The pumpkins are carved. Little ghouls and ghosts (and this year probably a thousand “Elsa’s”) are prepped and ready to head out in to the chilly night air. They’ve practiced their line over and over again…”TRICK OR TREAT!!!” And when they return, the real fun begins. Parents across the country will sift through bags and bags of goodies, from those horrendous brown liquorice chews (seriously, stop giving those away, they’re disgusting) to FULL SIZED CHOCOLATE BARS…it’s a kids dream come true!
It’s also a parents dream come true…admit it. Personally, as I sort through my kids candy, I am silently inventorying all the candy I will stash away in my secret hiding spot after they go to bed. My favorites include: Nerds, Runts, Oh Henry bars, and those awful eyeball bubblegums (they have about 3 seconds of flavor before turning in to hard lumps of rubber, but I can’t help but love them).
Seeing as Halloween falls on a Friday this year, it’s the perfect night to open a bottle (or 2…) of wine and put the kids to bed ASAP and “test” to make sure their candy is safe for them. Testing, testing, 1..2…10…
Here are just a few examples of wines that pair well with some common Halloween candy you might find this year:
Sour Patch Kids and Pelee Island Late Harvest Vidal Dessert Wine
The Pelee Island Late Harvest Vidal is well balanced and not too sweet, and offers a subtle contradiction to the sour gummy candies. Lovely peach aromas with subtle citrus and honey rounds out this wine and compliments the flavors in the candy.
Peanut Butter Cups and Florio Marsala Superiore Vecchio Dolce
With hints of raisins and vanilla, this sweet wine offers a full palate of delicious warmth. Not just for cooking, it complements the buttery nut flavours of the Peanut Butter Cups and perfectly balances the combination of nut and chocolate with hints of lightly toasted almonds.
Nerds candy and Deinhard Lila Sparkling Riesling
Nerds candies are a scrumptious combination of sweet and sour, with loads of fruit flavors like lime, cherry, and citrus. A sparkling wine like Deinhard Lila is the perfect pair, and it’s light mousse and consistent light bubbles are the perfect palate cleanser.
Candy Corn and Cats Pee On A Gooseberry Bush Sauvignon Blanc
Anyone that knows Sauvignon Blanc knows that one of its aroma characteristics is “cat pee”. Now, we don’t want you to go shoving your nose into the cats litter box to know what we’re talking about, it’s actually quite apparent — it’s a “slap in the face” aroma, that non-cat owners might describe as guava fruit. This not-too-sweet wine has lots of green apple, grapefruit, and citrus flavors that help to balance out the creamy mashmallow flavor of the Candy Corn.
Snickers chocolate bars and Warre Port
This is basically liquified Snickers in a bottle…rich caramel and nut flavors with a bunch of alcohol added. You can’t go wrong.
Happy Halloween!!!
