Hey friends!
We fly home tomorrow and we’ve had a great time. Rest assured, I have sweets to pair on my return.
Liz
Monthly Archives: June 2013
Chew, Chew, Fail
In a few days readers, I will be sipping Turkish coffee in well…Turkey! So there won’t be posts for a little bit due to the travel and such. I will try to throw a pic or two your way while I am there. And yes, Mommas reading this blog / friends, I WILL be safe. My excess caution is legendary.
Before I ship off, I have another special post with candy from overseas! (Oh, there will be Turkish candy, you know it). My friend brought me these wine gummies from England. They are pretty nutty, just look at the back of the bag.
Chew Chew CHEW
It’s a gummy, so yes, I went with a white. It wasn’t incredible, so I am committed to switching it up next time. Mark my words readers, Liz is going to switch.it.up.
Candy: Maynards Wine Gums
A Colorful Assortment
Wine: Cupcake Wine, Angel Food
The Dream:
Sigh. I am bored with my approach to gummy-wine pairings. My friend told me these gummies were fruity but a bit more intense. It is a richer flavor, so she said. I wanted a wine that wasn’t too sweet and not too dry. I chose this Cupcake wine because I was relatively unfamiliar. It is a table white, so it felt easy and not too risky.
The Reality:
The wine has a subtle sweetness with a delightful hint of vanilla. There is a bite like Chardonnay but it is smooth and goes down easy. The flavors all combine in the right way to make it a wine that’s worth sipping on a hot summer day. I will be buying it later this summer.
Took this photo at 8. Summer is here!
The flavor breakdown:
First of all, the gummy flavors don’t pair exactly with a wine flavor. By not exactly, I mean they don’t pair with wine at all.
Orange: The sweet orange flavor reminds me of Skittles. After the orange gummy, the wine loses the sweetness and the vanilla flavor jumps ship.
Dark Purple: This gummy is rich and not the normal grape flavor. It is nuanced and very tasty. But the wine goes dry although there’s a bit of berry twist.
Yellow: This flavor is a lot like Skittles yellow, pretty standard. The smooth wine goes down well with this pair. It maintains its richness.
Green:Lime flavor with nothing that is interesting.
The Takeaway:
A good person admits when they are wrong. I am done with the white wine approach for gummies. There will be a switch up, mark my words.
Lil’ Bunny Foo Foo
I love lazy Sundays. I recently discovered Parks and Rec so I am main-lining that while I enjoy the various snacks left over from a recent party. It’s just the rest I need.
Today’s post features more candy from Britain (and the next post…). It’s nice when my friends provide me candy and/or wine. It makes my posts a lot more fun knowing there are readers with a vested interest in my work.
This pairing was a HIT. Unfortunately I don’t know where you are going to buy the candy, but the internet is a cool place for that kind of thing.
Candy: Malt Easter Mini Bunnies (apparently they do different candies for different seasons)
Don’t Be The Bunny
Wine: El Burro, Kickass Garnacha 2011
Ok so there’s an animal theme going here
The Dream:
Garnacha. I don’t remember ever drinking it, but wines from Spain are always a good choice. I read the description which mentioned hints of tobacco and cherries.
Pairing to milk chocolate is a bit tricky. I wanted something a little heavier with a lot of flavor since milk chocolate can be less dynamic. The chocolate also had a nutty filling, so I also wanted a wine that could match that nuttiness. I thought the fruit notes could pair nicely with a nutty center.
The Reality:
This went very well. The wine smells like red ripe cherries. Flavors like black pepper, cherry, and chocolate filled the mouth.
The chocolate is wonderful. It is rich and melty with a hint of hazelnut. There is a crunchy creamy center which is refreshing against the think chocolate.
When combined, the wine becomes a little less sharp and a bit less round. But I want another bite of chocolate immediately. I like the tanginess of the wine with the smooth chocolate nuttiness. Although both are very full and flavorful, each sip of wine refreshes the palette.
The Take Away: A little bit of nuttiness goes a long way paired with a nice red. I bet you can find something similar to these bunnies here in the ole USA.
Uncorked, Unwrapped 