Words by Marianna Hunt
A four-day Easter Bank Holiday calls for three things; a decadent spread of luscious foods, excellent company, and an array of wines that will turn a simple long weekend into a proper holiday to remember. Here we recommend eight wonderful wines to make for a special Easter weekend – plus the foods to pair with them. As for the company? That’s chef’s choice.
Ridgeview Fitzrovia Rosé NV, £40 via Ridgeview
If Christmas is rich, fatty smoked salmon and buttery champagne, Easter is daisy-fresh crab and fruity English sparkling.
The delicate pink hue, fine bubbles and vibrant raspberry notes of Ridgeview’s Fitzrovia Rosé NV make it the perfect wine for a celebratory spring-time lunch – a much-needed pick-me-up after the long winter months.
Its delicate fruitiness and high acidity are also the dream partner for fresh English crab – with its sweet, mild flavour and just a hint of saltiness.
Easter falls just at the start of peak crab season (April to November), so you can enjoy some of the first catches of the year. Serve with a rich mayonnaise, a liberal squeeze of lemon and buttered brown toast.
The Ned Pinot Noir, £14.99 via Majestic
Of course, nothing says Easter like roast lamb. This 2020 Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand is ripe with red berries – followed by an oaky spicy finish. It’s got enough body to stand up to slow-cooked meat but is not so heady and high in alcohol that it’ll send you to sleep after lunch.
Pair it with a leg of lamb, pricked with rosemary, glazed in a redcurrant sauce and cooked until it is falling apart.
If you prefer a rich, red wine gravy to the berry sauce, opt for the Saint-Mont, Château de Sabazan 2018 (£16.50 via The Wine Society) instead. Grape varieties including tannat, pinenc and the cabernets have been blended to create a full-bodied red with powerful tannins that needs to be drunk with food.
Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay, £12.99 via Waitrose
If the weather gods bless the Easter weekend with some of the first sunny days of the year, no one wants to be stuck inside sweating over roast lamb and drinking red wine.
In that case, the day calls for an easy make-ahead meal and a rich white that isn’t heavy but isn’t the wishy-washy kind you get bored of as soon as the sun disappears.
This South African chardonnay is the answer. The grapes are all hand-picked then barrel-fermented in oak (without ending up overly oaky) – giving a rich blend of apricot and coconut on the nose and marzipan and citrus on the mouth.
The result is a wine that walks a beautifully fine balance between creaminess and zestiness. It pairs perfectly with a spring vegetable pie with a creamy lemon and mascarpone filling.
The meal can be prepared in advance – just pop it in the oven, chill your wine and head out for your Easter egg hunt.
Bleasdale Adelaide Hills Riesling 2022, £17.99 via Laithwaites
Like a cool gust of sea breeze, this Australian riesling is bracingly crisp, refreshing and lifts the spirits.
But instead of the saltiness of sea air, you’re met by a faceful of zesty citrus. On the mouth, expect lemon-and-lime cordial and crunchy green apple. The finesse with which this sublime freshness is executed should come as little surprise from the Potts family, who’ve managed Bleasdale Vineyards for five generations.
The wine cries out for some slow-cooked pork belly – with crackling a’plenty. The high-acid freshness of the wine cuts right through the oozy, fatty cut of meat – and the crisp starchiness of roast potatoes.
Domaines Schlumberger S de Schlumberger NV, Alsace, £19.99 via Laithwaites
Alsace is a stunning place to visit in spring, as early blossoms and flowers start to appear on the hills surrounding its pretty Medieval towns.
If you’re not able to visit in person, this wine (a blend of pinot gris, blanc and noir) is the next best thing for that same hit of spring joy. The Schlumberger estate – a 200-year-old vineyard – is known for its delicate whites with ageing potential and this is a classic of the genre.
It’s full of bright stone fruit – like biting into a just-ripe peach – while the time it has spent ageing on lees gives it a buttery, creamy feel in the mouth that makes this wine more than just an easy summer drinker.
Enjoy it with a risotto made with morels (a classic harbinger of spring) or delicate white spring truffle.
Grande Reserve White Ixsir, £29.50 via The Great Wine Co
Heady and aromatic, with enticing notes of honeysuckle and jasmine, this white wine from Lebanon makes you think of spring blossom and the prospect of holidays abroad. It’s the dream drink to get you in the mood for warmer days.
The wine is a blend of chardonnay, viognier and sauvignon blanc – combined to get the right balance of intoxicating floral flavours, juicy fruit and subtle citrus, with a toasty finish thanks to some barrel-ageing.
It calls for food with aromatic, distinctive flavours – like the unmistakable scent of wild garlic you find in woodlands in spring-time. Whizz up some freshly foraged garlic leaves into a pesto and serve with spaghetti.
Lost and Found Barbera, £8.99 via Waitrose
Italy’s Barbera grapes produce wines that are juicy, light in body and soft on the tannins.
It has traditionally been seen as a bit of a poor sibling to Nebbiolo – but some outstanding examples (such as this one) have been emerging and if you’re after a fresh, easy-drinking red that can easily morph from an afternoon to evening wine, it’s ideal.
Start with a glass over roast chicken at lunch and continue over some cheese and crackers in the evening.
Rather than the traditional home of Barbera (Italy’s Piedmont), this particular version comes from Riverina in Australia, where they’ve found the sandy soils and Mediterranean climate make for perfect growing conditions.
Oremus Tokaji Aszú, £77.95 via Twelve Green Bottles
Hungarian tokaji is the king of dessert wines. Polishing off a meal with this honey-gold nectar is sure to impress friends or family. Its intense flavours of canned apricot and honey – leaving an aftertaste of nuttiness and ginger – make it a gorgeous companion for traditional Easter simnel cake. Stippled with sultanas and orange peel and crowned with creamy almond paste and 11 chubby balls of marzipan – the fruitiness and nuttiness of the cake and wine blend together into one sweet whole.
However, if you want to go for something a bit lighter, it would go equally well with baked apricots slathered in honey, thick Greek yoghurt and flaked almonds.
