The Ghoul-ish & Coolest Wine Pairings for Halloween 2018
If you’re like me, and you’ve found a way to make Halloween Day,
Hallo-Wine Day, then listen up! I’m about to exponentially improve your looting experience after the kids have gone to bed, by revealing the Ghoul-ish and Coolest Wine Pairings for Halloween 2018.
Hallo-Wine Day, then listen up! I’m about to exponentially improve your looting experience after the kids have gone to bed, by revealing the I’ll share which wines make cheap, super-sweet candy taste better, and which ones will make your blood crawl, even as its ABV is rising. First, the ones that will haunt your Halloween...
Ghoulish Wine Pairings
Expensive Wines
Do not break open that special wine. High levels of sugar destroy wine flavor quicker than your kid having to pee once they step into their PJ Masks bodysuit. So unless you want your Chateau de FooFoo to taste like Chateau de PooPoo, stick to the recommendations below.
Really Sweet Wines
A cardinal pairing rule is to match sweetness in wine to that of your food. Ignore it. The only wines that can match the sweetness of Halloween candy are ports and ice wines. You will be on hold with the dentist office by the next day. Instead, seek out fruity, off-dry (wine speak for a “little sweet) like the ones below.
Old World Wines (OWW)
You know, the home of Dracula, or aka, wine from Europe. Generally speaking, OWW is higher in acid, lower in fruit and more tannic. Even if you have no idea what that all means, let me break it down for you in French, Spanish and Italian - NO!
Coolest Wine Pairings
Then, what to drink? I’ve broke it down into two Halloween candy camps: Cheap Chocolate (Snickers, Kit Kat, Hershey, M&Ms, etc) and Fruity (Nerds, Taffy, Skittles, Sweettarts, etc.)
Cheap Chocolate
Cheap chocolate calls for a cheap red... but, beware, not too
cheap. Cheaper wines tend to be thinner, bitter and less flavorful. And sweet, cheap chocolate makes wine taste even thinner and more bitter, so you do the math… you’ll be left with wet, acrid dust flavor. Mmmmm.
cheap. Cheaper wines tend to be thinner, bitter and less flavorful. And sweet, cheap chocolate makes wine taste even thinner and more bitter, so you do the math… you’ll be left with wet, acrid dust flavor. Mmmmm.So, what’s the sweet spot (see what I did there!)? Spend $12-15 on a California Red like Pinot Noir or Merlot. These wines are most likely to be smooth, fruity and easy. Here’s the one I stashed for late night pillaging of the kids’ treat bags...
The Velvet Devil Merlot 2015, Charles Smith Wines, Washington State
Fruit Candy
The likes of Nerds and Skittles call for a light white with a little
sweetness. Say what you will about Moscato, Halloween is the perfect occasion for it. Light and low alcohol, you can drink a whole lot of it without turning into a hungover Wicked Witch of the next day. The light sweetness will have you feeling more like Glinda the Good Witch.
sweetness. Say what you will about Moscato, Halloween is the perfect occasion for it. Light and low alcohol, you can drink a whole lot of it without turning into a hungover Wicked Witch of the next day. The light sweetness will have you feeling more like Glinda the Good Witch.My advice for price points is opposite to what I suggested above: Spend as much as you can on Moscato. They RARELY exceed $15-20. Trust me, our late-night Halloween candy dive is worth the extra couple bucks. Here’s one I’m sucking down this Halloween…
Saracco Moscato d' Asti 2017, Italy
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