A Spooky Wine for Halloween

I often get asked questions about wines to fit the seasons, and with Halloween arriving tomorrow, the requests for wines that are well suited for the holiday have started to trickle in. As the weather surrounding Halloween is often unpredictable - I can recall trick or treating in snowstorms in some years, and 70 degree temperatures in others - it is often tough to suggest wines that are appropriately matched for the weather. With that in mind, allow me to make a case for my favorite wine that fits the spirit of the holiday.

"The Sinister Hand" by Owen Roe is my favorite Halloween wine, hands down. Every Halloween night for the past five years, I've enjoyed a bottle of this wine. Don't get me wrong, there are other great wines with spooky, macabre names that embody the Halloween spirit, like the Bogle Phantom, or Charles Smith's Velvet Devil Merlot. However, what pushes The Sinister Hand to the top of my Halloween wine list is the fact that it's a great wine with a fascinating, ghoulish story behind its name. After all, isn't Halloween all about great ghost stories?

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When Should I Drink That Wine? A Question of Aging

A reader named Chris recently wrote in looking for guidance about whether to drink or age the wines in his collection. I imagined many readers might have similar questions or concerns from time to time, so here's Chris' question, along with my response:

I have about 25 mixed cases of wine, mostly cabs and red blends, mostly Californian, ranging from the late 1980s right up to the 2010 vintage.  Ridge, Beringer, Cakebread, Heitz, Caymus, Dunn, Baldacci, Black Sears, Pahlmayer, Grgich, Bell, Mount Veeder, Hess Collection, Von Strasser, Gargiulo, Larkmead, Vine Cliff, Laird, PIna, etc.  Are there people out there who are prepared to give free advice about what to drink up and what to sit on for a while longer?  Can you point me in the right direction?

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Would You Pay This Price for Barolo?

I was recently emailed by my friend Amy with the following question:

Would you pay this amount? Barolo - Parussi Falletto '07 (94 points)

When I asked Amy for some context regarding her question, (i.e. How much do you like Barolo? What’s the occasion? If it’s a gift, does the recipient like Barolo?), she responded:

"I want it for myself simply because I know I adore Barolo… but am usually too lazy to go searching for a good one.  I suppose there is no need to spend that much but I just wondered if I might find a really good one for less or if I should be happy with that price. I would likely not drink it on an average evening, but save it for a special night."

This question touches on a lot of interesting subjects - scores from critics, what's a good price to pay for a wine?, what constitutes a good deal for a wine, etc. While I don't endorse buying wines purely on the basis of scores from critics, I do find that they can be a good indication of whether a wine is well made. As for whether a high score means you'll enjoy the wine, that is another story. It's important to remember that critics score wines based on how the wine resonates with their palate. While you may like big, bold wines, it's entirely possible that the critic who assigned it a score of 94 points may have appreciated it for its delicacy and balance. Therefore, my advice when considering scores from critics is to know the critic's palate, and know if it lines up with your own. If it does, great! You've found another resource that can help you find wines that you will likely enjoy. If not, keep looking! There are a good number of wine critics out there, and chances are, one of them will share a similar taste preference to your own.

Now, to get to the subject of whether this wine is a good deal. A lot of it is personal preference. You can find some good Barolos for less money, but you can also spend a lot more.

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Is Boxed Wine Any Good These Days?

The other day, I was emailed by a co-worker for some wine advice. I'm always in the mood to talk wine, so I took a few minutes to respond to her email. However, as I read her question, I was struck by the fact that we're reaching a new dilemma with respect to the packaging of wine, and how it affects consumer perception of the quality of the wine.

My co-worker's question was as follows:

I am almost embarrassed to be asking this question, but have you tried those Bota Box wines? Are they any good?

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Is Wine An Acquired Taste?

On the heels of our recent blind panel tasting on the state of Chardonnay, a reader named Chaz posted a comment asking about the role of "acquired taste" as it applied to Chardonnay or "even wine in general." I found this to be a particularly relevant question, and since I realize that not everyone peruses the comments section of an article, I wanted to call it out in the Mailbag Responses section of the site. Below are Chaz's question, and my response:

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