Roasts, hams, eggs and chocolate: the Easter holidays give a wide variety of irresistible dishes to enjoy during family lunches or celebrations with close friends. As is the case with many other festivities, the important thing is to get together and take the opportunity to carve out a moment of respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, preferably in the company of something tasty to eat and a good bottle to uncork. Here are what are the best Easter food and wine pairings!
A taste of spring: Easter appetizers
The best way to kick off Easter celebrations is to prepare a tasty appetizer, using the typical ingredients of the season, such as eggs and vegetables, including spring asparagus. To pair such distinctive flavors, you need the right labels!
The ingredient of rebirth: boiled eggs on the table
A pagan symbol of fertility and rebirth, eggs are a must-have item during the Easter season. According to a tradition common to many European and Nordic countries, this ingredient is boiled whole and in the shell and painted with bright colors and various motifs to simultaneously honor the arrival of spring and the resurrection of Christ.
For the same reason, eggs are also part of the gastronomic tradition of this period, cooked in a variety of ways, but usually consumed after decorating and peeling them, perhaps accompanied by a sip of wine.
The pairing is not obvious, however, since the egg has a very particular flavor, a sulfurous note that is likely to clash with some labels.
To avoid organoleptic imbalances, the best wine for this context is a “Streda” Vermentino Toscana IGT 2021, delicate and refreshing, perfect for spring appetizers. Characterized by a bright straw-yellow color, it offers on olfactory examination an aromatic texture that foregrounds notes of peach and elderflower, accompanied by a mineral hint. The same freshness recurs on the palate, thanks to a satisfying sip capable of relieving the palate of the pungent hints of egg.
Delicate and fragrant: asparagus quiche perfect for Easter
Equally complex to match are asparagus, an ingredient that goes for most in typical savory pies for Easter and Easter Monday appetizers and picnics. Their flavor-especially in the green variety-is quite pronounced, sweetish and slightly herbaceous, and finds a good oenological match in a fresh, mineral wine such as those obtained from the vinification of the Pinot Blanc variety.
Indeed, a good candidate to cope with the notes of this vegetable is a “Dellago” Pinot Bianco Alto Adige DOC 2023, a wine with a straw-yellow color and bewitching hints of apple and white peach. The mineral texture lends structure, also presenting itself on the palate with refreshing and satisfying hints, making it an excellent white wine for Easter!
Typical meat dishes
Spring, with the first warmth of its days, offers perfect opportunities to organize Easter picnics of salads, sandwiches and vegetable quiches, but the stars of traditional Easter food in the UK are above all the roasted meat dishes, with their decisive flavors, tasty side dishes ... and a good accompanying red wine. But what are the best red wines for lamb and pork?
Tradition and symbolism: the holiday lamb roast
The tradition of consuming lamb meat during Easter dates back to the dawn of time and became part of first Jewish and then Christian culture. A symbol of purity and innocence, the lamb also represents Christ's sacrifice for humanity, which is why it is still part of traditional Easter iconography.
On holiday menus, lamb is typically prepared roasted with the addition of herbs, offering the palate an intense, almost pungent taste reminiscent of that of game. For this reason, it needs to be accompanied by a strong wine.
Italian oenology offers many, but among the best wines for roast lamb is Cannonau di Sardegna DOC 2021, a Sardinian red with intense aromas of raspberries, myrtle and jam.
It is full and smooth on the palate, a perfect wine for an Easter dinner or a festive family meal!
Sweetness and spices: glazed cooked ham to celebrate
Another traditional festive meat dish-consumed at both Easter and Christmas-is boiled ham, which usually undergoes an initial boiling with various spices (cloves, cinnamon, pepper, and coriander) to tone down the saltiness, then baked in the oven with a sweet glaze, made from honey or maple syrup. It can then be served hot, along with a side of potatoes and other vegetables, or eaten the next day in a sandwich, during an Easter picnic.
The method of cooking the ham gives the pork a good balance of savoriness and sweetness, with a spicy aftertaste that beguiles the palate, bite after bite. Traits such as these are, of course, also reflected in the wine pairing, which can focus on either a red or a white wine, as long as they are options that can reflect the hints of the dish.
