Happy Easter to those who observe the holiday! When it comes to celebrating with food and beverages on this holiday, my memories of Easter dinner almost always included ham as the main course. The supporting cast usually included sweet potatoes, coleslaw, some greens, and perhaps some honey-glazed carrots. But, after dinner (and often throughout the day) there were jelly beans and chocolate. I never cared for the “Peeps” (marshmallow chicks). Dying eggs was always fun (though I rarely ate them). When our son was young, my wife and I always enjoyed hiding L’eggs (the empty containers shaped like eggs, that pantyhose came in). We used to put money inside of the eggs and our son enjoyed the search and the finds. This was a better option than the hard-boiled eggs. If you forgot where you hid them and your child did not find them you eventually found them when they started to smell a few days later. I was more interested in the chocolate eggs-Cadbury Eggs or plain chocolate eggs.
Today, we’ve graduated from the jelly beans (mostly, though I still can’t resist the black licorice ones). I will share how we are enjoying the sweet tooth part of Easter dinner, mostly in the liquid form. More about that later…
Our Easter Dinner
Since dinner today is dinner for two, we almost opted for eating out or picking something from a local favorite restaurant and bringing the food home. But, we realized we had most of the ingredients to enjoy our dinner at home. We decided on a fairly simple, but traditional menu: shrimp cocktail for our appetizer, followed by ham, sweet potatoes, Brussel sprouts, and coleslaw.
Appetizer
Simply shrimp with cocktail sauce, paired with a Rose Pet Nat from Bellview Winery. Rose wines and sparkling wines are often suggested as good pairings with shrimp cocktail. This one checks both boxes. A dry sparkler with strawberry notes.
Main Course
Ham, sweet potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, and coleslaw (see below). Simple, but delicious. My wife did a great job with the food, while I mostly just chose and poured the wine. Thank you, Carol!
Wine
I chose two wines to enjoy with our entree: Amalthea Cellars Leda Rose and Beneduce Vineyards 2020 Pinot Noir. I chose the Beneduce Pinot Noir, while my wife chose the Amalthea Rose, though we both enjoyed a little of each others’ wine, as well.
Amalthea Cellars Leda Rose-A very good, dry, Tavel-style Rose with tasty strawberry notes. One of the best buys for a good dry Rose on the market ($16.99). A delicious wine that paired very well with our Easter meal.
Beneduce Vineyards 2020 Reserve Pinot Noir-A terrific Pinot Noir, which recently received 92 points from Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor at James Suckling.com (both noted wine critics). It has bright red fruit on the palate and silky smooth tannins. One of the best Pinot Noirs in the state. It was a perfect accompaniment to the ham (and great all by itself).
Dessert with Wine
I can’t resist chocolate in all of its forms. So we decided on some Dark Chocolate Thins with Almonds and Sea Salt to eat with our wine. The wine: Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cream from Tomasello Winery. It is a rich and creamy delight that is sweet, but not cloyingly so. Both were exceptional.
So, a simple, but delicious traditional Easter dinner, accompanied by some excellent New Jersey wines. If you are worried about the number of bottles opened for this holiday-no worries. We didn’t finish any of the bottles, we didn’t have to drive anywhere, and we have good stoppers!
Cheers!
Coming Attractions
- Saddle Hill Cellars Grand Opening
- Va La Vineyards
- Eclipse Brewing
- My Latest NJ Wine of the Week
- Face-Off #2
Tried a New Jersey wine lately? Visited a New Jersey winery recently? Please share your experience here. Just tap on the Comment section and add your comment(s). Like what you read and see on these post? It couldn’t be easier to scroll down, hit the Subscribe button, and get your weekly pour of NJ wine right in your inbox. No spills. No mess.
