Demuerte Wine glows in the dark for Celebrations of Life: Halloween + Dias De Los Muertos
Here’s a real Halloween scary story for you: Heading out of the grocery store with a six-pack carrier of wine, I passed by a fundraising table where young boys were trying to sell chocolates. “Don’t you need some chocolate to go with that wine?” asked the dad.
I shuddered and tried not to convey my horror. “NO! No thank you,” I stuttered as I hustled quickly away without a backwards glance just in case these are ghouls in disguise ready to chase me down!
This time of year, it seems everyone is trying to sell you on pairing candy with wine.
Carignan from 4 CA Regions: Bagias, Ridge, Sans Wine, Tercero
Once upon a time, Carignan was one of the most important grapes grown in France and the US. In 1961, French vineyards grew 185,000 hectares of Carignan reports AAWE. In 1971, California grew over 25,ooo acres of Carignane. Today? Not so much. Looking at this chart below you’ll see today’s popular grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir are placed in number nine and number 16 in 1961, far behind Carignane.
“It’s the perfect blending grape,” says Ridge’s David Gates; that’s “why it’s still around.” According to Gates in a Carignan Day ZOOM webinar in 2020, Carignan brightens acidity, brings out aromas, and pushes fruit flavors forward. This is a “bistro style wine with good tannins but not too much” says Gates, and it works on its own or blended.
