Easter Dinner Food & Wine Pairings

Uncork Easter Dinner Food & Wine Pairings

On Easter, colors aren’t just important for dying eggs. The adults must decide if they’re going to serve red or white wine with dinner (and it all depends on the dish). Here’s your guide to pairing traditional Easter entrées with wines that are sure to get your taste buds hopping.

Your Easter Dinner Food & Wine Pairing Guide

When choosing wine, you can take the approach of finding one that complements or enhances the dish. And it’s important to remember that red wines are more bitter; whites, rosé and sparkling wines have more acidity; and sweet wines are, of course, sweeter.

Basic Wine Pairing Rules

1. The wine should either be more acidic or sweeter than the food.
2. The wine should feature the same flavor intensity as the food.
3. Red wines pair best with boldly flavored meats, like red meat.
4. White wines pair best with light-intensity meats, like fish or chicken.
5. Since red wines are bitter, they’re best balanced with fat.
6. When it applies, match wine with the sauce rather than the meat.

Wine to Pair with Ham

Planning on serving a traditional Easter ham and need a recipe that wows? We highly recommend our Bacon-wrapped Ham or Brown Sugar Bourbon Ham. Their sweet and salty flavor mean they pair well with fruity wines that are a bit sweet and feature lots of acidity.

1. Riesling
2. Moscato
3. Zinfandel
4. Rosé

Find even more ham recipes here.

Wine to Pair with Steak

If it’s got to be steak on your Easter Sunday, try our Sous Vide Ribeye Steaks or Seared Strip Steaks and Shrimp with Chimichurri. Since ribeye is more of a fatty cut, you want a bold red.

1. Cabernet Sauvignon
2. Syrah (or Shiraz)

A leaner cut like a strip steak calls for a light- or medium-bodied red with higher acidity to cut through the texture. But remember, if you’re looking to pair wine with this dish’s chimichurri sauce, a bold and fruity red like a malbec is nice.

1. Pinot Noir
2. Zinfandel

Find even more steak recipes here.

Wine to Pair with Lamb

Turkish Lamb Shish Kebabs and Orange Leg of Lamb are more delicate in flavor than beef dishes, and they’re made even more delicious paired with more delicately flavored wines. We recommend medium-bodied reds or bold reds with smoother tannins (which add bitterness and complexity).

1. Malbec
2. Syrah
3. Petite Syrah

Find even more lamb recipes here.

Wine to Pair with Fish

Fin fish break up into different groups based on texture, flavor and meatiness. Here, we’re focusing on meaty salmon with our Creamy Stuffed Salmon and Salmon with Tarragon-Basil Herb Oil recipes. The first recipe goes amazingly with these oaky, full-bodied whites.

1. Chardonnays
2. White Rioja

The other (herby) recipe is delicious with light-bodied, highly acidic and refreshing wines.

1. Sauvignon Blanc
2. Riesling

Find even more seafood recipes here.

More Easter Inspiration

You now have lots of mouthwatering Easter food and wine pairings, so we officially think it’s safe to put all your wines in one basket. And be sure to hop over here for all your other Easter essentials.