Halloween Wines

Where has the year gone? The weather has turned colder, the leaves are changing, and Christmas decorations are on sale at Costco. It must be time for Halloween!

Courtesy of Skeleton Vineyards

While most of us spend our time figuring out what to wear to the local costume party, or if we're hosting, how to decorate the house...the rest of us our trying to plan the food and beverages for the evening. If it is an adult party, there are plenty of Halloween drinks that might suit the bill, but how about wine? What if you want to serve wine, and keep the Halloween theme? I have a few (maybe more) suggestions for you to try.

I'll be the first to say, some of these wines are a bit difficult to find. I checked the local BevMo and Total Wine, as well as the local grocery store, with no luck. Where I did find a selection in stock was a bit surprising....World Market. Many of these Halloween wines are also available online, and with early enough notice, you should be able to order, and have them delivered prior to October 31st.

So here is my list of potential Halloween wines. I have tasted a number of these, but not all, so can't vouch for their quality, but can approve their names, creepy wine labels, or spooky graphics:

Poizin and Antidote from Armida Wines
Werewolf Wine - from Romania, and available through different online stores.
Wicked Good Wine
Skeleton Vineyards
Goose Bumps - a red wine from Sicily. A light fruity red. Found at World Market.
Vampire Vineyards (makes Vampire, Dracula and Trueblood wines)
Hocus Pocus Syrah - from Black Sheep Finds Winery in Santa Barbara
Witch Creek Winery
Bogle Phantom - Bogle makes some very good, reasonably priced wines, but the name works on this one
Chateau Diana (makes Trick, Treat and Zombie Zin) - simple, but fun wines.
Big Red Monster
7 Deadly Zins - voted one of the favorite Zinfandels in our informal blind tasting.
Gray Ghost Winery
Charles Smith Wines - Makes The Velvet Devil Merlot and King Coal Cabernet,
Ghost Pines - from the Louis Martini winemakers
Slaughterhouse Cellars
Ash Hollow Legend Headless Red (check out their video)
Black Cat Cabernet
Elk Creek Vineyards - from Kentucky, so may be difficult to find (makes Ghostly White and Bone Dry Red)
Ed Hardy Sangria
Scarecrow (if you can afford it)
Bull's Blood also known as Egri Bikaver, from Hungary
Dia de Los Merlot - found only at World Market
Dracula's Blood - a California winery
Spellbound Wines 
Chronic Cellars - has good wine, and great labels for Halloween
Twisted Oak River of Skulls
Hob Nob Wine, from France
Witching Hour - Red and white blends
 Also, there are some pretty good wines coming out of Romania...look for Transylvanian wine.

I'm sure there are more out there, and if you come across some good wines for Halloween, add them to the comments section below.

Wine for the big party

It is the end of the football season, and time for the Super Bowl. I must admit that I was rooting for the San Francisco 49ers to make it to the big game. An east coast, west coast rivalry would have been fun. But how many people really care who's in the Super Bowl? I've heard that something like 80% of the tickets sold, are to corporations, and those people are just there for the experience. Those of us at home, that don't have a team in the game, are probably there for the commercials, or friends and food.

That's were this weeks article comes in.

photo from ifood.tv

I did some research to find out what the most common Super Bowl snacks were. Not the necessarily the brands, but what foods are served at Super Bowl gatherings. That got me to thinking...what would be the beverage(s) of choice for a Super Bowl party? If you wanted to make sure everyone is happy, which beverages should you have on hand for your guests? Beer, Wine, Soda, hard alcohol? Let's take a look at the top 20 most common Super Bowl foods, and my recommendations for possible pairings:

1. Chili - spicy, greasy, meaty, starchy - got to go with a nice Lager Beer, Fruity Zinfandel, or even a Beaujolais (Gamay grape variety)

2. Pizza - a mixture of flavors, spice, cheese, sauce - Beer, Chianti, Barbera, or Zinfandel

3. Meatballs or cocktail wieners, in sauce - could be BBQ, or tomato sauce - Beer, Zinfandel, Chianti (Sangiovese grape variety)

4. Salsa - spicy, acidic, vegetables - Lager Beer, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Zinfandel, Margaritas

5. Ribs - meaty, grilled, sauce or dry rub - Beer, Zinfandel, Riesling (with pork ribs) Rose

6. Buffalo Wings - spicy, greasy - Beer, Rose, Sparkling Wine, Zinfandel

7. Spinach Dip - vegetal, creamy - Sauvignon Blanc, Beaujolias

8. Guacamole - creamy, mouth coating - Beer. Sparkling wine, Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand, or Chile)

