Food

Just about everyone collects something. Shells from the shore, baseball cards, antiques, great art, tractor seats, cookie jars, celebrity memorabilia and wine.

There are many approaches to building a wine collection. With unlimited resources, one might build a collection of first-growth Bordeaux or the now-infamous, likely fake engraved Thomas Jefferson bottles. Others might collect from particular producers whose wines are available only to those on allocation lists.

There is a another area of wine collecting that involves a growing number of wines to which celebrities lend their names or images, including the likes of Kiss, The Rolling Stones, Jerry Garcia, late lead guitarist for the Grateful Dead, Jeff Gordon of NASCAR fame, and Paris Hilton for Prosecco in a can with a brand called "Rich." Maybe she will have better luck remembering that name than she did her favorite Bible verse.

Perhaps the most famous of these is the Marilyn limited edition series. The concept originated in the early ’80s with a group of amateur winemakers from Napa who made a merlot and jokingly called it Marilyn Merlot.

The wine was not bad, and the concept caught on. The key players negotiated with the estate of Monroe for use of her name and images. Royalties are paid to Marilyn’s estate and are distributed according to her will.

In addition to the Marilyn line, the company releases a Norma Jeane line as well as their Velvet Collection. The current release of a 1.5 liter bottle from the Velvet Collection in a presentation box is currently listed on the company’s Web site for $200. This series features 10 photographs taken by Hollywood photographer Tom Kelley of the then unknown but aspiring actress. One of these photographs was the centerfold for the 1953 inaugural edition of Playboy. The Velvet series features a peel and peek label with vital body parts appropriately covered. When the first label is peeled back, all is revealed.

Winepalate.com and cultwinecentral.com lists the 1985 inaugural bottling of Marilyn Merlot for $3,800. A vertical of the wine spanning the years 1985-1996 goes for $8,000.

Now for Elvis fans, Elvis has not left the building. Signature Wines, www.signaturewines.com, a company specializing in providing personalized wine and gift items for all occasions now has a line of wines they are releasing through their Graceland Cellars Division featuring, you guessed it, pictures of Elvis on the labels. Fruit for this wine comes primarily from the Central Coast area and other parts of California.

These Elvis wines are palatable and fun, but their appeal is collectability. There are two special bottlings of Elvis wines, the 2003 Etched Elvis California Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2004 Velvet Elvis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. "Etched Elvis features a striking red and black laser-etched and hand-painted image of Elvis singing soulfully into a vintage microphone. Velvet Elvis (sold only in 1.5 Liter magnums) features a velvet-textured label with a touching image of Elvis performing in his 68 Comeback Special and comes encased in a sleek black and purple velvet-lined box," said Scott Cahill, CEO for Graceland Cellars at the time these wines were released. I found a magnum of Velvet Elvis for $95 at www.liquidpartyworks.com.

Tyson Art and Frame has the full line of Elvis Wines, excluding the special editions of etched and velvet Elvis. If you want to try these fun wines or start a collection, then stop by and pick up a bottle of The King Cabernet Sauvignon, Jailhouse Red Merlot, Blue Suede Chardonnay, All Shook Up Champagne, Stuck on You Shiraz, or Blue Hawaii Riesling all priced in the $12 to $15 range. "Thank you, thank you very much."