Raise Your Glass to the Easter Feast
Bring on the Easter feast! Quiche, french toast, jelly beans, ham, chocolate eggs, deviled eggs, oysters, lamb… a day of blessed indulgence. Here are lovely suggestions to pair with them.
A little bubbly Italy white wine called Prosecco will liven up your morning orange juice, you can use the rest of it later in an afternoon cocktail. When it’s time to sit down for morning brunch be sure to have locally made George’s
Bloody Mary mix on hand. If you want to splurge, may I suggest using Effen cucumber infused vodka from Holland. Anything mixed with George’s will be delicious, but be sure to have a lime around or even bread and butter pickles to drown in it.
Another lovely indulgence to offer would be a splash of Rumchata to sweeten up your coffee cup. If you have yet to discover Rumchata, you are missing out on something very special. It is a blend of premium Caribbean rum, Wisconsin dairy cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and a few other secret things. Delicious.
Hopefully It will be a gorgeous day spent outside socializing with neighbors and friends. Be sure to have some yummy craft beers on hand to share with all who stop by. I would suggest spring offerings like Dogfish Head’s Aprihop, made with apricots, or Evolution’s Sprung, brewed with honey, hibiscus and chamomile. You could be really cool and offer your friends some delicious hard apple ciders, or even British made Crabbie’s, brewed with ginger beer.
Easter ham will be lovely paired with a white wine such as a Riesling, Gewürztraminer or Viognier. These wines offer fresh, flavors with enough sweet fruit to balance the salt in the ham and enough acidity to support the combination without compromising the flavor in either the ham or the wine. If you prefer a red wine with your ham, then try a Zinfandel, the “fruit bomb” tendency many Zins have can handle the ham’s sweeter side.
For lamb, I suggest a red with a more balanced profile, such as a Pinot Noir, a Rhone blend or even a mellow Cabernet or Merlot. The goal is to have a wine with enough fruit and acidity to handle the robust flavors of the lamb, but not overpower it in the process.
Back to the rest of that bottle of Prosecco I suggested earlier. For a lovely spring cocktail, mix it up with St. Germain Elderflower liqueur and a splash of club soda.
Happy Easter. May your table be overflowing with all things delicious. Stop by West O Bottle Shop to purchase any of the ideas above!
