And the confusing wine name label of the year award goes to… Onx Moon.  At the end of last week, Monster Mash featured a werewolf who would, of course, need a moon to transform.  If that werewolf were transforming based on this bottle, there’d be some guy hanging around in the woods wondering how he got there.  Still, a dark moon could be mysterious and creepy, so does Onx Moon qualify as a delicious Halloween wine candidate?

Sight:  Deep purple with super hot pink edges.

Smell:  Chocolate, blueberries, subtle spicing, hints of mint.  Deep baked cherry and blueberry notes.

Sip:  Subtly sweet, very large, like drinking smushed overripened cherries, blackberries, mixed with baking spices and mocha.  The flavors are deep, jammy, and just hinting at mint.  The overall body is very round and smooth, however the character is a touch toward the flat side.

Savor:  The ending is slightly tannic, pulling in more of those jammy blackberry notes with a hint of cocoa powder.

Much like it’s label, Onx Moon is quite complicated, having a slightly sweet character hiding a sufficient number of spices, chocolate, and overripe fruit.  Of the Halloween wines to date, this is probably one of the most enjoyable.  While there is a subtle lack of acidity, the texture is smooth, and the flavors are deep enough that it doesn’t channel all fruit, all spice, or imbalance wildly from sip to sip.  While all of this sounds like Onx Moon is merely less lousy than the rest, it’s a little more nuanced than that.  Onx Moon is actually quite a nice casual, easy going wine that would lend itself well with pizza, barbecue, or even dark chocolate.  For the price, Onx Moon deserves a chance, even if you can’t figure out the bloody label.

Verdict:  Overripe cherries, Baking Spices, Jammy, Chocolate
Price: $8.49
Manteca, California