We are writing this blog with an optimistic eye to the future. Due to coronavirus, Easter brunch may be different this year compared to years past. So whether you are having brunch with family or alone, this blog will help you find the perfect wine to go with your meal. And if your brunch is cancelled due to the outbreak, then save this blog for next year!
Easter brunch is relatively unique among the traditional feasts we celebrate. For one, it doesn’t take place during the cold seasons like Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it’s also not a casual barbecue affair. Easter is about spring, about light, fresh, and bright flavors. Even the flavor profile of the Easter brunch is pretty unique: it’s extremely sweet as even the traditionally savory dishes have a bit of sweetness to them. Acid-driven wines help balance out the richness of a traditional Easter feast. The more structured the wine, the better it will balance out extremely rich flavor profiles.
Below, we discuss some wine choices (and make some recommendations) that will balance your meal, enrich your experience, and impress your guests (or your host, if you’re the sommelier of the evening).
Easter Wine Options by Main Dish
If you’re looking for an excellent all-around choice for Easter brunch, consider rosé. If rosé was made for any holiday, it’s Easter. Bright, clean, light, and refreshing Rosé practically represents Easter in a bottle.
There are two types of rosé you could serve with brunch, both of which are excellent choices:
- Vin gris is made from skipping the maceration process and pressing red-skinned grapes in a process appropriately called “direct to press.” It creates a light, refreshing wine.
- Saignée is made from collecting the juice runoff of grapes being macerated during winemaking.
Because you’re pairing wine with sweet and rich food, you’ll want a rosé that doesn’t include too much alcohol, oak, or acid.
Wine Pairings for Ham
Hams are the most served main dish for Easter. They’re salty from being cured, balanced with a great deal of sweetness from the signature glaze (often made from honey or caramelized sugar). To complement the sweet and the salt, we suggest wines with minerality.
Here are the wine varieties that pair best with ham:
- Dry Rieslings
- Pinot Gris
- Sweet Rieslings
- Pinot Noirs
For an excellent Riesling, we recommend the 2017 or 2018 Riesling from Libelle Wines. With notes of ripe white peach, Gravenstein apple, honeydew melon, fresh cut lime, wet stone, and lime blossoms, this Riesling has the bright acidity and salty minerality to complement ham excellently. This wine was made by our very own Kathleen Ward, an up-and-coming winemaker in Napa Valley. Buy a bottle here!
If you prefer a red wine, we suggest the 2018 Pinot Noir from Spinning Gold Wines. Their 2018 vintage has “layers of blackberry and cherry [that] unfold on the nose and the flavors of cranberry and cherry with subtle notes of clove and a hint of tannin finish.” You can buy a bottle here.
Wine Pairings for Duck
Duck is a less common, though still traditional, dish for Easter brunch. Here’s where the pairing can be a bit of a challenge: while duck is poultry, none of the wine pairing ‘rules’ regarding poultry will apply. Duck is more similar to red meat than poultry. On top of that, duck is often glazed in honey or other sweet flavors. The key to pairing with duck is choosing a wine that has plenty of tannins. This will keep the duck light and palatable.
Here are excellent wine options for duck:
- Gewurztraminer
- Pinot Noir
- Riojas (with smoky profiles)
- Merlot
For pairing with duck, we suggest our Merlot. The 2017 Theorem Merlot is a heady mix of ripe black cherries, fresh plums, milk chocolate, and roasted espresso, which matches well with the richness and sweetness of a glazed duck. This year, we’re releasing a new vintage of our incredible merlot, and it’s going to be even better. Make sure to buy a case to add depth and richness to your Easter brunch for years to come!
We also suggest trying duck with the 2018 La Ciboulette Sauvignon Blanc from Saunter Wines. Made by Heather Clark, this wine “has characteristics of classic gooseberry and bracing acidity. Crisp and refreshing with layers of grapefruit, pineapple and mango,” which makes it an ideal companion for duck.
Wine Pairings for Lamb
Roasted lamb is a standard centerpiece for Easter brunch. The difficulty of pairing lamb is meeting its strong-but-delicate flavor with a wine that will neither overwhelm nor get lost in the meal. You will want to pair lamb with a wine that has earth tones or a medium body.
For us, lamb goes perfectly with Syrah. This year, Theorem will release our first Syrah. It’s coming from a small plot at the top of Moon Mountain District, grown at 1,600 feet of elevation from 15-year-old vines. Our 2018 Moon Mountain District Syrah will be one of our most exciting releases yet! It’s only just been bottled, so it will be available for order soon.
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