This is the weekly column
Halloween is next week, but if you are giving wine advice it’s best to give your audience some time to act on it.
First, I know of no decent pairing of wine with treacly sweet trick-or-treat candy. With somewhat less sugary candy, you can go with light, sweet wines. Wine must be at least as sweet as the candy.
If the treat is dark chocolate, you have real options. Dark chocolate typically contains 50-90% cocoa solids. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the better to pair with wine. Vintage or ruby port, sherry, and marsala are classic fortified wine pairings. Non-fortified pairing wines include zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and New World pinot noir.
If you are not part of the child extortionists plot, you can always enjoy the frivolity of an adult costume party and real wine pairings. Charcuterie boards work well with almost the entire panoply of wine. If you are enjoying a full regular meal, the usual food-wine pairings apply.
When you get to dessert, dark chocolate is in play. With pumpkin pie there are several choices:
• Mascatel sherry. Its honey, caramel, and raisin notes nicely pair with the pie.
• California chardonnay. A full-bodied chard with plenty of oak, butter, and vanilla flavors will work especially nicely with pie crust.
• Tawny port. Nutty and dried fruit flavors complement the pie.
• Oloroso sherry. Sweet, nutty flavors match with autumnal flavors of the pie.
• Late harvest gewürztraminer. Nutmeg, vanilla, and cinnamon flavors in this sweet wine complement spices in pumpkin pie.
• Riesling ice wine. Sweetness and acidity work with the pie’s rich, creamy textures.
As with candy, the key is the wine must be at least as sweet as the pie. In fact, that is a good rule of thumb for all wine and food pairings.
Now you are set for the last day of October ordeal or fun fest, however you roll. Answer the doorbell, pay off the kiddos demanding tribute, practice moderation, wake up the next morning to prepare for the next holiday.
Tasting notes
• Cockburn’s No. 1 Special Reserve Porto NV: Delicious, approachable. The world’s most popular special reserve premium port. $18-20 Link to my review
• Lustau East India Solera Sherry: Fascinating interplay of tangy, salty notes of oloroso grapes (80% of blend), sweetness of pedro ximénez grapes. $22-28 Link to my review
Last round
This Halloween I decided to go as a harp. At the party, a gentleman asked, “what are you supposed to be?”
“A harp,” I replied.
“No, no,” he protested. “You’re too small to be a harp.”
“So,” I asked, “are you calling me a lyre?”
Wine time.
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Links worth exploring
Diary of a Serial Hostess Ins and outs of entertaining; witty anecdotes of life in the stylish lane.
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