Are you hosting friends, family and grim grinning ghosts for a swinging wake this spooky season? Well, foolish mortal, you'll need some devilishly good wines for the occasion. Read on for my recommendations (and multiple references to The Haunted Mansion). There's no turning back now.
Our tour begins with Orange Wines
Are these haunted wines actually orange? In color - yes. Made from oranges - no. Orange wines are produced by leaving grape skins and seeds in contact with the juice of white grapes (normally in white wine creation, the juice spends little to no time in contact with the skins and seeds). If this process sounds familiar - yes, it is how red wines get their hue. By doing the process with white grapes, you get that orange color and a deeper flavor profile of the finished wine. The time with the skins and seeds adds rich flavors to the wines, like honey, sourdough bread, orange peels and tropical fruits. These wines can be hard to find as they haven't rapidly caught on. A good place to look is at smaller, boutique wine shops. Italy, Slovenia and Georgia (the country) are producing some of the best.
Look Alive! Augmented Reality
A trend started by 19 Crimes out of Australia, more and more wines are playing the augmented reality game. If you are unfamiliar, here is a brief summary: After downloading an app from your smart phone's app store, you hold the app camera up to your wine label...and the label comes alive. It may move, play music, transform or speak to you! Living Labels is a popular app for multiple companies while others, such as Michael David, have their own app to play. Halloween parties are not the occasion to take your wine too seriously and these augmented reality labels make for a fun conversation starter and party game.
You can find augmented reality labels from these brands and more:
19 Crimes
Michael David - Freakshow
Bogle Phantom
The Walking Dead
Don't close your eyes and don't try to hide. Or a Spooky Label will sit by your side!
What better way to dress up the beverage table than with dark bottles of deep red wines and spirited labels? Believe it or not, there are SO many spooky label options out at your local liquor stores. The best way to find them is to (mask up! it is 2020) and wander the aisles searching for ghastly labels. It is likely you have heard at some point in your wine drinking life not to choose or judge a wine by its label. Usually this is implied negatively, like the best/cutest/nicest label won't be a good wine. That can be the case; some companies do pull you in via funny labels. There is nothing wrong with buying a wine with a label you like. The worst that can happen is that you don't enjoy it, and the upside is that you are discovering the types of wines you don't like!
Still not convinced picking a wine by the label will pay off? Here is a list of a few options that are tasty to get you started:
Witching Hour
Boneshaker
Ghost Pines
Spellbound Petite Sirah
Prisoner Wine Co.
The Fugitive
Ravenswood
Final Girl Wines
The Velvet Devil
Awaken the spirits with your tambourine! Wines with a Ghost Story
Winemaking has been around for thousands of years; so as with anything ancient and with storied pasts....there are ghost stories aplenty at vineyards worldwide. A few places with haunting tales include Korbel, Dry Creek, Charles Krug and Beringer. All of these brands, being located in California, are easy to find in American liquor stores. I'd hate to frighten you prematurely...so when you are ready, look up their eerie tales online. Oh you want more? There are many more vineyard ghost stories from around the world. While their bottles won't be easy to find in the states, go ahead and google their spooky tales....if you dare. ("Haunted vineyards" and "haunted wineries" are both good keywords to search). Consider yourself warned, there is no DEAD END to these stories and you'll be hooked for hours.
Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of hunger - Pairing with Candy
Life's no fun without a good candy bar. And what is halloween without candy? Make life even sweeter by pairing your wine with candy. Place a bowl of the pairing candy in front of each wine bottle to invite your guests to try the candy and wine pairing. My personal favorite combination is gummy bears and sparkling wine. Bonus tastiness if you put the gummy bears IN the wine first. Deviously tasty. Put Reese's peanut butter cups and Snickers with the cabernet sauvignon - the tannins and acidity of that bold red with go well with the creamy and sugary treats. If, for some reason, you like Candy Corn - go with Chardonnay. The buttery notes of both will compliment each other. Plain chocolate? Go Zinfandel.
Halloween is a time for fun and an atmosphere of carefree. There are many times in life to "bring out the good stuff." For halloween, enjoy. Embrace the spooky labels and watch Hocus Pocus as many times as your telltale heart wants. ALL wines pair well with Alfred Hitchcock and Nightmares on Elm Street.....maybe use a tumbler with a lid in case of JUMP scares.
~Cheers & Spooky Ears
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