Boo-Worthy Wines
In a curious twist of linguistic fate, some decidedly frightening-sounding statements have been lately transformed into vehicles of praise. Mostly refashioned, as far as I can tell, by loquacious members of the surfer/skater culture prevalent in California, the phrases run the gamut of topics and references, but given the time of year I've singled out two that undoubtedly invoke Halloween.
A sampling:
"These [insert noun in the plural form] are scary good!"
Translation: These [things] are delicious.
"That [insert noun] was wicked bad." Translation: That [thing] was very cool/extremely impressive. (Note: True to the ironic spirit of this group, the use of two negative descriptors - "wicked" and "bad" - in this one makes it all that much more complimentary.
And so, to borrow a page from this verbally adventuresome sub-culture, I'd like to say that the following sweet wines are scary good, and that serving them on Halloween this year would be wicked bad of you.
Continue reading my latest on sweet treats and wine at WineCountry.com
And another piece on the same subject - but covering wine pairings for more savory Halloween fare (think sliders, mac 'n cheese and other kid-inspired fare) at WineAnswers.com * Happy Halloween!
Let's face it: the recession taught us many of things, perhaps the most important: you've got to appreciate the small things in life. And with 2009 drawing to a close, we can all look forward a renewed perspective (not to mention uptrending economic indicators, whew!) in the new year. To go along with this reinvigorated view of things, we offer the following ten wines that are destined to be hot in 2010. Because if another thing is altogether clear as we head out of this strange era: Wine is and always will be a hallmark of the good times. And, it's time for each and every one of us to start living the good life again.
We've all been there before: The wine you've ordered arrives at your table at the chichi restaurant and smells...wrong. You're not sure what's behind the malodorous scent, but you're quite sure it smacks of your Aunt Edna's moldy attic. You're desperate to send it back, but nervous the "dirty attic" excuse will come off as uninformed, inadequate and pathetically incorrect all at once. But take heart, worrisome wino: there is a method to the madness of decoding wine faults (as usual, we've got you covered).
So many fabulous things come INSIDE of other things. Take, for example, presents - perhaps the ultimate expression of the excitement-from-within phenomenon. There are also engagement rings, chocolates...the list goes on. And now, just in time for Halloween, we can all feast our eyes on this VERY COOL new skull-inside-a-decanter creation from 
Aaaaand, for another (slightly less pricey) fabulously Halloween-ready decanter, check out Ralph Lauren's 