Weird, Wonderful and Spooky Wine

Welcome to the 

HALLOWEEN EDITION

of Weirdly, Wonderful Wine.
A monthly blog post where my husband and I review a
bottle of wine solely on how cool, creepy or creative
the label is.

This being October (my favorite month of the year) there were many season themed bottles of wine. We found quite a few fun, unique and mysterious bottles that I'll share each month. But I decided to spotlight two bottles this celebratory month!!

The first bottle was a gift from my friend and fellow author Terri-Lynne DeFino 
and it has an awesome label.

Our french maid, Babette, has seen many a bottle of wine and even she was
licking her lips.

---

CRYPTIC is a California Red Blend with a label that claims it's dark...mysterious...velvety...alluring...

They had me at dark and mysterious. My husband and I had this wine sitting outside on one of the last summer nights in September, with grilled hamburgers, vegetables and red potatoes. It's a drier wine, which my husband prefers, and I was nervous I may not like it, but I loved it. It had a slight fruit after taste which mellowed the dryness of the wine for me. After dinner we sat outside by a fire and finished the bottle. 

CRYPTIC's website is very cool (www.crypticwine.com). They compare their wine making to alchemy - "changing some ordinary into the extraordinary." Wine make Antonio Trevino keeps his recipe secret, which inspired the label and the 16th French reproduction of the encryption wheel and machine. There is decoding puzzle on the back of the label, which is fairly easy if you're a wine lover, but fun. We enjoyed this bottle - inside and out!

---

The second bottle, isn't new to us. It's an October staple in this house and we look forward to it each year. 

How VAMPIRE wine came to be is an interesting story. But briefly, in 1985 NY lawyer, Michael Machet saw lights swimming across the Nevada desert one night and the idea of Vampire red wine came to him. Making and marketing it in Transylvania sounded perfect, but at the time, the country was ruled by a dictator. Three years later, the first bottle came to be in London and eventually found favor with Anne Rice's fans. When the Berlin Wall fell, Mr. Machet was able to travel to Transylvania, but that country took 'vampires' seriously and didn't understand why someone would pay tribute to them in a wine. Especially one marketed, 'blood of the vine.' You can read the full story here.

What was especially fun about this year? They changed the label, adding the flames to the bottom - but best of all - it came in it's own coffin. How adorable and perfect is that? I just love it, and I'm keeping the coffin. You never know when it may come in handy. 

VAMPIRE is a smooth, not too dry, deep red wine that goes with just about anyone, err, anything you're having for dinner. Sip the Blood of the Vine!

HAVE A FABULOUSLY SCARY AND SPOOKY HALLOWEEN!

---