Wines to pair with your Easter feast

Whether it’s traditional roast lamb, a rich and creamy fish pie or a vegetarian dish...

Zana Romanian Pinot Noir £9, Ocado

LAMB and Pinot are a classic pairing thanks to the tangy, red fruit and herbaceous quality of the wine enhancing the earthiness of the meat, especially if rosemary is involved. This deliciously light version is a bargain.

Réserve de Pizay Beaujolais Villages £12 (in-store), Co-op

BEAUJOLAIS is a soft, wild strawberry and bubble gumscented red wine style that’s a killer pairing for ham. This ‘villages’ version is a consistently good, trade-up wine with crisp acidity and a blackberry flourish.

Toro Loco Rosé £5.99, Aldi

ALDI’s famous Toro Loco does a bargain Spanish pink that will pair perfectly with roast or smoked salmon blinis thanks to its full body and refreshing acidity. The beauty of this wine is that it won’t overpower the fish, either. It makes a lovely, light lunchtime pairing.

Paul Mas Reserve Viognier £8.50 (save £1.50, Clubcard), Tesco

VIOGNIER is a great alternative to Chardonnay. This southern French one is a ‘winner winner with roast chicken dinner’. Perfumed and peachy, with apricot and acacia blossom notes.

Morrisons The Best Amarone £17 (save £3), Morrisons

AMARONE is a big wine with lots of body, texture and concentration that stands up to beef beautifully with its dark cherry and chocolate flavours. It’s usually more expensive than other styles, so this price is seriously good.

La P’tite Pierre Sauvignon Blanc £6 (save £1, Clubcard), Tesco

IT CAN sometimes be problematic to pair wine with green vegetables, but one sure white wine style that covers most bases is Sauvignon Blanc. This is a fabulous, perky little number that’s excellent value for money.

Ernst Loosen Pinot Noir, Germany

£11.99 (mix six), Majestic GERMAN Pinot is always a good trade-up choice if you love an elegant, lightbodied and moreishly saline version. This one from Pfalz is just that. Can take being chilled slightly.

Santa Tresa Frappato £12.50, Ocado

FRAPPATO is a Sicilian grape that gives a light-bodied red wine you can serve slightly chilled. Strawberry-scented with soft tannins, it goes perfectly with ham at brunch as well as cold cuts.

Morrisons The Best Marques de los Rios Rioja Blanco £9, Morrisons

THIS award-winning white Rioja is excellent value and makes a great match with more creamy dishes such as fish pie. Weighty and textured with fruit, it’s a less obvious choice, too.

Surani ‘Pietrariccia’ Fiano £9.99 (mix six), Majestic

THE Italian Fiano grape makes wine that pleases lovers of oaky Chardonnay and zesty Sauvignon. This great all-rounder is medium-bodied with notes of greengage and melon with a citrusy twist.

Botham 80 Series Coonawarra Cabernet £12, Ocado

BEEF loves a bold, Aussie Cabernet like this with its minty, blackcurrant notes and brawny tannins. Cricketer Ian Botham has done well with this. It’ll be great with mint chocolate eggs!

Hacienda Zorita Single Vineyard Verdejo Rueda £12, Ocado

FANS of Sauvignon will like trading up to a Verdejo wine from Spanish Rueda. Grassy notes with an added flintiness. Pairs well with nutty dishes and goat’s cheese.

Beronia Tempranillo Crianza Rioja £13, Sainsbury’s

IF YOU’RE after something fuller- bodied than Pinot Noir, try a Rioja. With its wild cherry and vanilla spice flavours and medium tannin, Crianza hits the spot.

M&S Tbilvino Qvevris Orange £10, M&S and Ocado

ORANGE wine was 202 ’s trend and it’s set to stay thanks to its food-friendly credentials. Essentially white wine made like a red, it gets colour and tannin from grape skins. Floral, nutty and fab.

Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon £19, Ocado

THIS Aussie blend, made in a white Bordeaux style, is worth the price. Citrus notes combine with a honeyed texture to make an epic pairing with fish and chips.

Deluxe Australian Chardonnay, Limestone Coast £6.49, Lidl

AUSSIE Chardonnay loves a roast. Concentrated flavours of peach and melon with an acidity that keeps it all fresh.

Castellore Italian Primitivo £6.29, Aldi

PRIMITIVO for under £7 offers you excellent bang for buck. This particular bottle is immensely juicy, packed full of very ripe, plum spice and figgy notes. A really yummy offering from Aldi.

Recchia Bardolino £9.99, Waitrose

WHEN it comes to tomato- based dishes, red wine is a tricky match but this light, crunchy Bardolino does the job. Fine Chianti lovers will adore this cheaper alternative.

ASDA Extra Special Sicilian Reserve Red £7.75 (save £1), Asda

THIS Sicilian red with a dollop of the Nero D’Avola grape is a lesserknown but fine pairing due to its medium body and earthy cherry and powdery cocoa tone.

Arbousset Tavel Rosé £11 (save £1.50, Clubcard), tesco

LOOKING for something different? Try a darker red, smoky- savoury, slightly grippy rosé. It’s unusual to find these in supermarkets so this is a fantastic, foodie drop.

Tesco Finest Viñas Del Rey Albariño £11, tesco

THE Spanish Albariño grape is a go-to for seafood and delicate dishes such as pan-fried sole. This tipple has zesty citrus, a peachy palate and a subtle, bitter finish.

Lyrarakis Assyrtiko

£9.99 (mix six), Majestic AS A wine geek, it’s brilliant to see this Cretian beauty now available in the UK. Assyrtiko is the Greek white grape that makes Chablis style wine. Classy stuff!

Tesco Finest Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon £10, tesco

THIS particularly elegant Cabernet from Australia is like Bordeaux with a splash more fruit. If you’re serving beef ribs, this will sing.

Tesco Finest Gavi £10, tesco

THE Tesco Finest range has some good wines — and this stony, pearscented Gavi is no exception. It’s round, dry and inoffensive, with just enough of everything to work. Good for potatobased dishes.

La Baume St Paul Syrah £13, Ocado

SYRAH is the sophisticate’s grape of choice for lamb, especially if it’s for dinner. Full-bodied and silky with notes of thyme, grilled meat, plum and violet, this is a great substitute for a more costly Rhône red.

Porcupine Ridge Rosé £8.99, Waitrose

A FULLER-flavoured rosé such as this one from South Africa is a great match with pork products thanks to its juicy, red fruit and subtle, savoury smokiness. It’s excellent value, too.

Morrisons The Best Gruner Veltliner £8 (save £1.50), Morrisons

AN AWESOME all-rounder, Austria’s flagship white grape offers a cool, crisp salinity with a prickle of ginger and baked apple notes. It goes with all fish but particularly sings with skin-on mackerel.

Bruce Jack Chenin Blanc £8.25, Asda

CHENIN Blanc, especially from South Africa, such as this one, is a solid pairing for all kinds of chicken thanks to its fleshy, honeydew melon fruitiness balanced by refreshingly high acidity.

DV Catena Tinto Historico Malbec £11 (save £2), Asda

WHEN it comes to Argentinian Malbec, Catena sets the standard. Combines the class of Old World wines with bright, New World fruit to produce a delicious red that loves grilled beef. Think velvety, chocolatedipped blueberries.

Pasqua ‘PassioneSentimento’ Passimento Rosso £10.99 (mix six), Majestic

PASQUA is Italian for Easter, so this is literally Easter in a bottle! Fans of Amarone will adore this with its concentrated black cherry and chocolate flavours.