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.
Seriously? Just don’t do it unless you’re pairing that chocolate with Port, like a W & J Graham’s “Six Grapes” Reserve Porto (SRP $30) from grapes grown in the Douro Valley, Portugal. You can also try three different W & J Graham Ports in a trio Port Pack for $55— great hostess gift or fun to try to learn more about the different styles of Port. (For a twist, try it as a spritz or in place of sweet vermouth in a Manhattan!)
And instead of the cheap chocolate in Halloween candy, go for ……dark chocolate truffles! Or for something more sophisticated and also seasonal, try white Stilton with apricots or any blue cheese with dark veins running through it! For a sweeter treat, find seasonally shaped shortbread cookies.
Just be sure that what you’re pairing with the wine isn’t sweeter than the wine!
Read more about why it’s important to have Port plus cookie pairings here or go here for Port and a multi-course menu perect for fall and winter nights and gatherings!
But enough about Port!
The other day when Sue and I got together to taste four California Carginan (read more here), I was at Trader Joe’s to pick up cheese, bread, and arugula, where I ran into my good friend and tasting buddy Diane (read about tasting Malbec with Manchego Mac n cheese with Diane and friends here). She had in her basket two bottles of a dark bottle of wine with a striking white Calavera face on it — Dia de los Muertos style.
“It’s not the best wine you can get here for $10,” she admitted. “But the label glows in the dark!” She showed me a picture of the fluorescent skull label glowing in the dark. She’d already enjoyed a bottle with friends and was back for more to bring to Halloween and Dia de los Muertos gatherings, so I grabbed a bottle too knowing that if I didn’t;’t like the wine, I could make a really cool candle out of the bottle.
Back home, when Sue arrived to prepare our meal, I showed her the bottle, told her the story, and asked if she wanted to try it. “It’s from Spain and 80% Monastrell and 20% Cab Sauv, so it should be interesting!” I said enthusiastically.
“Sure!” said Sue. “That’s what we’re here to do— taste wine! And that blend should be great with the menu we’re doing.”
So I pulled the lead off, popped the high quality cork, and poured us each a glass. It wasn’t the best wine we’d tasted, but we both thought it was decently drinkable for under $10 and showed potential for pairing with pumpkin ravioli and mushroom brie. Read on for our tasting notes and results!
Demuerte Wine with bloody bruschetta for Celebrations of Life: Halloween + Dias De Los Muertos
Wine
- 2025 Winery On Creations Demuerte One
Menu
- bloody bruschetta
- be still my heart caprese salad
- pumpkin ravioli with a spooky sauce
Demuerte Wine for Celebrations of Life: Halloween + Dias De Los Muertos
2025 Winery On “Demuerte One,” Yecla DO, Spain
ABV: 14.5%
SRP: $9 at Trader Joe’s; more expensive elsewhere
Grapes: 80%Monastrell, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Importer: Evaki Inc, San Luis Obispo, Ca
purchased by Gwendolyn at Trader Joe’s
Not familiar with Monastrell? It’s the fourth most planted grape in Spain, not to mention the “M” in GSM and that is known in France as Mourvèdre and in Australia as Mataro. My favorite GSMs offer at least as much M as it does G (as in Grenache), and for my tastebuds, I’ll take only a splash of S (Syrah). In this case the cherry fruit in the cabernet sauvignon softens Mourvèdre which has small berries with thick skins give the wine tannins and structure but are often tricky to get to maturation before the weather changes.
The grapes are grown in the Yecla DO which is known as the home to Monastrell in Spain. Located in the Murcia region of eastern Spain not far from the Mediterranean Sea, Yecla is surrounded by important wine growing regions: it’s just east of Jumilla with Almansato to the south and west, and Alicante to the east. As 92% The international market makes up 92% of the DOP’s wine sales go into the international market, this the Spanish wine DOP has the highest proportion of international exports. Meaning you may have been enjoying this monster of wine without even knowing it!
The wine is vegan and considered sustainably produced.
Appearance: Ruby, medium density, ruby rim, vampire blood, perfect color for Halloween, Dracula’s cape
Aroma: Cigar box, cherry pipe tobacco, sage, cinnamon, cinnamon toast.
Palate: Ripe sweet bing cherry, luxardo cherry, cherry pipe tobacco.
Pairing: Great with the apricot stilton on the cheese plate as the salty stilton tames some of the fruit in the wine. Equally as great with the mushroom brie and the Comte. Perfect with the tomato bruschetta, the basil in the topping loves the sweetness of the wine, both together are a wow pairing. The squash ravioli enhanced the flavors of this wine.
What a great party wine, super fun label and very versatile with food!
All that being said, this wine just might work with dark chocolate. Just not Halloween Candy.
Creative Director Karel Eissner
Winemaker Pablo Cortes and partner Creative Director Karel Eissner seek “to combine artistic expressions with the design of wines, to promote unforgettable moments and conversations. The design of our labels broadens our horizons and once again celebrates a tradition of visual art loaded with metaphorical stories and popular culture.” Learn more at their website.
Demuerte wines
Get in the mood with these movies:
In Coco (2017), young Miguel is forbidden by his family to fulfill his dreams of becoming a musician so he journeys to the Land of the Dead to understand why. There, he reunite with his ancestors, and heals the past.
Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Life (2020) is a documentary which merges several stories while looking at the traditions and celebrations in Mexico on the Day of the Dead.
In The Book of Life (2014) we see how caring for others spans lifetimes when Manolo goes on a quest to be reunited with his true love. His resulting adventure takes us to three different worlds and three different lives.
One final word today about Monastrell. While I knew it from Australia, I was less familiar with it from the US until I was introduced to this grape by Jeff Stai at the first Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa in 2008. Read about his Twisted Oak “River of Skulls” wine here.
One final word about life: VOTE!
VOTE
