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Each phase of the moon invites you to slow down, relax, and reflect with a glass of 7 Moons Wine in hand. Today, I am so excited to share a delicious wine I tried recently and a few ideas on making your Halloween gatherings or even a Halloween date night a bit more elegant and delicious! Uncork a bottle, pour a glass, and find connection in the moonlight.

In this post, I am featuring the 7 Moons Red Blend, which “opens with aromas of chocolate-covered cherries, baking spices, and vanilla bean. Flavors of strawberry preserves, cherry cola, and milk chocolate follow through a smooth, fruit-forward, lingering finish”. I found everything at my local grocery story, which is often my experience there! I rarely have to go to another grocery store for anything, making my shopping trips very pleasant.

People were definitely admiring my cart on the store!!!! Let me tell you,I was VERY excited to be shopping for Halloween. Connect with the brand on Instagram and Facebook!

7 grape varietals of grapes are combined into a smooth, fruity, easy to drink wine.

Enjoy a blend of 7 different grape varietals sourced from prime vineyards up and down California’s Central Coast and Lodi regions. A mix of Syrah, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Grenache! Smooth and easy to drink, simple with a little embellishment.

The brand explains that their Red Blend wine is “delicious paired with a broad range of foods from barbequed chicken and caprese salad to take-out Chinese” - a very versatile drink in my eyes! It’s fun to keep a bottle of this 7 Moons Red Blend for enjoyment throughout the week, or for special occasions!

With those tasting notes in mind, I tried the wine by itself, then paired with the food featured in this post, and I was very pleased with how everything tasted together! The goat cheese plate and the dark chocolate cupcakes were a huge hit! A few black candles also set the mood perfectly.

Offering guests a red blend is perfect because it’s right in the middle between dry and sweet, which seems to allow people who don’t drink red wine often to be introduced into a mild, smooth red wine, compared to one with more of the dry characteristics, which can sometimes be hard for someone to get used to, if they rarely drink red wines. Sampling a few red blends has definitely made me more of a red wine drinker because these are such complex flavors that I love to explore.

Throughout the research phase of this project, I also loved being able to dive deeper into learning about moon phases and astrology. I was inspired to create festive crescent moon cupcake toppers, which I think looked absolutely gorgeous! I used metallic, gold cupcake cups, dark chocolate cake mix, and dark chocolate frosting to make the darkest and most delicious Halloween cupcakes of the year!

TO MAKE THE CUPCAKE TOPPERS:

Supplies:

1 sheet of silver glitter paper (found in the specialty scrapbooking paper aisle)
Toothpicks
3D star stickers
Clear Tape

Instructions:

Print out a crescent moon shape that is about 1.5” at the longest points.
Cut out that shape and trace it onto the back of the glitter paper.
Cut out crescent moon shapes, and glue or tape to a toothpick and insert into cupcakes!
For the stars, I simply stuck the star stickers onto the toothpicks, and inserted them into the cupcakes. Such a simple and elegant way to dress up these dark cupcakes for Halloween!

Here are the 7 phases of the moon, according to 7 Moons Wine.

CRESCENT MOON PHASE

Open your eyes. It’s time to make your dream a reality.

QUARTER MOON PHASE

Trust your instincts. Make your move with confidence.

GIBBOUS MOON PHASE

Reflect on your journey. Learn from your winding path.

FULL MOON PHASE

Take stock of your accomplishments. Have pride in them too.

DISSEMINATING

Show gratitude. Don’t hold it back.

3RD QUARTER MOON PHASE

Let your worries go. Move forward without them.

BALSAMIC MOON PHASE

Pause. Rest. Close your eyes and find your next dream.

Since I love incorporating a bit of elegance into my Halloween décor, recipes, and celebrations, a Red Blend wine is actually perfect to pair with dark chocolate and a “creepy” Halloween cheese board with all natural ingredients. They all paired super well with the 7 Moons Red Blend wine. I looked up the best pairings when I was in my research phase, and both goat cheese and dark chocolate paired well, and that was my jumping off point. Above, the cheese board was created with a more rustic look - using fresh dill to look like moss! Some of the dill really resembled tufts of the green fuzzy plants you find on the forest floor. PLUS, I was extremely happy that the dill paired exceptionally well with the goat cheese.

The other goat cheese ball was rolled in crispy onions, which I just rough chopped. Three ingredients made for some really divine tasting cheese balls!

CREEPY CRAWLY CHEESE BALL

Ingredients:

8 oz. log of goat cheese or two 4 oz. pieces.

½ cup crispy onions

1 package of dill (.5 oz)

Almonds, dark chocolate pieces (60% cacao), black or green olives, and crackers or bruschettini style toasts to dip in goat cheese.

Creepy crawly plastic toys like snakes, bats, and spiders to add Halloween elements.

Instructions:

Cut goat cheese log in half, and roll both halves into balls. Set aside in fridge.
Chop up a little over half of the dill (reserving prettiest pieces for mossy garnish). Place chopped dill into a small bowl.
Chop up crispy onions, or place into a zip top bag and pour into a second small bowl.
Roll one goat cheese ball in the dill and the other ball in the crispy onions, and place onto plate.
To decorate plate, add bits of dill around cheese balls to resemble a natural setting.
Place almonds, dark chocolate, and olives around plate, and then place/sprinkle tiny bits of dill “moss” tufts around plate for natural forest look.
Embellish further with plastic snakes and other creepy crawly items. I also added a glittery black raven, which is a paper cutout I found at a craft store. Enjoy!

7 Moons Wine is an excellent choice for all of your holiday get togethers. I learned so much about the moon phases and explored making food look super elegant for Halloween. It’s been so much fun, and I hope you are also able to use this post as an inspiration for your next gatherings.