October 2018 - On The Wine Road

Wines for Halloween y Dia de los Muertos

Here are wines that will draw attention at any Halloween party.

Wines for Halloween that need to be ordered:

New to this year’s list is one of two that will also be well received at a Dia de los Muertos party. “Vinos de los Muertos”, or Wine of the Dead, is a red blend dessert wine (a perfect pairing for your haul of Halloween candy), and hails from St. Clair Vineyard in New Mexico.

Next to it is a wine from Bulgaria, which of course, features the region of Transylvania. It’s appropriately called “The Legend of Transylvania V Pinot Noir.” Although, I don’t know which is more scary, the title or the $3.99 price. Both of these wines can be purchased through Wine Searcher. Click on the bottles to be taken to the page. You may be able to have them shipped to receive by Halloween.

The more accessible Wines for Halloween:

Truett Hurst’s “Bewitched” comes in a nicely designed paper wrapped bottle. You can find it at some Safeway stores or from their tasting room in Dry Creek Valley, Healdsburg. Louis M. Martini’s “Ghost Pines” has Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot varietals and sells for Around $17. Bogle offers “Phantom” which sells for about $18. There’s Charles Smith’s “The Velvet Devil” Merlot, priced at about $11. The most unique is Concha y Toro’s “Casillero Del Diablo” (Cellar of the Devil). It offers a great list of varietals from Chile, yet sells as low as $11. Seven Deadly Zins is the easiest to find but not very special as it’s available anywhere wine is sold.

You’ll be the hit of the Halloween or Dia de los Muertos party with one of these in your hand.

Wine that has Vanished like a Phantom:

The bottle below is one of my favorite labels for this time of year, “Todos Santos,” meaning All Saints. It was a small production wine from Tank Garage Winery in Calistoga, Napa Valley. Sadly, this 2015 Barbera, Mourvedre blend is no longer available. Sorry for the tease but you have to admit, it’s a pretty cool looking label.

Wineries

Lisa Strid of Arizona’s Aridus Wine Company

Over the years I have featured wineries in the burgeoning regions of Arizona, primarily southern Arizona, my former stomping ground. On this podcast you’ll meet Lisa Strid of Aridus Wine Company of Willcox, east of Tucson. They also have a tasting room in Scottsdale in the Phoenix area.

Interestingly, Lisa presented a seminar at the Napa Valley Wine Institute before I met up with her in Arizona. That provided a great opportunity to try a few of their wines before our scheduled interview in Tucson. As you’ll hear, I think they’re a standout in the Arizona wine industry.

To see the winery and their unique variety of wines click here.

Lisa at the Napa Valley Wine Academy

The Aridus Wine Co. tasting room in Willcox

The Aridus Wine Co. tasting room in Scottsdale

Events

Top 100 Wines of the World

On this podcast I chat with principles from 5 wineries who have been chosen to attend Wine & Spirits Magazine’s Top 100 Tasting Event in San Francisco on October 9th.

I’ve had the extreme pleasure of tasting (some of) the top wines of the world the past 3 years. It’s a spectacular evening that includes some of San Francisco’s top restaurants.

The recordings you’ll hear are from past interviews with Jason Drew of Drew Family Wines, Jared Brandt of Donkey & Goat, Cathy Corison of Corison Winery, Eric Sussman of Radio-Coteau, and Jean-Charles Boisset of Raymond Vineyards. No doubt they are proud to have been chosen as the producer of one of the top 100 wines of the world.

Additionally, publisher and senior editor Joshua Green explains the lengthy process of the picking the top 100 wines. Astonishingly, approximately 15,000 wines are tasted!

Below the player you’ll see a teaser from Wine & Spirits about some of the attendees, including local restaurateurs Sondra Bernstein and chef John Toulze from The Girl and the Fig. It’ll be great to see them there this year.

If you can’t make it to the event, pick up Wine & Spirits special Winter issue being released next week, or peruse the Top 100 list online.

Taste with Napa luminaries Cathy Corison, Steve & Jill Matthiasson and Diamond Creek‘s Boots Brounstein.

Louis-Michel Liger-Belair will be pouring his new Willamette wines from Rose & Arrow. And Larry Stone, MS, will share his Lingua Franca Pinots.

Raúl Pérez is bringing his Bierzo and Galicia wines. And Valter Fissore is flying in with his Elvio Cogno Barolo.

Paris Sigalas will offer his single-vineyard assyrtikos from Santorini to match Island Creek Oysters.

And, for the first time, we’re featuring Sondra Bernstein and chef John Toulze from The Girl & The Fig at the Top 100!