Easter and Passover dinner is the highlight of these special holidays. Crafting menus that are built around immaculate entrees paired with a great wine is essential. If you’re looking for a wine to accompany your meal, try the recommendations below.
Choosing a Wine to Accompany Your Easter and Passover Meal
As a main course, lamb and ham are the two most popular Easter entrées. Choosing a versatile wine to have with your main entrée will complete your Easter meal. Red, white and rose varieties pair well with ham. Riesling and Gewürztraminer are white wines that have a fresh fruit flavor. This fresh fruit flavor coincides well with ham to balance out the salt levels. The red wine Zinfandel is also a great option when pairing a wine with your ham.
Pinot Noir is a popular wine for lamb dishes. It has a freshness that exudes an earthy and herbal combination that is full of spice. This wine easily accommodates a mixture of seasonings and sauces that accompany your lamb or main course. Though Pinot Noir is often paired with lamb, it goes exceptionally well with beef and baked poultry. Pinot Noir is preferred when your lamb is made rare and Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux is preferred to be prepared with a more well-done entrée.
Easter Wines
Sparkling wines are widely appreciated to drink with any meal. Its fruit accents and the touch of vanilla make it a very versatile wine that goes well with a vast amount of food selections. The sparkling wine Brut Rose is fermented in New Mexico. It is a combination of pinot noir and chardonnay. The floral aromas of raspberry and strawberry emit from this wine combination. As you taste this wine you first experience the delicate flavors of strawberry, plum and cherry. Finishing off the savory remains; the fruity flavors are followed by a touch of apple and vanilla. Another sparkling wine made mostly from Pinot Noir is Blanc de Noirs. Its taste is accented by cherry, citrus and vanilla flavors.
The white wine Riesling has a soft sweet character that brings out the peach and grapefruit zests within this vibrant wine. When opting for an entrée of seafood, Cuvee de Fume is an excellent white wine choice that receives its authentic intermingled flavor from a blend of sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc and Semillon. The flowing scents of honeydew melon, lychee, citrus peel, almond and exciting herbs are key elements of this beautiful wine.
The versatile qualities of Malbec wine allow it to accompany beef, lamb or ham on any occasion. The earthy qualities coupled with the accents of simple red fruit give off a complex wine. As the wine opens, you can taste the red cherries with a hint of chocolate. Savoring the wine further, the fruit flavor opens to a darker taste.
Passover Wines
Kosher wines are preserved and produced in a very strict manner. The process of harvesting kosher wines is carried out by precise guidelines. Each bottle has to be officially certified, which mean that the bottles must be supervised by a rabbi during the production phase. Kosher bottled wine carries a special kosher identifying mark to let the public know that the bottle is kosher certified.
Brut Cava is a wonderful sparkling wine and goes well with appetizers, salads and egg-based meals. Brut Cava is refreshing with the bubbly essence of apple and pear. Hailing all the way from Tuscany, Italy, the exclusive Sangiovese grapes are the ingredients of the Chianti wine. Its fruity elements of strawberry and black cherry with the composed ripe flavor of earthy red berry fruit goes marvelously well with veal.
Chardonnay from the Oak Knoll District of Napa, California, has a rich feel for pear flavors coupled with toasty spices from the aged oak. The fullness and richness of the wine is a product of malolactic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation and aged oak aids in the production of the wine’s buttery qualities.
