Halloween is widely celebrated in the United States, both by younger generations and older generations as well. It’s the time for treating ourselves with candy and lots of chocolates, and for us wine lovers, what better excuse to have a couple of glasses of wine and treat ourselves.
After you’ve done your trick or treating, knocking door-to-door, putting the kids in bed, you may want to give yourself some time off and have a glass of wine (or a bottle, we don’t judge). Or maybe you are relaxing at home handing out candy, and would like to have some wine while you relax. We have decided to give you a helping hand and show you a couple of great pairings with your favorite candy and make this Halloween a bit better for you.
Of course, the all-important rule is the number 1 rule to follow when pairing wine and food. Eat and drink what you like!
Pairing Wine With Halloween Candy
Wine With Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Reese’s are one of the most popular candy for Halloween and we all love them for a good reason. The rich pairing of peanut butter and chocolate makes your taste buds explode in joy. A good pairing with the salty peanut butter and sweet chocolate would be a jammy, rich red wine. Good options are Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Syrah.
Go for New World options for these grape varieties as they tend to be more fruity and jammy, which will complement the candy. Cabernet from Chile is a good choice, Malbec from Argentina and definitely Syrah from Australia, rich in chocolate aromas.
Wine With Skittles
Skittles are loaded with fruit flavors, and a wide variety of them. In this wine pairing we would try to match the fruit aromas to enhance the experience and we would need to have a wine to match the sweetness. A white wine is definitely what we need and it needs a touch of sweetness. Try finding a Chilean late harvested Sauvignon Blanc. Other good options may be Riesling Spatlese from Germany, if you prefer a slightly drier option, go for a Riesling Kabinett or a Jurancon wine from France.
Wine With M&M’s
M&M’s are one of our favorite chocolate candies. Light and milky, they just melt in your mouth. What better wine to have with it than a medium bodied, chocolate driven Zinfandel or a New World red like a Pinot Noir. The wine stands up to the milky chocolate but has enough spice and milky aromas from oak aging to complement the candy.
Wine With Snickers
Snickers is an all round candy that we all just love. The blend of chocolate, peanuts and caramel just hits the right spot. With Snickers we just love having a glass of old Tawny Port or a rich nutty Madeira. Try getting a Malmsey Madeira with a bit of age on it, it will make a great pairing with snickers.
Wine With Sour Patch Kids
The Sour Patch Kids are tough to pair with wine as the tart, acidic taste makes most wines seem flabby compared to them. We would recommend going for an off-dry Riesling Kabinett from Germany, as these wines have a soaring acidity but still have a bit of sugar on them to match the sweetness of the candy.
Wine With Candy Corn
There is kind of a classic wine pairing when it comes to Candy Corn. The sweet, buttery taste goes naturally with a Californian Chardonnay. The oak influence in these Chardonnays gives lots of buttery aromas and they almost always have a bit of residual sugar in them. The wine will complement the candy and its buttery texture.
Wine With Hot Tamales
When it comes to Hot Tamales we can choose to complement the aromas and flavors of the candy or contrast them a bit. If you would like to complement the candy go for a Tawny port, which will be loaded with cinnamon flavors and it pairs well with Hot Tamales. On the other hand you may go for a late harvest Riesling which will have lower alcohol and a good acidity, both of which balance the spice well.
Best Wine For Halloween Costumes
We recommend drinking red wine with Halloween costumes, as it is usually “darker”. Costumes like witches go much better with a red wine versus a white wine for effect. Also, it is probably best to choose a cheaper wine to drink, because there is a greater chance of spilling the wine, and you don’t want to waste expensive wine!
Best Wine For Halloween
In general sweet wines go well with candy. Always bear in mind that in order to pair wine well with desserts you need to have at least the same amount of sugar in the wine as you have in the desserts. In general this rule provides a good base for wine pairings, and then the rest comes down to matching flavors or contrasting them. When it comes to candy which has fruit flavors and a good sugar level go for some of the following wines:
- Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc
- Sauternes
- Tokaji Aszu
- Riesling Spatlese or Auslese
- Vinsanto from Santorini
Now if you are having more chocolate dominated candy, with lots of cinnamon and caramel aromas you need to match those flavors. Our recommendation for these candies would be:
- Tawny Port
- Ruby Port
- Malmsey Madeira
- Maury AOC from France
- Rutherglen Muscats from Australia
