Halloween treats: Wicked spooky wines and where to find them on the New Hampshire Seacoast
Hosting a monster bash this Halloween weekend and want to fill your guests' glasses with some ghoulishly delicious adult beverages? Look no further than your local wine store to stock up on some frighteningly fine wines at hauntingly good prices.
The Butler's Pantry (in Fiddlehead Farms, 920 Central Avenue, Dover) offers two devilish delights:
Vampire Merlot. Featuring Merlot grapes picked at peak ripeness, Vampire Vineyards' 2008 North Coast Merlot ($14.99/bottle) is straight-forward with a good balance of fruit, vanilla, and toast.
Howling Moon Pinot Noir. Light-bodied with a pale red color, this $16.99/bottle California Pinot has a bit of spice to it.
Attrezzi (78 Market Street, Portsmouth) is featuring a wine whose label literally bites: 2007 Brujeria (the Spanish for "witchcraft"), which is a blend of 66% Shiraz, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Grenache, and 6% Tempranillo; nice structure, nice fruit, nice depth, with a peppery finish - a steal for $20/bottle.
By far, the largest selection of spooky wines can be found at the NH State Liquor Store. Specifically at Store 76 (Interstate 95 North, Hampton), you can find over 15 scary wines among their 2500+ wine SKUs. Here are a couple noteworthy picks:
Phantom by Bogle Vineyards ($17.99/bottle). A blend of Petit Sirah, Old Vine Zinfandel, and Old Vine Mourvedre, this wine is "mysterious and hauntingly seductive" according to its label. It's also 14.5% alcohol by volume. Good blackberry and dark fruit flavors with undertones of fall spices like nutmeg and cinnamon.
If you're looking for a white wine, Ghost Pines 2007 Chardonnay will do the trick (or treat...). Made from 100% Chardonnay grapes spread across some of California's best Chardonnay-growing regions (Sonoma, Monterey, and Napa), this wine boasts supple flavors of pineapple, peach, and nectarine and pairs perfectly (no trick here) with candy corn and is perfectly priced at $14.99/bottle. State Store 76 also carries Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon at $16.99/bottle.
Other spooky labels that can be found in a number of wine stores across the Seacoast include Gnarly Head (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir) andCasillero del Diablo (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot).
Don't be afraid. Give a few of these wicked wines a try this Halloween. They're sure to make you feel brave enough to ward off evil spirits...or gutsy enough to invite them in for a glass or two.
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Jen Scumaci, CEO and Cause Entrepreneur for viaONEHOPE, has lived in the New Hampshire Seacoast area for over a decade. Jen's passion for wine began in 2002 when she went to her first wine tasting and it blew her mind. Since then, she has been on a professional journey that has included sales and marketing with The Traveling Vineyard, facilitating wine tasting events, writing as The Portsmouth Wine Examiner, and working on Borghese Vineyard and Winery (Long Island's first vineyard located on the North Fork) as the wine club and marketing coordinator. When she's not doing wine things, Jen keeps her tank full with coffee and craft beer, works in Portsmouth as a full-time project manager, is a mobile DJ, and loves hanging out with her fiancée and their two crazy pugs.
Original article posted at Portsmouth Wine Examiner.
