How to pair your favourite Halloween candy with Wine!
Let's be realistic - when it comes to Halloween - many of us adults are in it for the Boos. (Insert groan at Dad Joke here...)
After weeks of helping your kids with their costumes, answering the doorbell 100X's in an hour, and dodging ghouls and goblins on the street - you are going to want to end your evening with a treat for yourself.
We recommend making sure that your little witches and zombies pay their candy tax to the household when they make it home with their sacks of sweets. We suggest being strategic with how you collect your bounty... only take what you love... and pair it with a great glass of vino! Not all candy works well with wine, or wine with candy for that matter. So we have compiled some tips to help you along the way.
Most important thing to note - when it comes to sugary treats, the sweetness of your wine should ideally match the sweetness of your candy. This isn't always possible though, and so we have come up with a simple guide to help you make the most of your experience.
Classic Chocolate
Some candies and chocolates are naturally sweeter than others - think milk chocolate vs 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate. For those that have more sugar, you want to make sure that your wine also has a bit of sweetness. With most candy we recommend pairing a true dessert wine like our Late Harvest and Icewines. our favourite pairing with almost ALL chocolate is our Late Harvest Zweigelt. Sometimes though you don't want to drink something that sweet. Our Lava Red is blended with a touch of Icewine before bottling to give it a nice smooth finish. Both of these wines works well with milk chocolate, chocolate Smarties, Coffee Crisp, and even Caramilk bars.
Our Lava Red is already our Best Selling easy-drinking wine - as if we needed another reason to drink it?! On the palate, this wine is balanced with soft tannins and mouth-watering flavours of cherry, chocolate-covered raisins, raspberry, and a touch of smoke and anise on the smooth finish.
Nutty Chocolate
Not all chocolate pairs well with red wine. Chocolate, like red wine, has tannin. These tannins can interact with your wine and create a bitter and astringent sensation. Chocolates that have a higher cocoa butter or nut fat content pair really well with red wines that are medium to low in tannin, light and fruity. Wonderbar, Oh Henry, Peanut Butter Cups or even straight milk chocolate, interact like the peanut butter to the peanut butter and jelly flavour palette. Try pairing these treats with Syrah, Zwiegelt, or our Gamay Noir that is light in tannin, bright, and fruit-forward. Think of these wines as the complimentary jelly to your peanut butter!
Sour Candy
Our Bubbly Gewurztraminer and our Bubbly Rosé are bright, fruit-forward, and mouthwatering. They work perfectly well with treats like Sour patch kids, rockets, and Starburst candues that also contain flavours of acidity like lemon and orange.
Our Bubbly Gewurztraminer is fun and fresh dry frizzante style wine showcases uplifting aromas of pear, green apple, lemon, vanilla bean, white flowers, and soft lingering notes of lychee. Mouth-watering flavours of lemon zest, green apples, Anjou pear and cloves lead to a finish that is bright and cleansing.
With our Bubbly Rosé, expect to find mouth-watering aromas and flavours of wild strawberry, raspberry, rhubarb, grapefruit, cranberry, and delicate violets.
Gummy Candy
Sweetness in food, requires sweetness in wine - there is no way of getting around it. For candies that don't have acidity to balance their sugar, like Swedish Berries, Swedish Fish, or strawberry and cherry Starburst, we recommend pairing them with our Zwiegelt Icewine or Late Harvest Riesling and Zwiegelt. If you are fan of classic Candy Corn - we recommend pulling out a bottle of Chardonnay Icewine.
Fruity Candy
Our Lava White is a delicious, off dry, fruit-forward wine that pairs well with Halloween candies that are also fruity. Like our Lava Red, this wine was blended with a touch of our Icewine right before bottling to give it a hint of sweetness. Fuzzy Peaches have a tartness that matches the acidity in this wine. Starburst is another favourite, specifically the citrus flavours, and of course, Rockets!
Our Lava White offers enticing aromas and flavours of rose, peach, nectarine, apple with a note of spice. Lightly sweet, the balanced acidity of this wine makes it exceptionally food-friendly.
Happy Halloween!!
Stay tuned on our social channels for some fun Halloween-themed videos leading up to the big night!