Halloween is the perfect time for wine, especially spooky wine! It's all about finding wines with a creepy name, a spooky label, and a crowd-pleasing taste. If you're going to a Halloween party and want to bring a gift of wine, or throwing your own party and trying to figure out what wine to serve, this guide is for you!
Beyond the spooky wines, you can also explore Vine to Bar chocolate, a delicious treat that contains Chardonnay marc. This chocolate would be great to serve for the adults who may want something more sophisticated than a fun size candy bar.
Elements of a Great Halloween Party
When planning a Halloween party, consider these fun elements to make it great for both kids and adults:
- Decorations: Pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, lights, spiders, and cobwebs are essential. Lighting may be the most important thing.
- Pumpkin Carving: A pumpkin carving contest with prizes can be a really fun activity.
- Candy: Have lots of Halloween candy and treats around, including cookies and cupcakes.
- Games: Apple bobbing or donuts on a string can add a fun and funny element.
- Halloween Music: Play spooky sounds or songs from scary movies.
Of course, you need food and drinks other than candy and apples or donuts. When thinking about Halloween party foods, consider snacky kinds of foods and foods that you can eat with your hands, such as chips and dip, seven layer dip and tortilla chips, charcuterie, veggies and dip, breadsticks, and beef or pulled pork sliders.
Choosing the Right Wines
As a general rule of thumb, a good mix of red and white wines, including some that are richer and bolder along with some that are lighter and lower alcohol is a good idea.
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Because the foods that will probably be served are going to be salty, cheesy, creamy, and fatty, it's best to stick with wines that have some body and a good balance of tannin and acid. The body will help them to stand up to that style of food, and the acid will help the wines cut through.
Consider these wine options:
- Lightly oaked Chardonnays
- A good spicy fall white like a dry Riesling
- A red wine you can serve a little chilled like a Pinot Noir or a Gamay (aka Beaujolais) or even a Cabernet Franc (not a Cabernet Sauvignon)
- A California Zinfandel from the Paso Robles region
- Syrah or Merlot focused blends
Choosing a wine you can slightly chill is a good idea because those are going to go down easy, be crowd pleasers, and will go well with snacky foods. A Syrah or Merlot focused blend is also a good idea because those can be really approachable and tend to be good for all sorts of different palates. Zinfandels can also be great choices because they can have some spice on them, but are usually well balanced between acid and tannin.
Best Wines for Halloween 👻🍇
Featured Wines for a Spooky Halloween
Here are some specific wines that fit the parameters for a great Halloween party wine, with an appropriate name or label:
Prayers of Sinners Red Blend
- Region: Washington
- Year: 2019
- Price: $11.99
- Grapes: Syrah, Merlot
- Tasting Notes: Smells hot, wood, leather, dark plum, cherry juice, smoke, fresh cut wood. Tastes hot (like a lot alcohol), a lot of tannin, not a ton fruit, plum, rich, has body, tastes very extracted, grape skin, an American style bold wine, black pepper, cayenne, spicy.
- Food Pairing: Steak, roast, fall food wine, good with cheesy and spicy foods, sliders, meat lovers pizza.
- Rating: Joe: 5/10, Carmela: 5/10
Omen Origins Zinfandel
- Region: California, Sierra Foothills
- Year: 2019
- Price: $17.99
- Grapes: 93% Zinfandel, 7% Petite Sirah
- Professional Rating: WE 92
- Tasting Notes: Raspberry, berry bramble, tart cherry, tart red berry, spice, paprika, pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, wood. Juicy, smooth, tannin, pepper, smoke, tart red raspberries, fresh tart red berries, vanilla, honey, fruit forward.
- Food Pairing: Good with dark chocolate, red meat, great pizza wine, lasagna, parmigiana, tomato sauce, great with a meat and cheese board.
- Rating: Joe: 7/10, Carmela: 7/10
Devil's Corner Pinot Noir
- Region: Australia, Tasmania
- Year: 2021
- Price: $19.99
- Grapes: Pinot Noir
- Tasting Notes: Mushroom and earth and grass and clay, cherry liquor, the middle of a cherry cordial, alcohol based flowery perfume. Mushroom, tomato, vegetable, tart cherry candy, sour cherry ball, cherry Jelly Belly, fruity or flowery soap, pomegranate, flavors are almost dimmed.
- Food Pairing: Good with garlicky foods, aglio oglio, garlic bread, cheesy garlic bread, white garlic pizza, lemon chicken, chicken piccata, chicken marsala.
- Rating: Joe: 6/10, Carmela: 6/10
Ouija Board and Wine Experience
If you’re feeling extra adventurous, consider incorporating a Ouija board into your wine experience. A little bit of wine and friendly competition is a fun way to enhance your expirience.
Read also: Enigmatic Ouija Board
Read also: Enigmatic Ouija Board