I am on vacation right now and today is my last, sunny, happy day. I’ve enjoyed every minute of mojitos, skinny dipping, and bitter games of Monopoly. But I have not forgotten my duties.
Nostalgia hides itself in strange ways. While in a candy store, I came upon a candy called Zotz. It’s a fizzy, sour candy that I ate during the 90s. I forgot about it until I saw it in the store of candy memories. I had not done a challenge with a fizzy partner, so it met my loose criteria.
The wine also has a story behind it. Smith College, my old stomping grounds, started producing commencement wines in 2011. They weren’t half bad, so I picked up a red and a white. Needless to say, memories had a big influence over this pairing.
The Wine: Smith College Cayuga White, 2012
The Candy: Zotz! (watermelon, cherry, apple)
The Dream:
The white wine seemed like an ideal pairing for the sour candy. It’s usually refreshing and with a touch of sweetness. Naively, I imagined that the sourness would play delicately with the sweetness of the wine. And I imagined the fizziness could create a neat champagne effect. Makes sense, right?
The Reality:
It wasn’t exactly bad. I just wouldn’t repeat or recommend it.
The Cayuga has a fruity, sweet and silky flavor. It slides of the tongue like a milk chocolate. The lasting flavor is tart, a sharp and surprising contrast to the syrupy quality.
The candy is an 8-yr olds dream. At first, it’s a sweet hard candy. After a few dances on the tongue, the insides begin to fizz slowly out with a strong, sour taste. Once you bite in, you find the remaining bubbles hiding inside. All of the flavors taste the same, as most 50 cent candies do.
But these two do not play well together. The wine is unpleasant and bitter after the Zotz. My stomach churns, rather perturbed by the acid attack. I think sour candies are tough, but maybe there are other sour mediums more suited to this challenge.
Get excited for an account of the winery Sam and I visited while on vacation. It was a fun tasting session and a beautiful location.
Uncorked, Unwrapped 