Wino Wednesday: Hallowino 2011!

Let's just say our 3rd annual Hallowino Wine Club party was so much fun, I needed a day to recover before writing this post. It ended with a dance party, as all good things should. But first, it started with delicious, clever eats!

Lauren hosted this year, and like Jen did last year, she set up an impressive spread. She made "spider eggs" (shown above), and ...

Witches' fingers (ham and turkey rolls with almonds) and eggs cut to look like skulls ...

And "intestines" made of puff pastry full of raspberry and strawberry jam (plus pumpkin pie bites!).

As per usual, we drank Halloween-themed wines! This year's selection included:

• Wolftown Red, a Virginia wine! Made by Sweely Estate Winery, Wolftown Red is a blend of merlot and cabernet franc.
• Rockbridge Tuscarora Red, another red blend. It was a little dry for my taste.
• Bogle Vineyard Phantom, my favorite. Someone brings this every year and it's always a hit. It's a mix of zinfandel, petite syrah and mourvedre. It has a smooth, oaky finish that I just love.
• Gnarly Head Red Wine Zin, a peppery, plummy red. 
• 7 Deadly Zins, a delicious zinfandel blend.
• Les Trois Emme Winery's Stingy Jack's Pumpkin wine, a very unique spicy white with a hint of pumpkin.

We came as, left to right, Tinkerbell, Kate Middleton (or generic princess..take your pick), "Jacqueline" Sparrow, a classy leopard (that's me!), Medusa and a ladybug.