Haunting wines, do-it-yourself cocktails to liven up any Halloween celebration

Drink Great Wine

By: Mark C. Johnson | For The New Mexican
Published online: Tuesday, October 25, 2011

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to look into the darker side of the wine and cocktail world. Some of these drinks would be perfect to go with your costumed gatherings of ghouls, ghosts and goblins.

The only wine I didn’t write a review for was the Vampire merlot from Transylvania, because after tasting it, I determined that it really sucked.

Still, there are several great wine makers who have made wines with a bit of a macabre sense of humor, making them stand out on shelves during this spooky season.

To accompany this month’s wines for your Halloween celebration, I also sneaked in a few evil concoctions that will bring a glow to your heart and darkness upon your soul.


"The Devil's Terrace" is a revelation for the old winery that recently passed into younger hands. With a vibrant ruby color, the wine has a nose of red fruits including plums and choke cherries and fresh tobacco. On the palate, the wine is as smooth as imitation silk, but loaded with strawberries, earth and game notes, which make this wine a perfect pairing with fall flavors from pumpkin soup to pan-seared duck breast.

A vineyard named "Blood of Pebble" may conjure up images of a glass from the land of Narnia — I am certain that Aslan himself would appreciate this wine. The wine has a darkened reddish color that takes in the soul like a Dementor. The nose is spicy with berries and pumpkin spice. In the mouth, the wine takes on a cooked fruit and cinnamon flavor. This wine finishes gingerly with a long, smooth experience that leaves one tasting ...

On the wine's label, there's a man on a horse cart being abducted by a cigar-shaped UFO. Nothing frightens me more than the idea of being abducted by aliens ... again. The wine shows a tawny ruby color with a bit of a rustic look. It has a nose of stewed strawberries and plums, fresh vanilla and various peppercorns. It dominates the palate with cooked red fruits, peppery spices and fresh vanilla. This wine lingers on for quite a while, making it great to pair with roasted meats and game.
This little wine is made from a frightening amalgamation of grapes just down the road. There's a hardcore color of blackish mauve to this wine. On the nose, it puts off black cherries, berries and figs, followed by black coffee and dark chocolate. It's a mouth filler with huge fruits that coat the tongue, and it has a lingering finish. Now, I just need a bloody ribeye to seal the deal.

As legend has it, about 100 years ago, the owner of Concha y Toro would store his best juice in his cellar, where it was constantly pilfered. To deter his minions from helping themselves to the good stuff, the owner started a rumor that the devil lived down there, hence frightening his superstitious serfs. The wine has a blood-red color and puts off scents of cassis, black currants and black leather. On the plate, the same fruits show through with a strong tannic presence. Finally, the wine fades away, lingering on the cassis and sweet tobacco notes.


6 radishes 

3 Spanish olives 

2 ounces Death’s Door Gin 

1 ⁄5 ounce Vya Dry Organic Vermouth 

Preparation: The day before, cut the stems and tails off the radishes and peel them, leaving some red skin on to resemble bloodshot eyes. Using a small melon baller, scoop out the tops of each radish. Cut the olives in half and insert one half, flat side out, into each hollowed-out radish. Freeze radishes overnight. The next evening, take the radishes out of the freezer and place them inside a rocks glass. Pour the gin and dry vermouth over the radish eyeballs and serve.

Cranberry juice, enough to fill two latex gloves (do not use plastic)

1 quart pineapple juice 

2 12-ounce cans ginger ale 

2 cups Midori Melon Liqueur 

1cup Southern Comfort 

Preparation: The night before your Halloween festivities, fill two latex gloves (not plastic because manufacturers usually coat them with a fine powder, which tastes nasty) with cranberry juice, tie off the tops and place flat in the freezer and freeze overnight. The next day, pour all the remaining ingredients into a punch bowl and stir (it should turn green — if not, add more Midori). Pull the gloves out of the freezer and cut the latex away. Be careful cutting around the fingers — try not to break them. Break a few of the wrong ones and you could be sending the wrong message. Drop the hands, palm-side up, into the punch to them give the impression of coming out of the liquid.

2 ounces Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey 

1 ⁄5 ounce Vya Sweet Vermouth 

2 dashes Angostura Bitters 

Brandied cherries 

Preparation: Pour the whiskey and vermouth into a pint glass; top with ice. Shake a couple of dashes of bitters into the drink and stir until well chilled. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a few cherries on a skewer.

2 ounces Dead Guy’s Organic Vodka 

2 ⁄3 ounce Cointreau 

1 pickled baby beat 

Preparation: This is a simple one: Just pour the vodka and Cointreau into a pint glass, top with ice and stir until you can feel the chill. Strain it into a martini glass. For the bleedin’ heart, the secret is to skewer the beet right in the middle and drop into the center of the drink. The pickled juice will ooze slowly into the drink.