Wine Wired

With Lent ending and Easter here, we celebrate with the traditional Easter dinner. For those of you having ham, I have a few recommendations. With the saltiness of the ham, I would shy away from anything tannic. My white wine recommendation is a Riesling, preferably dry (Troken) or slightly sweet (Halb-troken). If a red wine is more to your liking, try something light and fruity. I recommend a Beaujolais Village (gamay grape) for your salty Easter ham dinner.

For those of you looking for a pairing with lamb for Easter, the true traditionalists, I am in your corner. Lamb for me requires a red to stand up to the stronger flavors of this delicious meat. One could go old world red from Northern Rhone. The Syrah in the northern Rhone is more restrained than new world but absolutely sexy. I would say Crozes-Hermitage. A new would Syrah from Australia would also work. Just remember, this is going to be a big, bold wine so fat is your friend here. These new world syrahs work better if there is a red or black fruit component to the dish. I have also had excellent results with Argentinian Malbec and lamb.

My overall recommendations are: make both some ham and lamb. Start with the reisling and Beaujolais Village with the ham. Move on to the lamb with some Shiraz or Syrah (new world or old world) and some malbec. Take a nap then emerge for some chocolate dessert with some port. That would make for a great holiday. Cheers.