When picking Easter wine, salty ham calls shots

Is it just me or does everyone have a relative who brings some random side dish to Easter dinner? Like squash and marshmallow casserole or something equally questionable. And no one ever has the heart to tell him or her not to.

So, along with the traditional menu of roasted ham, scalloped potatoes and a green vegetable will be the indiscriminate side dish. Just remember: one bite to be polite.

But with the traditional trio of ham, potato and veg firmly in place, you can think about the wine.

Potatoes and basic vegetables such as corn, green beans and peas go with pretty much any wine in the world: red or white, light or fuller-bodied, dry or sweetish. So it’s the ham really that calls the shots.

Here are five stellar styles to pair with what is essentially is cured and roasted pig. Prosecco Easter is a time of celebration so bubbles are quite fitting really.

The delicate complexity of bonafide Champagne would be lost with this menu but Prosecco — the pearscented perky pour that it is — is a fine choice.

It’s light and affordable enough to keep topping up the glasses before,

during and after the meal. Riesling Riesling tastes like bright strokes of lime, especially when it hails from Germany, Alsace or Ontario. Sometimes, you’ll notice a kiss of sweetness too, but the tight spine of acidity inherent to the variety scrapes the palate clean after each sip, leaving your palate refreshed. And since acidity hides sweetness, an off-dry riesling can easily taste quite dry. Dry, off-dry or sweet styles work magically with the saltiness of ham. Red Burgundy Classicists will love the idea of drinking a fine red from Northern Burgundy with Easter dinner. Made from pure, cool climate Pinot Noir, the style is light weight, bone dry and gently suggestive of violet, raspberry and beetroot. These flavours work beautifully with ham, especially if it’s smoked. New World Pinot Noir The New World can produce a richer, more fruit-forward expression of Pinot Noir that will probably resonate more with diners who gravitate to Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec most of the time. Oregon and California are especially known for this style of Pinot Noir. Yet, the wine will always retain that bright, tart, raspberry core and violet nuance that is the essence of the variety and shines with ham. Côtes du Rhône Red Reds from the Côtes du Rhône in that picturesque southern Rhône region of France can be gorgeous pours that blend fruit-forward hedonism with the sophistication of savory complexity.

These wines combine several different grape varieties, the most important of which are the juicy grenache and the meaty syrah.

Without a doubt, a good bottle of red Côtes du Rhône wine can be a stylish complement to a ham dinner. Carolyn Evans Hammond is a Torontobased wine writer. She is also a Londontrained sommelier and two-time bestselling wine book author. Reach her at carolyn@carolynevanshammond.com.