concert tour commitments. She later signed on to be in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (2018), playing the character Ruby Sheridan.
Dawn French was originally cast as Rosie Mulligan. After the creators described her character as "the fat, funny one", and the Musical Director was clearly not impressed with her singing, she declined the role. In her autobiography "Dear Fatty", Dawn said that she is a fan of ABBA, but she is not a fan of "Mamma Mia!" She only originally agreed to do this movie because Meryl Streep was starring.
Mandy Moore, Amanda Bynes, Rachel McAdams, and Emmy Rossum were all considered for the part of Sophie Sheridan. Olivia Newton-John and Michelle Pfeiffer were considered for the part of Donna Sheridan. Bill Nighy was considered for one of the "father" parts.
Donny Osmond was considered for the role of Sam Carmichael.
In November 2004, the first announcement of a movie adaptation was made. At that time, Nicole Kidman, Keira Knightley, and Antonio Banderas were rumored for roles.
In the original stage musical, the character of Bill Austin was Australian. This paid homage to ABBA's enormous popularity in Australia. For this movie, Bill Anderson was Swedish, like Stellan Skarsgård who played him.
Stellan Skarsgård (Bill Anderson) is the only one from Sweden, just like three of the members of ABBA. The fourth member is from Norway.
(At around fifty-nine minutes) In this movie, the room that contains Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep), Rosie Mulligan (Dame Julie Walters), and Tanya Wilkinson (Christine Baranski) is the exact same room Ali (Ashley Lilley), Lisa, (Rachel McDowall), and Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) are in the scene. They just have different furniture to make it seem as if they're different rooms.
Dominic Cooper, who played Sky opposite former James Bond Pierce Brosnan in this movie, played Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond stories, in Fleming (2014).
Colin Firth parodied the catchphrase of James Bond by saying "I'm Bright, Harry Bright", when he is standing next to Pierce Brosnan, who played Bond in four movies. Firth starred in the spy movies Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).
After the movie, the beach named "Kastani" at the Skopelos has become very famous and every summer many many people visit it.
And finally, as promised .. the real father is supposed to be Bill.
Credit to IMDB for trivia.
Thank you!
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:
Tony and the Wine Events Co. Crew
Save a date in your diary for our upcoming Hub at St Mary's events released later this year ..
2nd November - Shaun of the Dead with Wine
7th December - Die Hard with Wine
If you can't wait that long for your next Movie with Wine fix, check out some of our other events in the region:
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