The best wines to pair with your Easter roast dinner
From fizz to whites and reds, Sam Wylie-Harris rounds up the tastiest top drops for Easter feasting
There’s no escaping the fact Easter entertaining will be at home this year – apart from fleeing the nest for nature trails, and meeting up with some family and friends outside if you can.
So, we may as well make the most of this deliciously long foodie holiday, with a selection of wines that’s fit for Easter feasting.
For some much needed celebratory spring cheer, we’ve been busy burrowing and have hunted down the perfect pours, at a variety of price points, so you don’t get caught on the hop.
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1. Adrien Chopin Brut Champagne, France, currently £15 (was £18), Morrisons
A cracking good champagne to get you hopping with excitement, Which? magazine awarded this “best buy” the highest score of 82 per cent in a blind tasting last year. A golden nugget that’s rich and full, with tiers of exuberant fruit and lovely toasty aromas, it beat off competition from big-name champagne houses. A steal for the price.
2. Adnams Pecorino, Terre Di Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy, £7.99, Adnams
Adnams have a broad range of exciting own-label wines to explore, and if you’ve tired of your fail-save savvy blanc, pecorino is the trendy new pour. Fresh with subtle green aromas, flavours of citrus and peach abound with tangy acidity. Think asparagus cream pasta topped with pecorino cheese and, of course, a glass of pecorino on the side. Perfect.
3. Taste the Difference Côtes du Rhône 2019, France, £8, Sainsbury’s
A really good all-rounder and workhorse white from the southern Rhone, this blend of grenache, viognier and local grapes has a lively core of pear, green apple and peach, with notes of white flowers and tiny hint of vanilla from barrel-ageing lending a mild, creamy richness. The perfect pairing with roast chicken, grilled fish, savoury nibbly bits and mild, creamy cheeses.
4. Berry Bros & Rudd Chablis by Domaine du Colombier 2019, Burgundy, France, £18.95, Berry Bros & Rudd
Chablis producers have defined the style of chardonnay in this famous region, and this has all the purity and steely freshness with classic aromas of crushed oyster shell and lime, plus plenty of ripe stone fruits, fresh acidity, minerality and an oyster shell finish. Brilliant on its own, but perfect with Good Friday fish pie, goat’s cheese salad and shellfish.
5. Mirabeau Pure Magnum (1.5L) Rose 2019, Provence, France, £31, Waitrose
With a spring in our step at the thought of garden get-togethers and early forecasts predicting a sunny weekend, what better way to mark the moment than with a magnum? One of the most charming Provencal pinks out there, this vintage is celebrated for its appetising palate of summer berries and pink grapefruit freshness, with touches of citrus and elegant finish.
6. Saracosa 2019, Toscana IGT, Italy, £10.99, Laithwaite’s
A succulent sangiovese based blend that’s silky smooth and offers the best of both worlds, with a splash of cabernet sauvignon and merlot in the mix. Utterly delicious, it effortlessly draws you in with enticing violet scents, intense, sun-kissed fruit and layers of spiced cherry, plums and lick of oak on the long finish. Food-friendly, the winemaker suggests grilled lamb with rosemary and garlic, or pasta with wild boar ragu with fresh pasta. Bellissima!
7. Tesco Finest Rioja Gran Reserva 2013, Spain, £11.50, Tesco
A tempranillo temptress that’s compelling and rewarding – especially at this price, when you consider the ageing in a gran reserva (five years with at least two years in oak and two years in the bottle). With a lovely counterbalance of sweet vanilla oak and spice, baskets of mellow black fruits, an earthy, savoury note, rounded tannins and satisfying, long, finish, it delivers what it promises on the nose. Serve with roast leg of lamb, studded with rosemary and cloves.
8. M&S Ebenezer Seppeltsfield Shiraz 2019, Barossa Valley, Australia, £14, Marks & Spencer stores
Rich and sumptuous, this really is a suntrap of a shiraz and another frontrunner for your Easter parade. Bursting with aromas of cassis and sleek oak contact to create a lavish, forest floor of fleshy, spiced fruit with cherry and dark blueberry notes, ending with a long, powerful finish. A showy style to partner barbecued, roasted or grilled red meats.
9. Fonseca Bin 27 Reserve Port (75cl), Portugal, £13.95, Amazon
To take those luxurious chocolate desserts, truffles and melt-in-the mouth moments to the next level, Fonseca’s rich, fruity port is simply gorgeous, with its lingering juicy black fruits galore. Velvety smooth and extremely moreish, it’s a must-have on your shopping list. Happy Easter!