It’s almost Halloween, and you know how much I love all the ghosts and ghouls and dripping blood.

I tracked down some awesome Halloween Wines, such as Oregon’s Ghost Hill Pinot Noir, Bull’s Blood, Ash Holloween Headless Red, Pinot Evil, Black Cat Cabernet, Casillero del Diablo, Eye of the Toad Dry Pinot Noir Rosé, Bone Dry Red Cabernet Sauvignon, Gato Negro, Prairie Pumpkin Wine, Ghostly White and River of Skulls.

More details about these Halloween wine selections can be found here at Portland Drinks Examiner.

Yup, now that Spring has sprung (complete with copious rain showers) it’s wine season in Oregon. I attended the grand reopening of downtown Portland’s wine-themed hotel, the Vintage Plaza, along with the regional Yamhill-Carton AVA event, and the Portland Indie Wine Festival trade tasting. You should be pleased with about any purchase from the list of wines that make it into the juried Indie festival, I’ll compile my picks from both of these events shortly. There’s even another great, and affordable, tasting event this Sunday, May 17 at Dobbes Family Estate, but I think I’m gonna sit it out.

To give my palate a bit of a break, I reviewed the non-alcoholic Honest Ade Superfruit Punch and was very impressed with it’s luscious flavors and lack of syrupy sweetness.

And as for new ventures, my longtime friend, Nichole Taylor, and I are about to embark on a summer of Vino & Vinyasa, a series of one-day retreats that brings the restorative power of yoga to the outdoor beauty of Oregon’s wine country. Our first event will be held in conjunction with Left Coast Cellars in Rickreall, Oregon on July 11, 2009. Full details will be announced on VinoVinyasa.com shortly.

I’ve also been spending some of my free time visiting local wineries throughout the Willamette Valley, and I’ve compiled some recommendations for Budget-friendly Oregon Pinot Noirs priced at $25 and less.