9. Quesadillas - starchy, cheesy, spicy - Beer, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling Wine

10. Artichoke Dip - vegetal, creamy - Sparkling wine, Rose (go with a dry style as artichokes make wine taste sweeter).

11. Nachos - starchy. cheesy - Beer, Margaritas, Sparkling wine, Zinfandel

12. Hot Dogs, or Pigs in a Blanket - Beer, Rose, Zinfandel, Riesling

13. Deviled Eggs - creamy mouth coating - Sparkling wine or Sauvignon blanc

14. Hoagie/Submarine sandwich - Beer, Soda, Zinfandel, Beajolais

15. 7-Layer Dip - mouth coating, mix of ingredients - Beer, Margarita, Malbec Riesling, Zinfandel

16. Baked Beans - Beer, Shiraz, Zinfandel

17. Hamburgers - Beer, Beaujolais, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel

18. Doritos - can be plain or spicy - Sparkling wine, Zinfandel, Beer

19. Popcorn - buttery, salty - Sparkling wine

20. Chex Mix - salty - Beer, Sparkling wine.

So, let's look at the count....if you are holding a Super Bowl party, Beer must be on your beverage menu, and if you must pick a style, go with Lager. The next must have is Zinfandel. Go with a lighter, fruitier version. Next would be a sparkling wine. Personally, I wouldn't spend the money on a fine French Champagne for the items on the food list. But luckily there are some decent priced sparklers out there. Next, it is close as to which white wine. You can't go wrong with Sauvignon Blanc, or Riesling (go with a dry version from Alsace or California). So you have beer, red, sparkling and white, let's add a dry Rose, and we should have it covered. For those that don't drink, add some soda. And for those that want something a little heavier, add some Tequila and margarita mix, and you are well on your way to satisfying everyone's needs.

Time for the Super Bowl....who are you picking? Giants or Patriots?

Spirits

Here it is, the end of October, and what are people thinking about? Grape Harvest? The end of daylight savings? No...Halloween. And what goes along with Halloween? Spirits. Not those ghostly type, but the drinks made with spirits for the Halloween party. So what exactly are spirits, and what differentiates them from wine, beer, or liqueurs?

The word "spirit" comes from the Latin "spiritus", or breath. While this is usually associated with the soul, or ghostly images, it can also refer to a type of alcohol. In this context,  "spirit" comes from Middle Eastern alchemists, who were working with medicinal elixirs. (Most alchemist of the time were trying to turn lead into gold.) The vapors given off during an distillation process were known as a spirit of the original liquor. And where did the word "liquor" come from? It is from the Latin verb "liquere" which means "to be fluid" or liquid.

Spirits are drinks that have had the alcohol concentrated by the process of distillation. The final product, after the distillation process, will create a product with about 37% to 43% alcohol (with a minimum of about 20%). Remember that beer is around 3% to 8% and wine is in the range of 7% to 16%. Anything that can be fermented, can be made into a spirit. All that is required is sugar, or starch that can be converted into sugar. So raw materials such as fruit, vegetables and grains, are fair game.

Alembic Still

The process of distillation is actually very simple. In general terms, the fermented liquid is cooked in a pot. As the liquid is heated, it vaporizes and rises from the pot into a condensation coil, where the vapor is cooled, and returns to liquid form. Ethanol vaporizes at a lower temperature than water, so this process creates a new liquid that has a higher concentration of alcohol than the original. This new liquid is separated into "heads and tails" (the first and last cuts of the vaporization process) and removed. They are removed, because these first and last contain possible toxic components. Only the "heart", or middle is used. Again, this is a very simple explanation, as there are many types of distillation techniques that are used, and they all produce different results in the final product.

Spirits made from wine (made from grapes) is known as Brandy (see my article on Cognac). Spirits like Vodka can be made from a number of different materials: potatoes, grain, or even sugar cane, while others, like Tequila can only be made from the Agave plant (see my article on tequila). The most common spirits are: Brandy, Gin, Rum, Whiskey, Vodka, and Tequila.

Liqueurs (or cordials) are spirits that have added flavor or sweeteners. These additions were originally included for medicinal purposes (usually digestive aids, or herbal cures), where the alcohol helped to accelerate the absorption. Most liqueurs are based on secret recipes, with a mix of herbs, bark, roots, seeds, fruit, etc. Some of the best known liqueurs are: Bailey's Irish Cream, Grand Marnier, Kahlua, Sambuca, Frangelico, and Schnapps.

Vampire Wines

Here are some links for fun Halloween party drinks:
http://www.thatsthespirit.com/en/drinks/articles/candy_for_adults.asp

http://marymccarthy.suite101.com/halloween-party-drinks-for-adults-a32891

http://www.barnonedrinks.com/tips/articles/halloween_drinks.html

For those of you who still insist on wine at your Halloween party, why not try some Orange Wine? Basically, just white wines with some longer skin contact. Or, you could buy any number of wines with spooky themes: Vampire Vineyards, Hocus Pocus Syrah, Skeleton Wine, Witch Creek Winery, or even Big Red Monster Wine.

Whatever you decide to do with your Halloween party, have fun, and enjoy!