Spooky, Scary Wines to Spice Up Your Halloween Party

Are you going to a fun Halloween party and wondering what wine to bring? This is not the night for serious wines. Spice it up with some ghostly wines. Over the past few weeks I’ve been scouting out fun wines to fire up this ghoulish night; here's a look at what I've found!

The first wines I found were from Vampire Vineyards, which is based in Paso Robles, California. (According to their website there are rumors that the winery is actually owned by vampires.) There are nine Vampire wines to choose from – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, White Zin and a Merlot Rose. Most of the wines retail at about $10, with the Syrah and Zin at $20.

Another great scary wine is Poizin – "the wine to die for" – from the Armida Winery in Dry Creek Valley. Serious Zin here – the Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel is priced at $25 and the Reserve bottling, which comes complete with its own wooden coffin, costs $60.

Twisted Oak Winery in California also has a great Halloween wine called River of Skulls. The 2007 is available now and is made from the Mourvèdre grape variety – not cheap at $35.

I am not that familiar with wines from Kentucky, but I came across this spooky offering from Elk Creek Vineyards – two great Halloween wines. There is the Bone Dry Red Cabernet Sauvignon, with a very eerie skull on the label ($20) and the Ghostly White Chardonnay ($15)

Moving away from the US and down under I came across two ‘spooky’ wines. One is ‘Evil Cabernet Sauvignon’ from R Wines in Australia. Fresh, fruity and really great value too, at $10 per bottle.

Another Australian to look for is Cockfighter’s Ghost Wines from the Hunter valley. The wines are named after a ghostly steed, said to reside in the vineyard. As the story goes, long ago a brave explorer's horse drowned in the nearby Wollombi Brook, one dark and stormy night. The range includes a Chardonnay, Semillon, Verdelho, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

I am sure that there are more ‘spooky’ wines out there. If you have found any please let us know?

Mary Gorman-McAdams, DWS, is a New York based wine educator, freelance writer and consultant. She hold the Diploma in Wine & Spirits from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), and is a candidate in the Master of Wine Program.

(Images: Courtesy of wine producers)

Comments (4)

I have found Halloween wine at World Market: "Zombie Zin" which is a zinfandel sporting a colorful zombie on the label. I found this one to be spicy and fruity. "Trick" red wine featuring a Jack-o-lantern and "Treat" white wine featuring a black kitty cat face. Trick was great and strong.. I personally don't like white wine, therefore didn't purchase the Treat. There's also Concha Y Toro Casillero del Diablo Merlot, a Chilean Merlot, which literally translates to "the celler of the devil". This is a wonderfully dark-tasting wine.. perfect for sipping when there's no moon out!!

Bogle's Phantom is a fantastic blend of petite sirah, mouvedre and zin. This is one of their signature wines and worth trying if you ever see it in your local wine store.

http://www.boglewinery.com/bogle_phantom_facts.htm

I tried the Vampire cab sauv at a pumpkin carving gathering last week -- we brought it for a vampire-obsessed friend. We found those who are not big wine drinkers enjoyed it, but it tastes more like a shiraz than a cab in my opinion.

Great suggestions! I love the idea of packaging a bottle of wine with a wood coffin (although $60 is a bit steep for me.)

There is a really good Rioja called Spanish Demon -- Super cute label and yummy wine!