With Easter nearly here, we know that many out there would love to know the perfect wine to pair with an Easter feast. But instead of dissecting an Easter dinner menu and creating the perfect pairings for honey-baked ham, deviled eggs, scalloped potatoes, and roasted baby carrots, we decided to try something a little different. At Wine Oh TV, we love our wine, but we don’t always take our passion so seriously. We love to look at wine a little differently and enjoy taking the “seriousness” out of wine, and prefer to insert the word “fun.” So, we thought it would be a hoot to pick out our favorite Easter candies that will most likely be scattered about in Easter baskets and bowls and try to find wines that pair perfectly with them for a before or after dinner treat. Below is a list of some all-time favorite Easter candy favorites and wines that we think would go well with each! Have fun and Happy Easter!
Peeps
Made from corn syrup, gelatin, and carnauba wax, these tiny little marshmallow candies scream cuteness. Peeps are produced by Just Born, a candy manufacturer founded in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Originally yellow, today they come in all color, shapes, and sizes. Still maintaining their same flavor profile since 1953, you can be sure if you bite into the sweet, sugar-colored, fluffy marshmallow candy, you will get notes of sweet vanilla bean with a smooth, squishy texture on the inside, and a crunchy, sugary coat on the outside. Peeps candies need a wine that is sweet, rich, and smooth with baked vanilla notes.
Pair with: 2006 Patricius, “Red Lion” Tokaji, Hungary
Jelly Beans
Just a few ingredients of sugar, corn syrup, and starch produce one of America’s most common Easter candies. First becoming popular in the 1930’s, Jelly Beans have been sold in the same assortment of eight different flavors: cherry, orange, lemon, lime, grape, anise, lemonade, and strawberry. With such an array of flavors to contend with, this wine will need to have a fragrant, aromatic nose, with a little sweetness on the palate. The outsider of the group, the black jelly bean, will need a red wine with notes of licorice and earthiness.
Pair with: 2008 Phfister, Riesling, Alsace, France and 2009 En Guarde, Cabernet Franc, Diamond Mountain, Napa Valley
Chocolate Foiled Easter Candy
Formed into solid chocolate eggs or hollow bunnies, these are seen in bowls or baskets ready to be shed of their pastel foil covering and consumed. Coming in all sizes, these mild tasting candies, almost devoid of any real chocolate flavor, have a smooth, creamy texture that melts in your mouth. Without a big flavor profile, you will want a wine that has just a hint of chocolate, round in the mouth, ample tannins, and good acidity to pair.
Pair with: 2009 Blue Rock, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
Cadbury Creme Egg
You know Easter is approaching when the Cadbury bunny hops on to TV sets everywhere and leaves its blue, red, green, and yellow tin foil egg behind. Created in the UK by the Cadbury Brothers in 1923, these candies have a milk chocolate shell, with a white and yellow fondant filling mimicking the yolk of a real egg that tastes like the fondant found on a wedding cake. This tiny egg (yes, they have shrunk over the years!) has notes of vanilla, sugar, and subtle chocolate. Once bitten, the crunchy chocolate shell on the outside combines with the smooth filling on the inside to create a perfect blend of the two. This egg needs a full bodied wine that is smooth, round and full in the mouth. It must pair well with the sweetness of the fondant, but be able to be big enough to handle the bitterness of the milk chocolate, as well as the crunchiness of the shell.
Pair with: 2009 Seghesio, Old Vine Zinfandel, Healdsburg, California
Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were created in 1923 by H.B. Reese in his basement in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Eventually sold to The Hershey Company in 1963, they created Reese’s peanut butter cups for every holiday occasion, including Easter. Reese’s fans love the winning combination of the salty (peanut butter) with the sweet (milk chocolate). This candy needs an acidic wine to pair with the saltiness of the peanut butter, but it also needs to be rich enough to pair with the sweet, chocolate notes.
Pair with: 2011 Dry Creek Vineyard, Fumé Blanc, Sonoma County
See’s Candy Marshmallow Eggs
Founded by Charles See in 1921, See’s is headquartered in San Francisco, California. These little chocolate covered eggs are only served as half an egg and the spongy, marshmallow inside has a slight honeyed flavor to it. The higher quality chocolate used to produce these eggs has more intense, notable chocolate notes. These candies need a wine that is able to stand up to the higher quality chocolate, as well as the smooth texture of the marshmallow.
Pair with: 2010 Grey Stack Cellars, Pinot Noir, Bennet Valley
