Every parent knows the drill. The kids come home on Halloween night with a pillowcase that weighs more than they do, dump it on the kitchen floor, and the sorting begins. The official job is inspection. You go through every piece and check for anything that is opened, torn, loose, homemade by a stranger, or just plain odd, because unfortunately there are a few people out there who would do harm, and that is not a risk any of us take with our kids. Anything suspicious goes in the garbage, no debate.
The unofficial job, the one nobody puts in the parenting books, is the tax. A handful of the candy you were most excited about gets quietly moved to the top of the fridge. A Coffee Crisp. The peanut butter cups. One Mars bar for later. Our kids know this happens. We consider it payment for the hours of costume negotiations.
And then, once the kids are in bed, sugared up and finally asleep, the parents get the kitchen back. That is when the wine comes out. We have spent a few Halloweens working out which of our wines go with which candies, and we are not above calling that research. Here is the list.
How to pair wine with Halloween candy
Two rules make this work. First, the wine should be at least as sweet as the candy, or the candy will make the wine taste thin and sour. That is why fortified wines, fruit-forward reds, pet-nat and our WineLab Holiday Series do the heavy lifting here, and why a bone-dry wine is the wrong call for a Mars bar. Second, match the texture. Bubbles cut through chocolate and caramel. Nutty, oxidative wines echo roasted and toasted flavours. Fruity reds go with chocolate the way raspberries go with brownies.
Smarties
Canadian Smarties are a crisp candy shell around milk chocolate, light and a little playful, so the wine should be too. Pour Bang Bang, our pink pet-nat. The bubbles scrub the chocolate off your palate between handfuls, and the red-fruit side of the wine plays with the milk chocolate. This is the pairing that makes people laugh, which is the right mood for the night.
Coffee Crisp
Coffee Crisp is the great Canadian bar: light wafer, coffee cream, milk chocolate. It wants something nutty and a bit toasty beside it, and we have exactly one wine like that. Traynor Sherry is our solera-aged fortified wine, hazelnut and almond on the nose, dried apricot and fig, dry at the start and then a balance of sweet and sour with vanilla and spice. Pour it in a small glass, slightly chilled, and take a bite of Coffee Crisp. The coffee and the hazelnut find each other immediately. If you only try one pairing on this list, try this one.
Mars bars
Caramel, nougat and milk chocolate: a Mars bar is a lot of sugar in one bite, and most wines give up. The answer is PSL, our fortified pumpkin spice wine from the WineLab Holiday Series. It is 18 percent, warm and silky, with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove and just enough sweetness to stand up to caramel. Pour two ounces over a big ice cube. Caramel and pumpkin pie spice were always meant to be together, and after one of these you will understand why we make a pumpkin wine.
Peanut butter cups
Peanut butter cups are salty, sweet and rich, and they are the easiest candy on this list to pair, because peanut butter and red wine is a known good thing. Pour Merlot, our full-bodied Niagara red with plum, sweet cherry and dark chocolate on the nose and soft, rich tannins. The chocolate in the wine meets the chocolate in the cup and the salt in the peanut butter makes the fruit pop. If you want something lighter, Gamay Noir, with its cherry and raspberry and soft tannins, works too.
The rest of the bag
Kit Kat and Aero. Light milk chocolate with air or wafer. Cherry Bomb, our light, chillable red with candied cherry, rose petal and orange rind, is made for these.
Caramilk and anything caramel. Traynor Sherry again, or Spiced Apple from the Holiday Series, which is a fortified spiced apple wine that tastes like the caramel apple you did not make.
Rockets, Twizzlers and the sour stuff. Skip the red. Pour Marmalade Pie, our orange wine with orange blossom, honeysuckle and a hint of green tea. Its gentle tannin and citrus side get along with tart, fruity candy in a way nothing else does. Or go with a juice slushy and admit the Rockets are for the kids.
Dark chocolate, if you are lucky enough to get any. Merlot, or a glass of Mulled Wine warmed on the stove while you sort the bag.
The parent’s Halloween night, in order
Inspect the bag properly. Throw out anything that is not sealed and looks off, and do not feel bad about it. Take your tax. Put the kids to bed. Then pour a small glass of Traynor Sherry, open a Coffee Crisp, and sit down. You have earned it. If the candy haul is big enough, a $10 flight of three wines at the winery is the same idea with less sorting, and the kids can bring their costumes to the play area on the weekend.
Where to get the wines
All of these are at the winery in Hillier and online with free shipping in Ontario over $120. Merlot, Gamay Noir and Bang Bang are also at the LCBO; our Find Us at the LCBO page has the store numbers. The WineLab Holiday Series, including PSL and Spiced Apple, is a fall release, so grab it while it is here.
Happy Halloween from all of us at Traynor. Check the bags, take the tax, and pour something good.
Good to know before you visit
Where: Traynor Family Vineyard, 1774 Danforth Road, Hillier, Prince Edward County, Ontario K0K 2J0. Five minutes from North Beach, 10 from Wellington, 15 from Bloomfield, 25 from Sandbanks, 30 from Belleville, about 2.5 hours from Toronto. Free on-site parking.
Hours and booking: Late fall hours: Friday and Saturday 11 am to 6 pm, Sunday and Monday 11 am to 5 pm, closed Tuesday to Thursday. Closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day, and closed in January and February. Current hours are always shown at the top of traynorvineyard.com. Walk-ins welcome for groups of five or fewer; reservations recommended for six or more and required for ten or more. Call 1-877-403-4224 or email retail@traynorvineyard.com.
Food: Street food made fresh daily: gourmet all-beef hot dogs (kimchi dog, pocket dog), adobo pork and pulled chicken tacos, kofta sandwich, red lentil dal, roasted beet salad, street corn nachos, mushroom toast, whipped feta, garden herb popcorn, house-baked cookies, plus a kids’ plain hot dog. Four vegan and four vegetarian dishes on the fall menu, and every wine is vegan.
Drinks: $10 wine flights (three pours), $11 wine by the glass, $10 wine slushy, vermouth cocktails, $7 non-alcoholic peach slushy for kids and drivers, pop. Bookable experiences include the Cellarmasters Barrel Tasting ($49.95) and Stemware Sensation ($39.95).
Family-friendly: Kids are welcome inside and out. Designated play area visible from the Vineyard Patio, kids’ menu, juice slushies, strollers welcome, all patios and the Cellar Tasting Room wheelchair accessible. Kids combo (slushy, popcorn, hot dog, cookie) at the counter. Ice cream trailer and free Friday Family Movie Nights run in spring and summer.
Dog-friendly: Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome inside and out, with pet beds provided.
What’s on by season: Summer: Friday Family Movie Nights, DJ sets on the Vineyard Patio, Happy Hour Après Beach Sunday to Thursday 4 to 6 pm. Fall: the WineLab Holiday Series (PSL pumpkin spice wine, Spiced Apple, Mulled Wine, Mulled White) launches; Family Movie Nights return in spring and summer 2027. Winter: mulled wines and Caribou, Cellar Tasting Room heated.
The wine: Small-batch natural wine, wild fermented and vegan, family owned since 2008. Estate vines in Hillier farmed without synthetic pesticides since 2018, plus fruit from partner growers in Prince Edward County and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Pet-nat, piquette, skin-contact whites, vermouth, and fortified wines. Ten wines are listed at the LCBO.
