If your idea of a Halloween treat is blood-red, bone-dry and comes in a glass, have a seat at our seance table.
This Halloween, we’re summoning some scary good wine for you to sip with your favorite ghouls and goblins. These wines don’t just have delightfully themed names and labels, they also pair spooktacularly with all the chocolate candy in your Halloween party spread.
Gather ‘round and join hands as we conjure the 9 best wines for Halloween.
You’ll be held prisoner by this wine’s smooth drinkability, and there’s no hope of escape. Unshackled Cabernet Sauvignon opens with sinful aromas of plum and blackberry with a hint of olive. Vibrant flavors of dark plums and dried herbs and a solid tannin structure result in a flavor-forward red wine with perfectly balanced acidity. Pair it with a charcoOooOoOterie board of hearty meats and cheeses (like this one).
If Chronic Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon’s skeletal soldier on the label doesn’t captivate you, the decadently dark juice inside will. The most gallant cabernet sauvignon of all the land, Sir Real delivers striking layers of blackberries and black cherries with a sliver of toasted spice. Notes of ripe plum and bright cassis lead the way to a rich backbone of harmonious tannin. A noble choice to pair with a Dark Chocolate Kit Kat; the delicate snap of the wafer paired with Sir Real’s velvety fruitiness is to die for.
Another fang-tastic choice from The Prisoner, this cab showcases notes of blackberry, currant and plum with dried, crushed herbs and licorice. These rich, spicy notes culminate in a lush, full mouthfeel and a lengthy, balanced finish. Beef, lamb or pork, it doesn’t matter: The Prisoner will pair well with whatever the centerpiece is of your Halloween feast.
Halloween is the time for devilishly good treats, including The Velvet Devil Merlot. This smooth merlot offers notes of deep and delicious black fruit, cedar, tobacco and cassis. Once you have a sip of its fresh, vivid flavor, you’ll turn to the dark side. It pairs well with a juicy bacon cheeseburger; spook-ify your burger by cutting your cheese into Jack-O-Lantern shapes, like this.
Take a break for a wine-soaked ghost story with ABC wine expert Paul:
Bogle Phantom Red Blend is a heady apparition of fierce berry and sensual spice that returns to haunt wine lovers on All Hallows’ Eve. Keep your head, because this phantasmic wine is marked by a bright entry, a full-bodied palate of black plums and blueberries and a firm finish. Only a pumpkin-head would be silly enough to pass up this California red.
Was that a bottle of wine calling to you from the cupboard, or was it just your imagination? Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon is a classically bold red wine with soft tannins, sweet aromatics of dark fruit and vanilla on the nose and a palate layered with dark fruit complemented by hints of cocoa and cedar. The ghosts of grapes long fermented never tasted so good.
If you listen to true crime podcasts so frequently that you jump anytime your house creaks, Cult Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon is your perfect Halloween wine. It’s fruit forward with notes of blackberry and cherry coupled with savory baking spice aromas. Pair it with mushroom pizza with cheese sauce (try cutting your mushrooms into skulls, like this) for an instant cult classic.
Every good story needs a hero, a villain...and a monster. This savage beast hails from California’s Paso Robles, where extreme temperatures produce big, bold and aggressively delicious cabernets. This wine's dark, brooding flavors and rich tannins will make it a monster hit at your Halloween party this year.
Closing out our list is a truly spellbinding red blend with aromas of chocolate-covered cherries, baking spices and vanilla bean. Flavors of strawberry preserves, cherry cola and milk chocolate follow through to a smooth, fruit-forward, lingering finish. If your crystal collection covers every surface of your home and you’re a little too into reading birth charts, this is the Halloween night bottle for you.
