Host an Adult Halloween Gancia Wine & Candy Trick or Treat Party

This year host a Halloween party for your adult friends, that will make you feel young again. According to wine expert Sandra Guibord of Sandra’s Wine Life, wines pair well with certain Halloween candy. For instance Prosecco pairs well with Lemon Sour Patch Kids, Starbursts, Smarties, Sweet Tarts and Almond Joy.

Her newest book, Sandra’s Wine Life: Find Your Wine Identity, is an easy to read guide that enlightens readers to the world of wine. She offers fabulous, sip-worthy suggestions for entertaining and memorable events.

Recently while attending a Gancia 1850 virtual wine tasting hosted by Paola Visconti Marketing Manager and Franco Ferrero, I learned that Gancia Prosecco is made from grapes growing in the Northwestern part of Italy near France. The influence of French wine inspired Carlo Gancia to make his Italian Sparkling Prosecco.

With over 170 years of wine-making expertise, Gancia is first producer of sparkling wine in the Peidmont region, in the Province of Asti. Innovation is in the DNA of the 1865 based on Moscato Bianco grapes the result Moscato Champagne.

Award Winning: Gancia exports to 75 countries all over the world with a quality recognized in the US Sparkling wine 90+ ratings. Gancia Prosecco won Gold Medal in 2019 in New York.

Prosecco D.O.C Brut is their most popular and approachable sparking wine in the USA. It boasts a delicate taste, with flavors that include green apple, orange and lemon. Grapes harvested in Northwest Italy, certified to be grown and pressed in the region. The juice is selected and taken to the wine maker, fermented in tanks and processed. They have a direct control from the vines to the bottle.

Food Pairing with Prosecco:

Pair with fresh cheese, grilled white meat, vegetables, risotto and pasta in a light sauce. It’s also nice to pair with potatoes and potato chips, salami, and can be a base for a cocktail.

Notes when tasting Prosecco: 

The difference between the various types of Prosecco is the grapes and residual sugar of the product. Prosecco Brut is made with Giera grapes and has a low level of residual sugar, making it dry and slightly more acidulous. It cleans the mouth and refreshes the palate. Prosecco is an excellent aperitif or to be served with a light meal.

Pour in a flute half a glass. The shape enhances the flavors to come to the front of the glass. Swirl a little and notice tiny bubbles due to attentive care in the sparkling wine production. Cold fermentation helps the bubbles develop slowly a fine elegance. See around the glass a creaminess foam. Smell the Giera grapes in the foam offering a fruity sensation of orange and green apple. Sip and add some air in the mouth, and let the fizziness arouse your mouth and tongue. You will smell flowers and fruit of this characteristic. It’s pleasant to sip and inviting to have another glass. Pleasantly dry, classified as a Brut, the driest of the sparkling wines. Lower than 12 grams of residual sugar.

Prosecco D.O.C Rose’ is the merging of two popular products Prosecco and Rose’.  In 2020, the Prosecco D.O.C. Consortium approved changes to the Prosecco D.O.C. appellation that now allows for the production of rose’ version. It has 85% Giera grapes and Pinot Noir with 17 grams of residual sugar. The wine is aged for sixty days. It has a fresh and fruity aroma and delicate taste of red berries.

Pour half a glass in a glass flute. The shape enhances the flavors to come to the front of the glass. Swirl a little and notice tiny bubbles due to attentive care in the sparkling wine production. Cold fermentation helps the bubbles develop slowly a fine elegance. See around the glass a creaminess foam. . Sip and add some air in the mouth, and let the fizziness arouse your mouth and tongue. You will smell flowers and fruit of this characteristic. It’s pleasant to sip and inviting to have another glass. Pleasantly dry, classified as a Brut, the driest of the sparkling wines. Lower than 12 grams of residual sugar.

Still wines Pinot Grigio delle Venezie D.O.C. are grown in northeast Italy near the Alps where the cool and breezy climate creates grapes of fresh acidity. The day and night temperature variation develops the grapes’ aromatic intensity. Harvested, crushed and soft pressed with traditional fermentation at controlled temperature

Sip the straw color wine with a pretty green essence, and let it sit around your mouth to linger. It leaves a pleasant, dry after taste with fresh citrus aroma, and floral notes that are balanced and elegant with each sip.

Food Pairing with Pinot Grigio:

Pair with fresh and medium-aged cheeses with mozzarella di Buffalo cheese. Grilled fish, light pasta, Nicoise salad.

Sandra’s Candy Pairings with White Wines: 

Butterfingers, Twix and Almond Joy bar.

Cianti is one of Italy’s oldest and most famous appellations. Grown in the rolling hills of Tuscany. The primary grape is the Sangiovese grape that grows in varying elevations offering a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters. It offers a rich and velvety taste.

Young Chianti wine, in the summertime it is recommended to drink chilled. Put this red wine in the refrigerator, and don’t serve room temperature. Young red wine cooled before serving should be poured in a tulip shape glass to allow the brightness of the wine to shine.

Tasting Notes: Swirl your glass and have upfront fruit of plum and cherry, dry in the mouth.

Food Pairing Suggestions: 

Serve with salami, cheese, toasted bread, Florentine steak and white bean soup.

Sandra’s Candy Pairing with Red Wines:

Anything chocolate – Kit Kat, M&M’s Hershey’s Dark Chocolate bar.

Awards and accolades: Wine Enthusiast gave this a best buy. It received a 95 Gold Winner at The New York International Wine Competition.

Gancia’s newest Atto Primo wine collection is extremely versatile and food-friendly to pair with spicy foods, white meats, fish dishes, aged cheeses, summer salads, desserts and candy. Atto Primo means “first act” in Italian. It comes in four fruity flavors: Peach, Blackberry, Mango and Lychee. A glass is under 100 calories per serving and 6% alcohol by volume. Atto Primo is available on Drizly and MiniBar, as well as select retailers nationwide.