A good option is a bottle of Lambrusco, an Italian sparkling red wine that is capable of both supporting the strong taste of prosciutto and refreshing the palate with an innate vivacity.
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC Bio, offers this and much more. Organic cultivation gets the best out of Lambrusco grapes, used here in purity, giving the wine red and dark fruit aromas typical of the variety and a smooth taste, enlivened by fragrant mousse.
To end on a sweet note: wine and Easter desserts
An Easter without dessert would be a half-hearted Easter, but fortunately Britain's rich culinary tradition offers taste buds the sweetness they crave so much, especially after a meal of savory entrees and meat. From traditional chocolate eggs to Easter cakes, you are spoiled for choice!
The taste of childhood: the ever-present chocolate eggs
If the hard-boiled egg is an unfailing ingredient for finger foods and appetizers, enjoying the chocolate egg is an equally typical tradition, somewhere between ancient and modern times. There are countless varieties of this typical Easter dessert, from the simplest to those enriched with hazelnut or pistachio crumbs, salted caramel, with berries, citrus zest or with fior di sale and chili pepper, for lovers of more pungent flavors. The classic dark and milk chocolate ones, however, are the most popular and loved by young and old alike.
Those of drinking age can choose the right bottle based on the type of chocolate.
In the case of dark chocolate, which is characterized by a high percentage of cocoa, the most suitable label is a full-bodied and persuasive red, such as a Recioto della Valpolicella Classico DOCG “Rerum” 2022, a real treat for the palate. The full-bodied and bitterish flavor of dark chocolate goes perfectly with the aromas of ripe fruit and violets, but above all with its sweet and smooth taste, obtained thanks to the resting period of at least 6 months in oak barrels.
What about milk chocolate on the other hand? The percentage of cocoa is lower, the sweetness more noticeable, and with every bite the palate can enjoy an irresistible softness of taste.
With these traits comes the need for an equally persuasive wine, such as an “Alì Alé” Toscana IGT Passito, a product of the Maremma obtained by letting the Passito grapes dry inside boxes for at least 70 days. The result is a very fragrant wine, characterized by hints of red fruit, jam, spices and chocolate, as well as a persuasive and persistent taste, also suitable for moments of meditation.
A bread that brings good luck: Hot Cross Buns
One fleeting glance at these sweet little buns is enough to understand their connection to Christian tradition, not only because bread is the quintessential symbol of Communion, but also because of the white cross that marks their surface.
Some say Hot Cross Buns were consumed by the Saxons as part of a ritual in honor of the goddess Eostre (from which the term easter comes), while others claim they were invented by a monk in the 14th century as a gift to the poor on Good Friday. Whatever their true origin, today they represent an Easter dessert consumed in numerous versions, and believed to be a harbinger of good fortune.
A good wine pairing with Hot Cross Buns - especially in the classic version with raisins and candied fruit, or with chocolate chips - is a California “The Big Top” Zinfandel, often used to accompany full-bodied red meat and game dishes, but also very suitable for this pairing. With its blackberry and plum aromas and intense spicy texture (vanilla and black pepper, first and foremost), this wine with its round, structured and persistent taste goes well with this dessert, giving a gritty, but not intrusive tasting.
Simnel Cake and its Easter significance
Closing this guide to wine pairings for Easter is the Simnel Cake, a typical British Easter dessert consisting of a soft, spicy, candied fruit-rich base, a marzipan topping, and 11 balls - also made of marzipan-placed in a circle on top, symbolizing the Apostles (excluding Judas).
The hints involved are sweet, spicy and enveloping, which is why a good wine for Simnel Cake should be soft and persuasive, such as a “Cicheta” Moscato d'Asti DOCG 2023. The use of the pure Moscato variety is reflected in the texture of the tasting, giving the palate hints of yellow peach, lime blossom and herbs, especially sage. Flavor harmony is expressed through an excellent balance between sweetness and acidity, which goes perfectly with the flavor of this dessert!
Now that you know how to pair Easter dishes with the best wines, discover the best bottles on Svinando's catalog.