So your child has collected too many treats...

By: Amy Chen As the clock strikes midnight on November 1st, we said goodbye to Halloween 2016 and hello to the piles of chocolates and candies that your child has collected in the few hours of trick-or-treating.

Instead of trying to give away the mountains of Halloween treats to everyone in the office or anyone that you see in the next few months, why not turn it into a fun #WineWednesday pairing!

Yes, candies and chocolates paired with wine.

It's inexpensive and fun. Everyone will love you and actually accept your leftover treats. It'll also save you from the headache of dealing with your child's sugar-high or melt-down from discovering that you have secretly taken from their stash of treats. It's a win-win for all.

If you're (un)lucky enough to not have piles of treats at home or a coworker who has brought in a stash of Halloween treats (secretly taken from their child), there is still time for you to head over to your local grocery store and stock up on those heavily discounted candies and chocolates.

Here's our suggestion of chocolate and candy pairings but feel free to experiment and let us know what pairs well or not.

• Fruity candies- Such as Skittles, Starburst
  • Light-bodied red wines with ripe red-berry fruits and a hint of earthiness pairs well with any candy that has a fruity and tangy aroma. It's a sweet crowd-pleaser!
    • Blue Grouse Estate Pinot Noir 2014- $26.00
    • Haywire Pinot Noir 2014- $26.90

• Nutty chocolate- Such as Aero, Coffee Crisp
  • Nutty chocolate and sparkling wine always make a great pairing! The acidity of the wine cuts through the richness of the chocolate leaving a warm and nutty flavour that is not too sweet. When in doubt, just match the bubbles (from your wine) with the bubbles (in your Aero).
    • Evolve Cellars Effervescence- $19.99
    • Evolve Cellars Effervescence Pink- $19.99
    • Haywire The Bub 2014- $29.90
    • Serendipity Sparkling Truth- $50.00

• Sour candies- Such as Maynards' Fuzzy Peach, Sour Patch Kids
  • The fresh, clean and stone fruit aromas of BC Riesling complements with sour candies. The Riesling typically reduces the perception of sourness and leaves a sweet acidity taste.
    • Evolve Cellars Riesling 2015- $16.99
    • Haywire Pinot Gris Switchback 2014- $24.90
    • Narrative Riesling 2015- $22.90

• Sugar coated chocolate- Such as Smarties and M&Ms
  • Pair sweeter chocolates, especially ones that are sugar-coated, with reds such as Cabernet Franc, for a classic aroma with firm but approachable tannins to balance off the sweetness.
    • TIME Cabernet Franc 2014- $19.99

Leave a comment below or tweet us your pairing @TownHallBrands, using the hashtag #WithTownHall.

Meet Eagranie Yuh #withTownHall

By Leeann Froese It’s a new week to introduce you to one of the fabulous personalities in the world #withTownHall!

This does not mean they work as part of our team, or are our client (although sometimes they are).

We just interact with so many amazing people that we want to expand networks and introduce them to you, and you to them. This week #withTownHall, we introduce you to Eagranie Yuh.

Eagranie is a writer, editor, and chocolate educator. Prior to that, she was a chemist, pastry chef, and chocolatier. She contributes a sweet column to the Vancouver Courier and is a senior editor of Edible Vancouver and Wine Country.

She’s the author of the best selling Chocolate-Tasting Kit (Chronicle Books), is a grand jury member of the International Chocolate Awards and was the 2013/2014 Canadian awards partner. She also helps specialty shops select and market fine chocolate, including staff training via her company, The Well-Tempered Chocolatier.

If those aren't enough hats, she also has a day job in corporate communications.

We are proud to know Eagranie for a few years, and to have experienced her knowledge with chocolate firsthand, particularly when she surprised us as an 'act of kindness' with Marc Smith of 30 Day Adventures to give our team a chocolate tasting 101 session. PS - book one of these, and buy her book - it was awesome!

With all of that said about this amazing lady, will you please help us give Eagranie a big hello?

Leave a comment below – or go give this post a like or share on Facebook or Twitter.

Meet Dominique and Cindy Duby With Town Hall

By Leeann Froese It’s Saturday – that means it’s time to introduce you to a new personality #withTownHall.  This does not mean they work as part of our team, or are our client (although sometimes they are). We just interact with so many amazing people that we want to expand networks and introduce them to you, and you to them.

This week we introduce you to Dominique and Cindy Duby . Can you please say hello?

Dominique and Cindy Duby are world-acclaimed chocolatiers and owners of DC Duby Wild Sweets. They have won many international gold and silver medals and have written various critically-acclaimed recipe books such as Wild Sweets Chocolate: Sweet, Savoury, Bites, Drinks, Crème Brulee and Wild Sweets: Exotic Dessert and Wine pairing.

They regularly work with food scientists to research, develop, and implement techniques to create new tastes and textures that improve the palette of flavours which they offer.

After years of being direct-to-customer only, in time for the holidays they are opening a retail pop-up at their Atelier.

At The Atelier you'll find a small retail counter that offers you a range of truffles and filled chocolates, special barks, hot chocolate, as well as the Dubys' cook books, granola, assorted pralines, caramels and other luscious bits to go.

Behind the counter, get a peek at the Dubys' chocolate lab; it's like a mad science lab of equipment, where they create bean-to-bar vintage chocolate, molecular gastronomy flavour infusions and other interesting applications that lead to some truly unique and amazing flavour combinations.

Examples of these unique flavour combinations include a Parmesan tomato olive mendiant bark, basil leaf infused strawberry fruit ganache, or a cane sugar caramel ganache & Hazelnut praliné cream? These are just a few of unique flavours, but I have to also mention the coconut curry or ancho chili pralines.

They have vintage bean-to-bar house made bars and flavoured chocolate bars, which make great treats and a very affordable luxury for a stocking stuffer or hostess gift.

Open Fridays 3-7pm Saturdays 10-5:30 Sundays 12-5 and by appointment and open 24/7 at WildSweets.com 

Now back to Dominique and Cindy - the masterminds behind this all...

Can you please say hello to  with a comment – or go give this post a like or share on Facebook or Twitter.