From bubbly Champagne goddess to cackling witch, my Halloween was a but different this year but it was well spent amongst a handful of close friends with lots of wine. ⠀

We started off by popping some Ruinart rosé, because who doesn’t love Champagne, followed by Viña González Bastías Naranjo Valle de Maule, a fun orange skin contact wine. From Chile, this wine is blend of Moscatel, Torrontel, and País. The Moscatel and the Torrontel ferment on the skins with a maceration that lasts 60 days and then 20% of País juice is then added with skins of their other white wine. It was approachable and citrus forward.

My highlight was sipping on some older vintages. The first was birth year wine, Marchesi Mazzei Castello di Fonterutoli Concerto Vino da Tavola 1988 from WineBid. “Concerto” was born in 1981, as an effect of a viticulture becoming aware of its potential, experimenting new training systems and new blends, including also non-autochthonous varietals. It was one of the forerunners and also a major player of the “Super Tuscans” phenomenon. The cork was pretty intact and the bottle was full of sediment goodness. Made with Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, it still had nice tannins, life, and structure in it.

The second wine my girl Amanda brought from Sunset Corners, a Maison Bertrand Ambroise Nuits Saint Georges 1993. The origin of the domain goes back to the 18th century, where only some small parcels were worked for several generations. After 300 years, the whole Ambroise family settled down in Premeaux-Prissey, a small village near Nuits-Saint-Georges in the heart of the Hautes Cotes de Nuits appellation, where the best wines produced in the village can bear the Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation. In 1987, Bertrand Ambroise took back the domain, which he developed and it now reaches approximately 52 acres. The wine started off with some smoke and evolved in the glass throughout the night with the fruit shining through more. I’m excited to try both wines again today and take some more proper notes (will update here later). ⠀⠀

We ended the night with pumpkin carving, a Crémant-style sparkling, and howling at the rare blue moon. It was certainly a fun Halloween/birthday celebration despite the hand 2020 dealt us.