One of the best things about adulthood is that you can buy whatever candy you want, whenever you want it. And you can enjoy an adult beverage as you eat it. This Halloween season, when those discount bins of bite-sized candy call to you, you can also grab a bottle of wine that will complement the flavors of those Starbursts or Whoppers.
Vivino, a wine review app, asked a panel of wine experts to recommend wines that will go with your Halloween binge, and these are the pairings they came up with:
Though you may not understand why these wines make complementary flavor combinations when enjoyed with particular candies, don’t worry—the pairings aren’t random. Here are a few of the reasons behind them:
“Dominated by intense orange and candied lemon with touches of minerality, they make the candy taste less sour,” sommelier Laura Burgess says of pairing Rieslings with SweeTARTS, “enabling the eating of way too many packets at once!”
Restaurant beverage director Joel Caruso says “The huge malty character of Whoppers needs a wine with backbone and depth to keep from being overpowered by the malt and chocolate,” which is why he recommends a “ripe, bold Cabernet Sauvignon blend.”
And wine writer Karen MacNeil calls the mix of Moscato and candy corn “a fantasmagorica of sweetness,” because“the sugar in the candy corn amps up the fruitiness in the Moscato. Both taste better as a result.” Well, who wouldn’t want that?
More pairings and explanations from the sommeliers can be found on the Vivino blog.
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October 22, 2016 – 6:00am