Halloween is a great time to break out some spooky wines

Date published: 10/11/2006

QUESTION: What does a ghost eat for dinner?

Answer: Spooketti.

Hey, c'mon now, my 5-year-old laughed!

My kids, like most other kids their age, love the spooky stuff that goes on in October. They don't appreciate me stealing their candy, but that's another story.

But what about fun for the adults? I say Halloween is a great excuse for a party. And a great excuse to serve some very appropriate wines of the season.

No Halloween party would be proper without a bottle of Egri Bikaver, known internationally as Bull's Blood. This legendary Hungarian wine is known for its deep, dense color, velvet tannins and ability to send grown men packing.

Legend has it that the local wine was served to the soldiers guarding the castle of Eger, to the north of Budapest. They were given the wine to fortify their souls and give them strength to beat the approaching Turkish troops.

It apparently worked, as the Turks were led to believe that the wine dripping from the beards and tunics of the Hungarian men was actually the blood of bulls, resulting in an easy victory for the "fortified" Hungarian soldiers!

Another natural favorite for a spooky party is Poizin. With a skull and crossbones screen-printed on the bottle, it certainly looks the part. The reserve zin actually comes packaged in a coffin-shaped box!

It's really a fantastic zinfandel from Healdsburg, Calif., despite the gimmicky packaging. A perfect partner for hearty broths, it truly is a wine to die for.

Keeping with the zinfandel grape, another theme-appropriate wine would be Hell 'n Back. For some reason, I consistently tell people that this wine is from South Africa. I know it's not, but the name makes me think that it should be.

It's a very reasonable zinfandel from California that just seems so appropriate at this time of year. And it goes great with burgers, which is what people in Britain are eating around bonfires at this time of year. Remind me to explain the Guy Fawkes thing sometime.

For those who take their Halloween seriously, I guess the recent influx of wines from the Romanian region of Transylvania will really come into their own.

Romanians have a very rich and lengthy wine-making history, quite possibly dating back to the seventh century B.C. I could probably ask my husband, although he'd have been a mere youth at the time! According to legend, Bacchus, the ancient god of wine, was born in what is now Romania.

Irishman Bram Stoker thought that Transylvania was the perfect setting for his now infamous character, Count Dracula. I wonder if Mr. Stoker had imbibed any of the local juice before writing his masterpiece.

Maybe it wasn't blood that the vampires were seeking. After all, those Transylvanians make a pretty decent cabernet, an awesome pinot noir, and a feteasca that is positively thirst-quenching.

Just promise me you won't drink chardonnay. Bela Lugosi would turn in his grave!

SUZANNE GRUMKO, a London native, has worked in the wine industry for 15 years, currently with Total Wine in Central Park. She lives in Spotsylvania County with her husband, John, and seven children. She can be reached by e-mail at
Email: hippydotmom@adelphia.net.

Date published: 10/11/2006