Easter is just around the corner and for many of us, a four-day weekend, including a long lunch with some special wine on Easter Sunday, elicits far more excitement than the idea of gorging on chocolate. Whether the decision is to keep it traditional with roast lamb or cook something else that speaks of spring, there’s an obvious opportunity to enhance the meal and occasion with some carefully considered wine choices. With this in mind, we asked seven wine experts to pick out a bottle that’s sure to please over the long weekend.
We’ve gathered recommendations from top sommeliers, buyers and an IWSC judge for the wines that get them excited. These tips should help you broaden your shortlist beyond the usual selections made every year for Easter.
On our list below, you’ll find a range of wines to pair with dishes served at Easter. Expert recommendations to pair with lamb include a new-world Syrah but also a 100% Pinot Meunier rosé Champagne, an Aglianico and a Chilean Carménère. There are also whites to accompany fish and chicken if lamb isn’t on the menu. Whether you’re planning a quiet dinner for two or a big family banquet, these top wines are fit for a fine Easter meal.
Seven top wines perfect for Easter
Rall, Syrah 2023
- £26.50, The Wine Society
- Recommended by Victoria Mason MW, IWSC judge and wine buyer at The Wine Society
‘My favourite pairing with lamb, whether a roast leg or a slow-cooked shoulder, is undoubtedly Syrah. This Easter, I’ll be opening Rall Syrah 2023, which is singing now; its inherent savoury depth and layered dark fruit match up to the deeply meaty flavours of the lamb and work brilliantly with rosemary.’
Cascina Roccalini, Barbaresco Roccalini 2021
- £43, Terra Wines
- Recommended by Cameron Dewar, sommelier, operations director and co-founder at Osteria Vibrato
‘I’ll be drinking Nebbiolo in some form this Easter; I’ve been drinking more and more of it lately. For something more spring-y, I would drink a silky bottle of Barbaresco Roccalini from Piedmont, which always has this lifted red-fruit perfume; so seductive on the nose, vibrant and playful on the palate, not brutish like a lot of Nebbiolo, with a little bunch of tannin on the end. Spring rack of lamb would be perfect but I might go with Veal Milanese… happy days.’
Errazuriz, Kai Carménère 2021
- £58, Hedonism
- Recommended by Andrew Rogerson, estate head sommelier at Grantley Hall
‘This Easter, to accompany roast lamb, I will be enjoying a bottle of Errazuriz Kai Carménère from Aconcagua Valley in Chile. Founded in 1870, the winery is owned by iconic winemaker and sixth-generation producer Eduardo Chadwick. The wine has a wonderful, deep, dark colour, with an opulent nose of blackcurrant and plum. On the palate, the tannins are smooth and silky with complex notes of tobacco, coffee, figs and spices that beautifully complement the rich gamey flavour of roast lamb. On the finish, there is a hint of green pepper that lends itself to the roast vegetables accompanying the lamb. For those that don’t like lamb, the wine also pairs excellently with steak and chimichurri sauce.’
Cantina Giardino, Le Fole 2022
- £30, Tutto a Casa
- Recommended by Jo Radford, co-owner and sommelier at Timberyard
‘I guess a good reason why I’m picking this wine is that when I used to drink and eat meat [Radford is a vegan and has been sober since 2020], I went to visit Cantina Giardino over the Easter weekend. Sitting down with Antonio and Daniella in their family home and drinking old vintages of Aglianico in situ with lamb straight from the grill was a very poignant and visceral moment in my natural wine education. Aglianico is a grape variety from Campagnia in Italy – it’s so perfectly suited to the flavours of coal, charcoal, mediterranean herbs and those flavours that are so synonymous with roast lamb – they are a perfect match. So I’d drink my Aglianico with a spring lamb dish, cooked over coals with friarelli, oil and local chilli. The wine has robust, rustic and savoury expressions of grapes from old vines generally from volcanic plots, which renders these wines of beautiful time and place. Slightly balsamic-y notes pair so perfectly with lamb.’
Domaine Huet, Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec 2022
‘I’d open a Vouvray Demi-Sec 2022 from Domaine Huet: honeyed quince, bright acidity, perfect for Easter. Beyond lamb, the wine is brilliant with roast guinea fowl or chicken with morels. However, for some classic options alongside lamb that aren’t Syrah, there are amazing wines being made by Bricco Ernesto in Italy that are bold and rustic and some beautifully balanced and aged reds from Economou based in Crete, that focus on indigenous varieties, which spark interest and conversation at the table. These will both easily sit alongside classic slow-cooked ragus as well as duck and guinea for the spring. For something a little fresher, I’m always going to head to Champagne, Billecart’s ‘Le Rose’ is always a winner, as is its Elisabeth Salmon 2013 if you’re feeling frivolous; it pairs perfectly with cured salmon or sea trout.’
Jeaunaux-Robin, Rosé de Saignée Brut NV
- £63, Bubbleshop
- Recommended by Sandia Chang, founder of Bubbleshop and co-founder of Kitchen Table
‘Easter calls for celebration and there’s no reason why you can’t drink Champagne with your lamb. This rosé is made with 100% Pinot Meunier, which carries tons of spice notes, fennel pollen and freshly squeezed pomegranate. And as it a rosé made with skin contact, this Champagne has great structure and tannin, allowing it to stand up to hearty meat dishes. Plus, it’s pink and it’s Easter!’
Livio Felluga, Illivio 2023
‘I’d make something like a traybake salmon with fresh green asparagus and jersey royals for Easter, pairing it with a bottle of Illivio by the Livio Felluga winery in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The wine is a blend of Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and Piccolit. The wine is intense with a vibrant minerality that reflects the territory in which the vines are grown. Elegant and voluminous on the palate and yet incredibly approachable and easy to enjoy. After World War II, Livio Felluga, born in Istria, replanted the abandoned site of Rosazzo with fierce conviction. Six generations of family passion later, the estate remains Friuli’s moral compass; elegant, uncompromising and rooted in place. A bold one for spring but full of energy.’
