Spooky Season Books and Wine Pairings with Phantom Wine
It’s the season we’ve been waiting for, and our excitement is bubbling. No matter your level of spooky, we have some ghoulishly good book recommendations to share, and we’ll help you BTW (bring the wine)! We’ve partnered with Phantom Wine to pair each spooky season book recommendation with a wine or wine cocktail.
Listen/watch the full episode here (or wherever you get your podcasts)
Must be 21+ | Please sip responsibly | Paid Partnership
Embracing Spooky Season with Phantom Wine
With roots tracing back to Scottish heritage and tales of the mysterious Bogle spirit, Phantom Wine celebrates the intersection of winemaking, literature, and mystery. It's not just about enjoying a glass of wine; it’s about savoring the stories that come with it.
“Their history, their craft, and their passion felt like a natural fit for this show and for spooky season.”
The Phantom Chardonnay
If your idea of a Chardonnay is something super buttery and heavy, this one might surprise you. Bright, layered, and just a little mysterious, this Chardonnay is the perfect pour for spooky season reading. With tasting notes of green apple, nectarine, pear, vanilla, and warm baking spices, this Chardonnay strikes a balance between fresh fruit and richer, cozy notes. Aged for 11 months, it has enough brightness to keep things lively while those vanilla and baking-spice notes make it feel right at home alongside a stack of atmospheric, slightly sinister reads.
Spooky Season Chardonnay Pairings:
The Possession of Alba Diaz by Isabel Cañas — haunted history, secrets, and gothic atmosphere
Verity by Colleen Hoover — psychological suspense, dark secrets, and unreliable truths
The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman — family magic, generational secrets, and the supernatural
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab — immortality, longing, and a life lived beyond the ordinary
A little extra magic: The Starlight Spritz - For The Book of Magic, Jordan took the pairing one step further with Phantom's Starlight Spritz Chardonnay cocktail. The cocktail transforms the wine into something a little more celebratory while still highlighting its bright fruit and subtle richness — a fitting match for a story filled with generations of magic, family secrets, and a little bit of the supernatural. It's proof that sometimes your book pairing deserves a cocktail of its own.
The Phantom Proprietary Red
If the Chardonnay is spooky season with the lights on, then their Proprietary Red is spooky season after dark. This is a bold blend of 45% Petite Sirah and 55% Zinfandel, aged for 30 months in American oak. The Petite Sirah brings the rich, full-bodied structure, while the Zinfandel adds ripe, fruit-forward character. The result is dark and alluring, with notes of ripe blackberry, vanilla, and black pepper and a lingering finish that practically begs you to pour another glass before turning the next page.
Spooky Season Proprietary Red Pairings:
Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran — gothic horror, obsession, and a mystery that keeps getting stranger
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice — witches, family curses, supernatural history, and gothic atmosphere
Happy Medium by Sarah Adler — ghosts, romance, and a little supernatural meddling
The Outsider by Stephen King — murder, mystery, and the unsettling question of what exactly is lurking in the shadow
A Little Extra Magic: The Moonshadow Mulled Wine - For The Witching Hour, Emily decided a regular glass of red simply wasn't witchy enough. Using Phantom’s recipe, she made a Moonshadow Mulled Wine, warming it with seasonal spices for a cocktail that feels like it belongs in a New Orleans mansion with a few centuries of secrets hiding behind the walls. The warm spice notes complement the wine's vanilla and black pepper while adding an extra layer of cozy, autumnal magic — the perfect companion for Anne Rice's famously atmospheric world of witches, family secrets, and the supernatural.
Whether you’re settling in this season, candles lit, ready to enjoy some quiet reading, or you’re deciding on the next book club pick—pairing your read with Phantom Wines adds to the ambiance, aesthetic, and bookish magic.
Cheers to the wines that whisk us away into a world of mystery and the enchantment of spooky season!
Visit https://phantomwine.com for more and their store locator https://phantomwine.com/srs-store-locator/.