Having a piece or two of candy is a great way to indulge in a sweet treat. The only way to make this sweet better is adding wine! Here are 8 candy and wine pairings to excite your taste buds!
Maybe you’re planning a "treat yourself" day to indulge in candy and wine, maybe you raided your kid's candy drawer and need a wine to wash down the evidence, or maybe you’re just someone who wants to eat a few pieces of candy and drink a glass of wine! No matter what the reason, candy and wine pairings are fun, but can be hard to master.
A Little Knowledge
Candy and wine pairings are a little bit more complicated due to the high sugar. Make sure your wine is as sweet or sweeter than the candy or it will taste bitter.
Another good rule of thumb is to pair a wine’s aromas with the flavors in the candy. For example, if the candy flavor is strawberry, try pairing it with a wine that has aromas of strawberry. The flavors and aromas will complement each other!
If Your Favorite Candy is....
1. Milk Chocolate
If your favorite candy is a milk chocolate pair it with a Pinot Noir!
Milk chocolate is a lighter chocolate that usually has condensed milk, which makes it much sweeter compared to dark chocolate. Pinot Noir is a light-bodied red wine that pairs nicely with milk chocolate because they are both lighter bodied.
The fruit-forward flavors of raspberry and cherry will give the milk chocolate an underlying fruity taste! Try this pairing with Bright Cellars' own 2017 Humdrum Pinot Noir. The light red flavors from the wine go perfectly with the creamy milk chocolate.
2. Sour Candy
Sour candy is a great blend of sour and sweet!
The perfect wine to go with this blend of flavors is a sweet Riesling! Sour candy usually starts off, well, sour, but then turns into a sweeter treat! The Riesling helps break through the tartness from the candy, which will make it a more balanced sweet/sour taste.
We like to pair sour candies with Bright Cellars' Sunshower Riesling! The wine's sweet flavor notes will help cut through the sourness from the candies.
3. Peanut Butter
Chocolate and peanut butter are a great duo and an office favorite here at Bright Cellars.
A great wine that pairs with this sweet treat is Zinfandel. Zinfandel is often described as “jammy”. Which means the flavors present in the vino often taste like fruits that have been made into jam.
The pairing works so well because it is like eating a peanut butter, chocolate, and jelly sandwich! How delicious does that sound?!
Our favorite Zinfandel to go with this candy creation is Bright Cellars' own 2017 Cabin 5 Zinfandel. The jammy flavor notes will go perfectly with the peanut butter.
4. Fruity Candies
There are lots of fruity candies out there. Our favorite fruity candies are peach rings, skittles, candy fish, and fruit chews!
The best wine to go with fruity candies is a sweet rosé. Rosé has tasting notes of strawberry, rhubarb, and rose petal. All of these flavors are perfect for the fruity flavors coming from the candies. Both will compliment each other and bring out the flavors without one flavor overpowering the other.
Plus we feel like rosé and fruit candies have that same fun-loving personality!
5. White Chocolate
We know white chocolate is not actually chocolate but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t just as delicious! White chocolate pairs perfectly with a Moscato d’Asti! The flavors present in this vino are lemon, Mandarin orange, and honeysuckle. The bubbles and flavors from the wine will cut through the creaminess of the white chocolate.6. Red Licorice
Are you a Twizzlers or Red Vines kind of person?
No matter which red licorice you like, pair it with a Gamay! This red wine has red fruit flavors along with violet and peony. Both the red fruit and floral flavor will pair nicely with the strawberry flavors from the red licorice.
7. Snickers
You’re not you when you’re hungry...or don’t have wine! You need a special type of wine to pair with all the flavors in a Snickers. Chocolate, peanuts, and caramel – oh my! Go with a Bordeaux red blend for this sweet treat! The blend will bring together all the different bold flavors in the Snickers without taking away from the wines' flavors.
Our favorite Bordeaux blend for this pairing is Bright Cellars' own 2018 Voyage Dans le Vent. The flavor notes of red fruits, crushed rocks, and a smoky cigar with go nicely with all the flavors in the Snickers.
8. Mint Chocolate
Mint chocolate has a very specific flavor and the perfect vino would need to complement that! If your favorite candy is mint chocolate – go with a Syrah! Syrah has flavors of milk chocolate and green peppercorn. The milk chocolate flavor will bring out the mint flavors and the secondary aromas of green peppercorn will help make it slightly savory.
Try pairing your mint chocolate with Bright Cellars' own 2015 Silverscape Syrah. This California wine has flavor notes of cherry, raspberry, and blackberry. These fruit flavors will go perfectly with the minty chocolate.
