Wines To Pair With Your Halloween Costume

Why not complete your costume with the ultimate liquid accessory?

It’s a trick, not a treat this year as Halloween candy prices are up more than 13 % over last year according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Which is higher than the consumer price index for food at 11.2%.

You can thank climate change for the price hike: this year’s drought hurt sugar beet crops in the U.S, causing the price of sugar to increase (and here you thought it was another global supply chain issue. Well, actually, that, too, as it turns out chocolate makers are having a devil of a time due to the Russia-Ukraine war).

So in the spirit of candy economics, I won’t be telling you which wines to pair with Halloween candy. Actually I wouldn’t do that anyway, because, with the rare exception, wine and candy really just don’t go together well.

But there are wines that go with your favorite trick or treat costumes. I’m sticking to the traditional, because I can’t find wines that pair with what Google says are the most popular costumes this year. So, here are some wines that get into the fashionable spirit of the season.

YOUR COSTUME: DEVIL. YOUR WINES:

Casillero del Diablo, Chile. A whole portfolio of red, whites and a rose dedicated to the devil, from the Chilean mega producer Concha y Toro.

Charles Smith Wines “Velvet Devil,” Walla Walla, Washington. A slick and smooth Merlot from a state that’s a stellar producer of the variety.

YOUR COSTUME: GHOST. YOUR WINES:

Klinker Brick Winery “Old Ghost,” Lodi. Made from old vine zinfandel in the spiritual home of old-vine zin.

Miles Wine Cellars “Ghost,” Finger Lakes, New York. An off-dry belnd of equal parts Chardonnay and Cayuga, the latter a French-American hybrid grape variety cultivated in the Finger Lakes.

Bogle Vineyards, “Phantom,” California. Take your pcikd of the proprietary red blend or a classic Callie Chardonnay.

Ghost Pines, California, a broad portfolio of multi-sourced wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel and a red blend.

YOUR COSTUME: SKELETON (or some variation). YOUR WINES:

Armida Winery “Poizin,” California. A deep blend of 85% Zinfandel, 15% Syrah

Chronic Cellars Purple Paradise, Paso Robles (Calif.): A Zinfandel-dominated blend from a winery that has taken Day of the Dead-themed label art to a new level.

Hahn Family Wines “Boneshaker,” Lodi (Calif.) An Old Vine Zinfandel sourced from Lodi, though the winery owns its vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA.

Elk Creek Vineyards “Bone Dry Cabernet,” Kentucky. A Cabernet Sauvignon from the same winery that produces “Ghostly White” Chardonnay (you sensing a theme here?)

Frias Family Vineyard, “Lady of the Dead,” Napa. A Cabernet-driven blend (64%) with Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Graciano.

Twisted Oak “River of Skulls,” Sierra Foothills AVA (Calif.) 100% Mourvèdre

YOUR COSTUME: VAMPIRE. YOUR WINES:

Vampire Vineyards, “Dracula,” California. Two devilish reds made from Merlot and Pinot Noir, and the “Trueblood” line with Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay. There’s also a “fangria,” but let’s not get too bloody carried away.

If Romanian wines had wider distribution, you could count on a few vampire (and vampy) themed wines from that country. See here for an example of what you’re missing, because they really take it up a notch and who has better cred than the Translyvanians?

YOUR COSTUME: WITCH. YOUR WINES:

Leelanau Cellars “Witches Brew,” Michigan. Said to be a secret wine blend spiced up with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. 12.5%

Tomasello Winery “Broomstick Brew,” New Jersey, from one the oldest wineries in New Jersey (est. 1933), a blend of red wine and mulling spices

Krupp Brothers The Water Witch, Napa. OK, not really a Halloween witch, but I was surprised at the dearth of witch-themed wines out there, so I’m including this to see if y’all are on your game. An ambitious blend of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Tempranillo, 6% Syrah, 3% Merlot

YOUR COSTUME: ZOMBIE. YOUR WINES:

Chateau Diana “Zombie Zin” and “Zombie Chard.” The winery is in Healdsburg, but the grapes are multisourced throughout California.

B. Nektar Meadery “Zombie Killer” Hard Cider, Michigan. 5.5% abv, this smacks of tart cherries coupled with a bit o’ honey.