I know…I’m late…Halloween has already passed.  But I want you to know how hard I tried to suck down all these bottles in the 10 days between when I bought them and Halloween.  My liver is still recovering.

These wines were purchased solely for the Halloween themed name or label, and trust me, it wasn’t that easy to find any white wines that fit the theme…but I found at least one!

First I opened the Monster Mash Lodi Red Blend (2012)

This one smelled very fruity, like strawberry jam.  After about thirty minutes, the wine started to mellow out a bit.  This is a Petite Sirah/Zinfandel blend so I was hopeful that the Zin grapes would mellow out the sweetness.  And it did, but just a bit.  Still fairly tannin-y with a bit of burnt sugar at the end.

Next up, the Vampire Winemaker’s Blend (2014)

For real! Look at that box!! With a box like that, even if the wine is terrible I’m not mad I bought it!  Is it terrible?  Well, the box is cool.  Truthfully though, it is just not my style of red.  It smells like spice and berries, which I love; but it tasted a bit like a red sweet tart.  However, the tag line is cool, “Drink the blood of the Vine.” And I really love the vineyard’s story so I will probably try another bottle from them…just not the blend!

On to the sole white wine in the group:  Rest In Peace Pinot Grigio (2016)

As you can see, I almost forgot to take a picture of this bottle before it was gone.  But this one is not on me.  My dad really liked this wine.  It is pretty typical Pinot Grigio, pear and minerals, a bit of honey (which is why my dad liked it and it was too sweet for me.) and a touch of lemon zest.  Overall, not a bad white.  Probably be good when you’re DYING of heatstroke next summer!

Poizin Zinfandel (2015)

Now I love me some Zinfandel!!  This one…I liked.  It is a bit lighter than my usual Zin preference.  Cherry, jammy medium to lighter bodied.  Good…but not “To Die For” as the label claims.

And Finally – The Banished Dark Red (2016)

This one was my favorite of the group.  And look for another 19 Crimes wine in my Thanksgiving wines because…well family!

This wine was dark, a beautiful deep purple color with a garnet rim.  Black pepper and black current scents.  This wine tastes purple.  That is the best way to describe it.  Purple grapes, purple plums, purple.  There is a nice warm hint of cloves at the end and it was a bit bigger than I expected for a blend.  Overall, I would drink this one again.

So there you have it.  Five spooky wines to really get those Halloween parties started!  Or to binge watch scary movies all night…either way, I won’t judge!

Special thanks to my Mom and Dad who did not realize when they showed up for dinner what they were getting into!  And shout out to my liver…hang in there girl!

Coming up, Thanksgiving wines for food and family.