Lessons Learned Through Wine and Halloween Candy

 

I love Halloween. The whole spooky season. Ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and goodies, I can’t get enough of it. Come mid-September every year, my husband and I pull out the Halloween decorations and start to plot out all the ways in which we will enjoy this most haunting time of year.

              A few months back, in preparation for some incredibly long flights, I had combed through the archives of a podcast I listen to, downloading myself a nice entertainment library. While doing this, I discovered an episode from last October on Halloween candy and wine pairing. During my time at Blue Mountain Vineyards, one of my favorite events I developed was an evening of Halloween candy and wine pairing. It had always intrigued me what pairings we would end up finding using our wines and traditional trick-or-treat goodies, so I was excited to see what tasty treasures the podcaster discovered. I tucked the episode away and excitedly came back to it last month as I was spookifying the inside of our house. As I began listening, my excitement quickly faded to annoyance and some serious eye-rolling.

              The episode centered around the podcaster and two other people trying out some of the pairing suggestions they had found online. With a precursor from the podcaster that she felt wine and candy never go well together, it was very apparent that they went into this experiment expecting everything to taste horrible. During the podcast, two of them bashing everything consumed. The one taster who did find a few pairings he liked was heckled by the other two. This really set my teeth on edge, as every year at the winery, with every new vintage, we were always able to find five or six delectable pairing options to serve at our Halloween event. It was so obvious these people wanted to push their hate of all wine and candy pairings so badly, that they refused to even give the experiment an honest try. Completely and utterly annoyed, I shared my irritation with my husband and best friend, and it was decided we would do our own trick-or-treat candy and wine pairing.

              Held at our house, my husband and I were joined by my best friend and her husband, and another friend of ours and his girlfriend for a day of Halloween treats. We had five wines, a Sparkling Rosé from South Dakota, a Chardonnay from Virginia, a Syrah from Colorado, and a Merlot and Pinot Noir, both from California. Candy options included Cinnamon Bears, Halloween shaped milk chocolates and dark chocolates, candy corn, Halloween themed Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Twix, Butterfinger, Milky Way and Baby Ruth snack-sized candy bars. On vintage post cards we wrote down what each treat should be paired with based on research and a general, “I think these will go well,” mentality. With the stage set, we got to tasting.

              We started off structured. We began with the sparkling wine and moved on to the white, then the reds, going from light to bold. With each wine, we tried a candy or two, diligently taking notes and discussing. After round one, however, all bets were off. Once we had discovered the tasting notes of each wine, new pairings just had to be tried. We threw the post cards to the wind and got to eating and drinking whatever we thought would go well together. Magical pairings were announced with happiness and exuberance, not so great pairings let known by a face of disgust and a groan. We spent a good couple of hours coming up with every combination imaginable. And, probably, got a slight case of diabetes.

              As is the case when any group of people with varying tastes come together, the results were all over the place. Some of the combos most of us could agree on were that candy corn went well with the Sparkling Rosé, Chardonnay and Syrah, Twix and Sparkling Rosé was, as my best friend put it, caramel crunchy goodness, Cinnamon Bears with any of the reds was a spice filled delight, and, of course, Syrah and dark chocolate complimented each other perfectly. For some of us, Syrah and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were amazing together – I thought it really enhanced the peanut butter flavor – but others thought it was the worst pairing in the world. The faces of horror were truly grand. The same could be said about Pinot Noir and Baby Ruths. I literally wrote “Boo” in my notes and had to wash the taste out of my mouth with some of my husband’s amazing spinach dip. Weirdly enough, though, the two who hated the Syrah and Reese’s pairing loved this one. We also discovered that even if most of us liked or disliked a particular pairing, we would have different reasons for it. For example, I thought Chardonnay and a Butterfinger went well together because it really brought out the crunchy center of the candy, while another thought it simply enhanced the flavors in both the wine and candy bar. The differences in taste buds and preferences were absolutely amazing, and our pairing adventure was a success.

              Of course, the best part of this afternoon was the company, conversations and simple comradery that comes from sharing a bottle, or few, of wine with friends. In close second was the insight I felt I had gained. I have always felt strongly that every person’s taste buds are different. What one person finds to be the most sensational flavor ever, can be absolute garbage to another. Where one person tastes peach in a wine, another may taste apricot. What this Halloween exercise did is reaffirm my belief in this notion of taste bud individuality. It also inflamed my irritation of the podcast I had listened to, and the lack of respect that was shown to those who might think and taste differently. Just because those particular individuals believe candy and wine don’t go together, it doesn’t mean others will feel the same way. And, they certainly shouldn’t feel ashamed for it. In this already divided world, do we really need to start hassling each other over wine and food pairing preferences? One of the greatest joys that comes from drinking wine with others is the conversation and discussions it brings out. No, I didn’t love Pinot Noir and Baby Ruth together, but I loved hearing why the others did. By hearing what they had to say, I was not only able to gain a new perspective on this pairing, but I was also able to learn more about my friends and how they view things.  And, when it comes down to it, isn’t that what the wine world should be all about?

              As the most magical day of the year draws near, I hope you are able to get together with loved ones and have your own Hallowine fun. Maybe you will do your own candy and wine pairing. Maybe you will each bring a wine with a creepy label to try. Or, maybe you will experiment and find the best wine to go with pumpkin chili. Whatever it is, I hope it brings you great discussions, great wine, and most importantly, a newfound respect for your friends and their individuality when it comes to taste. Cheers to the joys of sharing wine with others, and the taste bud discoveries that come with it. Happy Halloween!

*I typed up the notes I took during this experiment and have included it as a picture at the bottom of this blog. It does not contain every pairing I tried, but it gives you an idea of what I enjoyed and why.