BLOOD OF THE VINES: THE MUMMY

Wine Goes To The Movies
with NowAndZin.com and TrailersFromHell.com
This time, Blood Of The Vines rolls out the blood-red carpet for Christopher Lee, who played the title role in the 1959 Hammer Films remake of "The Mummy."  It's a fitting tribute to a guy who already has the horror angle well covered.  Now he's been praised with wine as well.

Lee received a Lifetime Achievement Award this year from the Grossmann Film And Wine Festival, an annual event in northeastern Slovenia.  They honor the best in movie horror each year, as well as the best of Slovenia's wine.  The week-long festival featured blood donations and a Vampire Ball in addition to movie screenings and wine tasting.  The winners got an award called a Vicious Cat.  If the Vicious Cat had to fight Oscar, my money would be on the cat.

My wife, Denise Fondo, has asked me to include at this juncture that there is no bigger fan of either Christopher Lee or Hammer Films than she.  If she's looking to butter up someone in an effort to sell a screenplay, I'm completely in agreement.  If she's looking to get something started with Christopher Lee, I may have to intercede and invoke "husband rules."  Denise says with Lee being a Tory, her admiration must be from afar.

Christopher Lee's portrayal of the Mummy gets high marks from Trailers Guru Brian Trenchard-Smith.  Since his makeup didn't allow for any speech or facial movement, he had to express his range of emotions only with his eyes - for the camera, at least.  Brian infers that the cursing Lee did while acting in the uncomfortable mummy suit would have made a sociopathic sailor plug his ears.

None of that swearing made it into the movie, of course - thanks to looping - but I wonder if anyone on the set was three decades early in delivering the admonition, "Please don't hurt him, Hammer!"

The wine pairing, in honor of the celebrated company which produced this version of "The Mummy," is from HammerSky Wines.  In honor of Vicious Cat winner Christopher Lee, we'll go with HammerSky's "The 'A' List," ($37), a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from Paso Robles.  It's a blood-red blend loaded with fruit and showing a slight undercurrent of tana leaves.

Mummy's the word:

There's a sarcophagus full of Slovenian wine available from Bay Area importer Blue Danube Wine Company at affordable prices.

Lolita Mummy Wine Glass - Hand-painted, no less. - $6

The Wine Mummy - If you really have to try and get a bottle of wine past TSA, go for it.  It's one of those gimmicks I'm inexplicably drawn to. - $5

The Mummy's Hand Wine Goblet - It's actually a skeleton's hand, but what the hell. - $27



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