Tastes Like Candy: Wine Tasting Notes

Taste for Yourself: Join The Paso Robles Wine Club

All over Paso Robles Wine Country, adults are hosting Halloween wine tasting parties where they pair Halloween candy with local Paso Robles wine. It may sound a bit unusual—maybe even slightly scary—but sweet treats can be a perfect match for wines and, of course, if you like the concept, there’s a path to explore in learning about the many fabulous dessert wines available.

Many people new to wine find themselves a bit puzzled when they hear wine descriptors that sound more like the wine taster is describing the candy shelf at the local market place. Wine is a many nuanced agricultural product and in the hands of a skilled winemaker, a sort of alchemy takes place, creating the perfect marriage of flavors.

Here are 5 common wine descriptors that describe the sweeter, candy-like tastes of wines:

Green Apple: Wines that have a fruity, green, sour, tart, or leafy profile can taste similar to green Jolly Ranchers and green apple bubble gum; think of how your mouth puckers when you bite into a green Granny Smith apple and you’ll understand what this flavor means to your palate.

Watermelon: If you hear a taster exclaim that the wine has a candy or confectionery taste, or words like melony or sugary-sweet, chances are you’ll notice underlying tastes that are very much like those you’d find in watermelon Jolly Ranchers, Airheads—even melon flavored gums, like Bubblicious.

Lemon: Fresh, juicy, and citric? Think Lemonheads, candied lemon peel, and sour lemon drops.

Chocolate: One of the most popular profiles is chocolate, which can range from the milky and fatty, almost buttery, to the dark and bitter, with notes of burnt coffee and even botanicals. In these wines you’ll find notes of semi-sweet chocolate chips, malted milk balls and chocolate covered marshmallows.

Maple: You probably shouldn’t drink wine for breakfast, but you might find a very similar profile to your favorite breakfast items. In wines with notes of maple, you’ll taste brown sugar, butter, bread, honey, and even anise or warm spices. Here you’ll notice how well the descriptors of pancake syrup, maple candies, and Bit O’ Honey work in describing the wines.

While it may be fun to raid the trick or treat bags and mindlessly chomp down on a handful of sweet confectioneries while relaxing with a glass of wine, you don’t need the candy to find the sweetness in your glass. Join The Paso Robles Wine Club and enjoy regular shipments of Paso Robles wines and you can thoughtfully taste through them and find the candy flavors on your own.