Vampire Wines

This vineyard in Romania (or Transylvania if you prefer) produces a line of wines – Cab, Merlot, Chard, Pinots Noir and Grigio – that range in price from $10 to $15 and that garner some fairly decent reviews although I can’t say that I have yet tried any.   Wines are available on their website www.vampirewine.com which really plays up the spooky, bloody thing.

Cardinal Zin Beastly Old Vines

Well if strange, eccentric, and (some might say) weird are in anyway synonymous with spooky, than a wine by owner/winemaker Randall Graham (described above) of Bonny Doon Vineyard in central coast California certainly fits the bill.  The label on this Zinfandel ($13) features a sinister-looking cardinal (the religious kind, not the bird) decked out in devilish red that seems to be spurting blood in all directions.

Toad Hollow Eye of the Toad Dry Pinot Noir Rose

For the witches and warlocks among you, if you can’t (or won’t) find the real little green things hopping around Sonoma Valley, then perhaps a few splashes of this grog into your boiling cauldron will add a nice touch of “meatiness” to the brew.  The label of this dry, pink wine sports a wine-swilling toad with a glowing pink eye, and for about $12 is a quite well-made rosé.

Egri Bikaver Bull's Blood of Eger

(From www.monsieurhenri.com/egri.htm)   When the Hungarian army, led by Istvan Dobo, defeated the Ottoman Turks at Eger in 1552 the city was saved. During the siege, the citizens of the town of Eger opened their wine cellars and drank red wine to give them strength to fight off the enemy. The wine spilled over their beards and onto their armor, coloring them blood red. As the citizens continued their valiant fight word spread quickly that the Hungarians were drinking the blood of bulls to make them strong and fierce. The superstitious Turks were fearful and the siege was broken.  Great story and a pretty good wine at $8.

Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine offers wine lovers the very special opportunity to participate in the propagation of a century old legend known throughout the world. In the 19th century, the founder of Concha y Toro in Chile, Don Melchor, discovered that his vineyard workers were sampling his greatest wines. To discourage this action, Don Melchor spread the rumor that his deepest, darkest cellar was the Casillero del Diablo (Cellar of the Devil), so that no one would dare go in there. It worked, a legend was born and for $11 you too can sample a favorite drink of old Satan. http://www.conchaytorousa.com/wines/diablo.html

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