I have zero interest in eating this sugary, squishy fake rose flavoured flat mouthful of chocolate covered jelly but it’s amazing to watch the secret lovers of Turkish delight come out of the woodwork when a box of Favourites is cracked. It’s a real statement diving in for a Turkish delight.. I will judge you. But each to their own and it’s Christmas so I should be nicer. If you are one of these secret TD lovers, I am generously going to allow you to pair it with one of my favourites – a Rose Champagne but keep your coin and go an Australian Sparkling rose instead. Choose a bottle’a bubbles that contains notes of strawberry, cherry and rose-water with fine elegant bubbles and a creamy rich aftertaste. It’s a damn fine companion and the only way I’d ever consider voluntarily eating a Cadbury Favourite Turkish Delight.

We’re all familiar with this fluffy, flaky, fatty, creamy, light weight treat which usually ends up everywhere. It’s cased in a thin milk choc coating, the only thing preventing it from disintegrating in your hand. Specks of twirl somehow end up landing where the sun doesn’t shine, similar to glitter.. little brown spots litter the area surrounding you. Enough about the mess, what to whack in the glass is the question. The focus here is rich milk chocolate so I’m looking at warmer climate reds from places such as Chile, Australia and South Africa with big, bright, chubby fruit and low tannin. This has led me to Merlot. The fruit forward, plump nature of the merlot balances the sweet creaminess of the milk chocolate and holy moly it’s only 9am but I’m so ready to revisit this combo.

A curve ball.. honey comb and wine. This little chocolate covered spongy, honey cube that once bitten, enters the mouth and immediately liquifies except for one thick, hard chunk of comb. Every Crunchie has its one, angry, hard side that could possibly break a tooth or if sucked on hard enough will become glue-like enough to rip out a filling. Extremely sweet, burnt toffee, caramel notes with a whiff of salt dance on your palate and we’re going to need something serious to stand up to this mouthful. I’ve chosen a Pedro Ximenez – a Spanish dessert sherry, made from white grapes, with a good length, intense sweetness and notes of figs, toffee and honey. Pedro.. the perfect partner.

What exactly is a Boost? To jog your memory, it’s a tidy little milk choc, caramel roll. Inside it contains a fluffy chocolate fudge and biscuit bits which are rolled in caramel and covered in chocolate. Delicious. It’s hard to go past the sweet, rich, complex liquid gold Château d’Yquem Sauternes but if you don’t have a cheeky $500 to splash to pair with your tightass dessert, then I’d suggest a more affordable alternative such as a late harvest riesling or semillion. The sweetness levels of the Boost will pair perfectly with the palate coating, residual sugar contained in the wine.

Have you ever bought a Moro, in solo bar form? If you say Yes I know you’re full of BS. They’ve never quite managed to steal the Mars market but I forgot how much of a decent, delicious substitute the Moro is. Whipped, fluffy nougat with a layer of caramel covered in chocolate. For this little sucker, I cracked a Grenache and BOOM we were in business. The grenache was a juicy, fruit forward style with very mellow tannins. The combo allowed both the wine and the Moro to shine in a light I’ve never seen before nor will I again after this article.

The perfect festive zinger, with shiny red wrapping and all. But why do I feel like Cherry Ripes are for old people? My Mum loves them, so does my Nana. Perhaps it’s’ the elements of maraschino cherries which were all the rage in the 90s but not so much now. Dark chocolate, also an acquired taste for mature humans. Here I’ve chosen a Zinfandel to work with the two dominant elements in this treat – dark, bitter chocolate and tart, sweet cherry. Go for a Zin on the cheaper side (yippee we all cry), they are more likely to have some residual sugar which will stand up to the Cherry Ripes sweetness. Robust in flavour, mouth feel and big bold fruits. Notes of ripe red cherry and plum linger on the palate with enough tannin huzpah to compliment the structure of the dark chocolate.

You cannot possibly have lived life and not enjoyed a picnic at least once. Wafer, peanuts, rice crisps, caramel and chocolate.. All the food groups, a well rounded meal, it’s basically the meat and three veg of chocolate bars. So we’ll need a well rounded wine that can hold its own when sipped straight after a mouthful of sweet chocolate, salty caramel, savoury nuts and wafers. I’ve chosen a full flavoured South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon brimming with ripe fruit and chocolate notes. Prepare for your Picnic to sing when these two come together.

You may quickly realise wine and chocolate is actually quite hard to pair. You will often find your favourite dry wine tastes bitter and just plain WRONG when paired with choccy. Find a wine that can stand up to the profile of your chocolate – similar weight, similar sweetness, similar notes. For example.. is there nuts or cherry in your chocolate, then allow for notes of nuts or cherry in your glass. One must open one’s mind with chocolate and wine pairing.. that means drinking things that are perhaps fruitier than your usual preferred tipple. Personally, I’m not one to reach for fruit bomb wines so this has pushed me out of my comfort zone and I was pleasantly surprised, sitting at my kitchen table with Cadbury favourites chopped into little pieces alongside some styles of wines I’d generally look past. This is just a guide, get out there and experiment! Everyone’s taste buds are unique to their own delightful tongue.