In previous years, I have found wines that even if they were not designed with Halloween in mind, fit the theme nicely.

I mean wines that were not just gimmicks, riffs on the Halloween theme but good juice too.

As I have not noticed much on the shelves that was close to my previous picks , I went hunting online for new blood.

After sifting through a few, I noticed Skulls Red Wine by R Wines of Australia. You must seen their mass market Evil Cabernet.

Call them kings of marketing as applied to wine, using all the pop culture they can to make their brands stand out from the crowd.

Their approach is closer to a music label or a fashion brand.

Since I did not taste this Skulls Red Wine, I wondered whether I should mention it until I looked at the notes from designer Beth Elliott and noticed that she was using an illustration from Hungarian artist István Orosz on the label.

Gallery Diabolus has more examples of István Orosz work.

As for the juice in the bottle, here's what RP has to say:

"The 2007 Skulls Red Wine is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mataro (Mourvedre) raised in stainless steel. Dark ruby-colored, it offers up an expressive bouquet of garrigue, forest floor, spice box, and cherry. Forward, medium-bodied, and friendly, this savory effort will drink well over the next six years. "

This Rhone style blend retails for around $19.

Halloween and Wine 2009, Part 1