Perhaps you confront the same problem every year on Nov. 1: What to do with all of that Halloween candy left over from the trick-or-treaters who never rang? Or perhaps you confront a different problem every year on Nov. 1: What to do with the family-sized bags you cleared out from the pharmacy bargain aisle? Either way, sommelier Jodie Battles has a few ideas. The beverage manager at Toro, Coppa and Little Donkey indulged us by picking wines that click with some tasty treats.

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Battles would tap a lighter, earthy red with hints of cherry when reaching for a Kit Kat because of the candy’s softer milk chocolate and maltiness. “One of my all-time favorite pinot noirs from California is by Scribe,” she says. “It’s a match made in heaven as far as I’m concerned.” The light- to medium-bodied Sonoma bottle ($90) is one of the few things that’s had a spot on Little Donkey’s menu since it opened two years ago.

>  “I love rieslings pretty much with anything, from a rib-eye to something that’s got some spice to it,” Battles says. “Pretty much anything” can include Starbursts, and a dry option would play especially well with the lemon and berry-forward flavors. At Little Donkey, she’s a fan of Sybille Kuntz’s trocken styles ($48), biodynamic bottles harvested in Germany’s Mosel valley. “She basically does six different labels that are all different sweetness levels and kind of takes a modern approach to her packaging, but she’s really traditional in what she does.”

>  “Sherry is one of my truest loves when it comes to wine,” Battles says. “Sometimes people think of it as being one-note, but it can be some of the driest all the way to the sweetest wines that are out there.” Amontillado’s nutty notes are a fit for Twix’s caramel, chocolate and cookie crunch, and she’d opt for a glass of famous production house Bodega Grant’s La Garrocha ($9), on the list at Toro. “It has different nuances that are complex, and a beautiful acidity that wouldn’t make it too plain or too sweet against the Twix.”

Battles raises a fine point—“What doesn’t taste better when you have bubbles?”—when suggesting boosting candy corn with cava. “I wanted to pick a wine that has a little bit of creaminess to it, but would be something that has some minerality and be able to cut through that sweetness and waxy texture.” Toro’s pouring Avinyó Brut Cava ($14), a Champagne-style that has “a little bit of yeastiness,” while being bright, acidic and medium-bodied. Says Battles: “It goes with almost anything.”


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