Friday, October 30, 2020

Blood Of The Vines - Halloween Chills

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell.  A show of hands: how many remember trick-or-treating when a tampered-with candy bar was the biggest fear?  Should a surgical mask be worn inside or outside the scary character mask?

The 1925 version of Phantom of the Opera predates a handful of other remakes and even different editions of this film.  Phantom has been remade more times than a motel bed.  The takeaway from Carl Laemmle's roaring twenties epic is: when you buy a theater and the seller tells you it's haunted, what's the harm in believing him?

Lon Chaney as the Phantom devised his own makeup for the gig and pretty much did whatever else he wanted.  The Man of a Thousand Faces reportedly told the director to "go to hell" whenever he dared to give him any direction.

Phantom Wines offers two haunting styles to pair with this film.  The California red blend mixes Petite Sirah and Zinfandel, while their Chardonnay hails from Clarksburg.

Just when you aren’t expecting a "slapstick zombie comedy," along comes Dead Alive.  Apparently that title didn't draw enough laughs, so you may see it billed as Braindead.  That oughta have 'em howling in the aisles.   

It's the old boy-meets-girl-who-becomes-a-zombie story, set in New Zealand because it was co-written and directed by Peter Jackson.  The movie reminds us that you can bury a zombie, but you can't get rid of her.

Chateau Diana - in California's Dry Creek Valley - has a Zombie Zin which is dark, lush and complex.  That's more than you can say for most zombies, by the way.  It's a $10 pairing with any form of the Zombie Apocalypse.

1978's Halloween set the tone for decades of slasher movies and started an entire industry of Halloween costumes.  Michael Myers was a bad kid - killed his sister - and was no better as an adult - killed nearly everybody else.  

You could argue that John Carpenter's film shouldn’t even be seen because it promotes the most evil and violent human tendencies, but that cat's out of the box.  Everyone has already seen it multiple times and has probably dressed up as Myers for trick-or-treating or an office party.  Welcome to Slasherville, USA, babysitters beware.

Pair Halloween with a wine which is comfortable living a life of sin.  The 7 Deadly Red has Lodi Zinfandel blended with its conspirators, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  If you are slicing some cheese to go with it, be careful with that kitchen knife.


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