If you’re serving the traditional Easter ham or lamb for Sunday dinner, you won’t want to ruin all your hard work in the kitchen by pairing it with the wrong wine.

Local wine experts say there are plenty of good bottles to choose from, even if you’re serving both meats.

Chris Peterman, director of the Maine chapter of American Sommelier, and Joe Appel of Rosemont Market, who writes the wine column for the Portland Press Herald, both suggest lighter-bodied red wines with either dish.

“I would maybe even look to the smokiness you find in California pinots,” Peterman said. “They go great with ham but also deal with the earthiness in lamb because you have that nice fruit forward.”

Appel likes a “really good Beaujolais.”

“Also, Austrian reds often have a nice spice and pepperiness to them,” he said, “but they have a fresh fruitiness that’s nice for the season.”

Advertisement

Appel added that plenty of whites will also work well, including fuller bodied wines like Oregon pinot gris.

Any slightly off-dry Riesling (it has just a touch of sweetness) will go especially well with ham, Appel said. “To me, off-dry Riesling and ham is the match made in heaven,” he said.

For lamb, Appel suggested a classic Bordeaux is the way to go. Try to find one with a little age on it – 4 to 7 years old.

A red wine that flies under the radar but goes nicely with lamb is Bourgueil, which comes from the Loire River Valley in France. Made with cabernet franc grapes, Bourgueil tastes clean and herbaceous, he said.

Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at:

mgoad@pressherald.com

Twitter: MeredithGoad


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.