After a long, hard day at the office sometimes you need something sweet to pick you up. Or maybe you’re hosting a dinner party and want to pass around some delicious candy for dessert. Did you know candy and wine make for perfect flavor pairings? From white chocolate to sour candies, your favorite sweet treats can be elevated to a delicious, adult dessert, and you don’t have to be a sommelier to get the flavor matrix down right.
If you’re looking for the perfect candy wine flavor pairing, try one of these:
- Creamy Milk Chocolate Candies with a Pinot Noir
- Sour Candies with a Riesling
- Fruity Candies with a Rosé
- Caramel Candies with a Port
- White Chocolate Candies with a Moscato
- Peanut Butter Candies with a Cabernet Sauvignon
- Peppermint Candies with a Zinfandel
Creamy Milk Chocolate with a Pinot Noir
When it comes to chocolate and wine flavor pairings, you want to try to match the style and weight of both the wine and the chocolate. When you’re looking for the perfect wine to pair with a bar of creamy milk chocolate, go for something a little bit lighter bodied. A fruit-forward Pinot Noir goes well with simple and rich foods like milk chocolate.
Sour Candies with a Riesling
You probably wouldn’t think that sour candies would pair well with wine because they often leave you puckering, but this is one of those times where it’s nice to be wrong. Discover new flavor combinations by pairing sour candies with a Riesling. Sour candies tend to start sour and slowly get sweeter, but a Riesling does the opposite. The sweetness of the wine will balance the tartness of a sour candy so well you will be wondering why you didn’t think of this flavor combination yourself.
Fruity Candies with a Rosé
Fruit flavored candies vary in sweetness and type of fruit flavoring, so if you are looking for a wine to pair with fruity candy, you need a wine that can vary a little bit, too. Rosés can be either dry or sweet, but either way, they are full of flavor like a wonderful fruit flavored candy. Plus, this delicate pink wine will look great next to the bright reds, blues, oranges, and pinks of your favorite fruit candies.
Caramel Candies with a Port
The rich, buttery flavor of caramel candies need a deliciously sweet wine to go with it. That’s why caramel candies pair perfectly with a port. Port is traditionally consumed as a dessert wine because it is richer and sweeter than a drier wine, so pour yourself a glass of port the next time you’re looking to elevate your favorite caramel candy with the right flavor pairing.
White Chocolate with a Moscato
White chocolate is more mellow and sweet than other chocolates and has a delicious creamy texture that just can’t be matched. The sweet, subtle bubbliness of a Moscato will elevate the flavors of white chocolate without overpowering its creamy deliciousness. This flavor pairing is as sweet as ice cream on a summer day!
Peanut Butter Candies with a Cabernet Sauvignon
A good cabernet sauvignon is a bit of a bolder red with a jammy fruit flavor, like black currants or blackberries and hints of spices. That jammy flavor goes with a peanut butter candy— just like peanut butter and jelly, everyone’s favorite classic duo! Nothing is better than eating a peanut butter cup at the end of the day, except maybe pairing it with a delicious red wine.
Chocolate and Peppermint Candies with a Zinfandel
The bold flavor of peppermint requires a bold wine for its flavor pairing, so a Zinfandel is what you’re looking for. Zinfandels are a jammy red wine, with hints of licorice or black pepper flavors, giving it a really bold and dense flavor. The next time you grab a chocolate peppermint candy combo, grab yourself a glass of Zin to wash it down with.
The good news with candy and wine is that you can always try another candy wine pairing if our list doesn’t tickle your fancy! If you aren’t satisfied, try setting up your own wine and candy tasting night. Just organize the wine by flavors, from the sweetest to the driest, organize the candies by their flavors and discover new flavor combinations. Need some candy suggestions to start with? Get a curated box of candy from Candy Club and use those candies as a starting point.
