MONDO MARILYN PART FIVE: MARILYN MERLOT, CHARITIES AND CHEERS
If you visit the home of Marilyn Merlot, http://www.marilynwines.com, you will find an assortment of collectible and highly “quaffable” vinos: Marilyn Cabernet, Norma Jeane, The Velvet Collection and the most recent addition, Blonde De Noirs, all guaranteed to make any Marilyn fan smile.
From their website: “Marilyn Wines traces its origins to 1981, when a small group of friends started making wine at their home near St. Helena, in Napa Valley. One evening in 1983, over dinner and a bottle of homemade Merlot, the concept of “Marilyn Merlot” was born. The wine enjoyed a good deal of popularity around the valley and was often donated to charity auctions and given as Christmas gifts.
In 1985, the playful idea and the fine wine that bore its name led to the limited production of Marilyn Merlot for sale to the public. Over the years, continuing acclaim from critics, collectors, and lovers of fine wine have led to the production of Marilyn Cabernet, Norma Jeane wines, the Velvet Collection wines, and our eighteenth vintage of Marilyn Merlot.
Marilyn Wines holds an exclusive agreement with the estate of Marilyn Monroe for the use of the name and the images. The royalties paid are distributed according to Marilyn’s will to Anna Strasberg who helps support the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and to the Anna Freud Foundation in London, which has set up a special child treatment center called the Monroe Young Family Center.”
What would make Marilyn herself smile: The Monroe Young Family Center is devoted to serious therapy for children who have been victims of abuse. Marilyn would probably have been overjoyed by this unique allocation of the considerable proceeds from her images.
Pairing a bottle or two of Marilyn Wines with any one of Marilyn’s films is always festive!
Below, a taste of her finest work:
And some of the bubbly:
Footage of MM just seems to age better than clips of anybody else:
Mondo Marilyn week ends with a look at MM at her most effervescent!
Cheers, Marilyn!
