A Wicked Wine Tasting: Seven Wines for Halloween

This Halloween, we’re swapping tricks for pours and opening seven wines with names dark enough to deserve a place at the table.

Welcome to our Halloween Wine Tasting, an evening of wicked labels, mysterious bottles and seriously good wine. From Empire of Dirt and The Wolftrap to Frankenstein, Cruel Mistress and Palermo, we’ve put together a line-up that feels suitably sinister — but the wines themselves are anything but frightening.

Across seven glasses, we’ll travel through different countries, grape varieties and winemaking styles, using our Halloween-inspired selection as an excuse to discover some genuinely fascinating wines along the way.

Guided by one of Loki’s wine experts, you’ll taste each wine blind to the name at first, explore what’s happening in the glass and discover the stories behind the bottles as the evening unfolds. Expect interesting producers, unusual discoveries and enough darkly named wine to make even Dracula reconsider his usual choice of red.

Costumes? Entirely optional.

Good wine? Absolutely not.

What to Expect at Our Halloween Wine Tasting

• Taste seven carefully selected wines with suitably wicked names and labels
• Explore a mixture of white and red wines from different regions and countries
• Discover the stories behind some of the evening’s most intriguing bottles
• Learn about the grapes, regions and winemaking techniques behind each wine
• Put your tasting skills to the test before each bottle is revealed
• Compare different styles, from fresh and aromatic through to darker, richer and more powerful wines
• Pick up plenty of wine knowledge without things getting terrifyingly serious
• Enjoy expert-led guidance in a relaxed, sociable and slightly spooky atmosphere
• Expect a few Halloween surprises along the way

The Halloween Line-Up

Seven bottles have made the guest list:

• Mother Rock Empire of Dirt – A wonderfully fresh South African Cabernet Franc, packed with crunchy red fruit, wild herbs, pepper and a slightly earthy edge. Appropriately named, seriously drinkable.
• The Wolftrap White – A generous South African blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc, bursting with peach, citrus and ripe stone fruit, balanced by bright freshness and a gentle touch of spice.
• Charles Frey Frankenstein – An expressive Alsace white from granite soils, with ripe peach and orchard fruit, warming spice and a beautifully fresh, textured finish. Far more charming than its name suggests.
• Finca Bacara Time Waits for No One – Juicy Spanish Monastrell from Jumilla, combining ripe blackberry and plum with subtle smoky, balsamic notes and a rich, rounded finish.
• Ad Hoc Cruel Mistress Pinot Noir – Elegant cool-climate Australian Pinot Noir with juicy cherry, subtle earthiness and spice, silky texture and a fresh, vibrant finish.
• Etérea Kripan Sasikume – A wonderfully unusual, light-footed red from Rioja made from Bastardo/Trousseau, showing bright fruit, floral and peppery notes, fine tannins and plenty of freshness. Even better, Sasikume translates roughly as “bastard” in Basque.
• Orin Swift Palermo – The darkest bottle of the night in more ways than one. A powerful Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon loaded with cassis, blackberry and dark fruit, with cedar, liquorice, pepper and spice. Its suitably eerie label features a mummified priest photographed in Palermo’s catacombs.

Names to make you nervous. Wines you’ll definitely want to drink.

Throughout the tasting, we’ll reveal each bottle and explore what makes it interesting — whether that’s where it comes from, the grapes in the blend, the producer behind it or simply how unexpectedly delicious something with such an ominous name can be.

The advertised line-up may occasionally change depending on availability. Any substitutions will be made with wines of an equally exciting — and suitably Halloween-worthy — standard.

Who Should Join the Halloween Wine Tasting?

• Wine lovers looking for something a little different this Halloween
• Anyone who prefers a glass of wine to apple bobbing
• Curious drinkers keen to discover new grapes, regions and producers
• Friends and couples looking for a fun Halloween night out
• Anyone attracted to a bottle largely because it has an excellent name or label — we won’t judge
• Beginners and experienced wine drinkers alike — no specialist knowledge required
• People who like Halloween but would rather spend it with seven wines than seven horror films

Something Wicked This Way Pours…

Halloween wine doesn’t have to mean sticking a spooky label on any old bottle.

We’ve hunted down seven wines that fit the theme while still giving us plenty to talk about, taste and discover. Some are dark and brooding, others may be surprisingly bright and elegant, and a few might not taste anything like their sinister names suggest.

So join us for an evening of seven wines, mysterious bottles and a little Halloween mischief.

No séances. No jump scares.

Just very good wine.

Event Details

When: Saturday 24th October 2026 12pm
Where: Loki Great Western Arcade
Tickets: £40

*You can receive a full refund up to 30 days before the event and transfer your ticket up to 14 days before the event. All transfers within 14 days of the event will incur a £10 fee per ticket to cover non-recoverable costs.

Images are for illustration purposes only.