Welcome to the first big weekend of spring
Easter is one of the best times of the year to have people over. It’s a long weekend made up of little hosting moments – Sunday lunch, a pop-in that turns into dinner, and maybe (if the forecast holds), the first glass in the garden of the year.
That’s what makes Easter such a joy. One minute you’re planning lunch, the next you’re wiping down garden chairs in a jumper, buttering hot cross buns for people who “weren’t hungry”, and trying to find somewhere sensible to put an enormous chocolate egg.
We’re here to guide you through all of it: what to pour, what to serve, and how to make the whole weekend feel deliciously under control. And yes, there are technically four days to this weekend. But let’s start where it really matters…
Easter Sunday: the day everyone ends up in your kitchen
This is the day of the roast, the very special bottle, and the sense that there are far too many cooks in this kitchen, thank you very much.
If you’re hosting, this is where a little planning goes a long way – Easter lunch tends to bring together all the best things about spring eating: rich roasts, fresh greens, buttery sides, and plenty of reasons to keep topping everyone up.
But before the lamb goes in, before anybody starts asking how they can help in a way that definitely won’t help, there’s the small matter of welcoming everyone properly. That, ideally, starts with fizz.
To start: something sparkling
There’s something very reassuring about handing someone a glass of sparkling wine the minute they walk through the door. It says: you’re here, the celebration has begun.
Although if you’re hosting a smaller crowd and everyone’s due within the same sort of window, it’s nice to wait and *pop* open the first bottle together. It feels more like an occasion that way. If arrivals are more staggered – your mum’s always early, Uncle Bob’s always late, your sibling’s texting “two mins” from a driveway ten miles away – then by all means start pouring as people land.
Handy tip: if you’re serving drinks on arrival, make sure the bottle is properly chilled in advance (pop it in the fridge the day before). Sparkling wine really does drink best when it’s cold, crisp and ready to pour.
As for what to pour, if it’s bubbly and delicious – there are no wrong answers. But something bright and crowd-pleasingly fruity like a Prosecco is always a safe bet. Traditional method sparklings bring a bit more toast and complexity – while a Crémant or Cava sits very nicely in the sweet spot. Elegant, with a touch of fruit, and often a bit kinder on the wallet than Champagne.
Bonus points if you’re feeling organised – set out a bowl of raspberries or a few sprigs of mint nearby and let people zhuzh up their glass.
Sunday lunch: the main event
Whether you’re serving lamb, chicken, a veggie dish, or something else entirely, this is the meal that anchors the day.
Easter Sunday is such a gift from a pairing point of view. There’s richness, yes – but also lots of spring flavours that keep everything feeling bright. Rosemary, mint, lemon, peas… maybe some asparagus or buttery new potatoes. There’s a lot here for a good bottle to get stuck into.
If it’s lamb…
Roast lamb is Easter in a roasting tin. Garlic, rosemary, caramelised edges, mint sauce somewhere on the table – it’s rich, savoury and made for red wine.
This is where bold, structured reds come into their own, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux blends, Rioja Reserva or Syrah/Shiraz. You want something with enough depth to stand up to the lamb, roast potatoes and gravy, but still soft enough to not bulldoze everything on the plate.
Curveball recipe: if you want to go in a fresher direction – lamb tagine is a very good way to go. Think herby, spicy lamb, with heaps of couscous, maybe a few pomegranate seeds or dried apricots sprinkled throughout. It still feels generous and centrepiece-worthy, but with a brighter, more spring-y energy. Pair it with a juicy Grenache, a softer Shiraz, or any red with plenty of fruit.
If it’s not lamb…
Not everyone wants lamb just because the calendar says Easter. Roast chicken is a brilliant alternative if you want something a little lighter – or if you’d rather make white wine the star of the table. Especially with lemon, thyme, butter and a tray of spring vegetables.
This is where richer whites come into their own, like Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc. You want something with enough texture to stand up to the rich roastiness on the plate, but still fresh enough to match the sunshine feeling.
Handy tip – richer whites like these are better lightly chilled than ice cold. So take them out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving and you’ll get much more of those lovely rounded flavours.
Curveball recipe: fancy going even further off-piste? Brown crab is just rounding into season in the UK in April. A big dressed crab with nice bread, lemons, herbs and maybe some garlicky mayo makes for a perfect celebratory platter – and pairs beautifully with crisp whites like Albariño or Sauvignon Blanc. Or even a cold sparkling wine if you want to keep the fizz flowing.
If it’s veggie…
A veg-led centrepiece can be every bit as Easter-worthy as a roast. Think a tart filled with asparagus, peas, spring onions and whatever else is looking particularly good at the greengrocer’s. It’ll look lovely in the middle of the table, and goes very nicely with a glass of something fresh.
Your best friend here are crisp, aromatic whites, like Sauvignon Blanc or Grüner Veltliner. You want something with enough zip to keep up with all those fresh green flavours, but not so much that it barges in and takes over.
Curveball recipe: lean into spring with a rhubarb curry. Rhubarb’s in season now and, while it might sound like pudding territory, its tartness gives a curry the same bright, lip-smacking lift you’d get from tamarind or lime. Go for a veg-packed version with lentils, chickpeas or potatoes, and pair it with an off-dry Riesling, an aromatic Gewürztraminer, or even a chilled rosé.
Four extra-handy hosting tips for Sunday lunch
Prep the boring bits first: lay the table, make the sauces, prep the veg, chill the wine. Anything you can get out of the way before the oven’s in full swing is worth doing. It also gives the well-meaning kitchen hoverers something useful to do.
Warm your serving dishes: a hot roast cools down faster than you think once it hits the table. Warm plates help everything stay at its best for longer. Just turn the oven down when the roast comes out and slide them in for five minutes. Failing that, a generous sluice of hot gravy covers a multitude of sins.
Open the special bottle: within reason, obviously. No need to crack open the anniversary wine if you don’t want to. But if you’re hovering over a bottle wondering whether Easter Sunday is “special enough”, the answer is probably yes. A long lunch, good food, your favourite people around the table? There won’t be many better hypothetical occasions.
Keep a back-up bottle nearby: this isn’t a day for stingy pours. Share your wines generously, and a spare bottle of something versatile means you can top people up without suddenly having to make executive decisions mid-gravy.
And once the roast’s been cleared, the gravy’s been mopped up and everyone’s declared themselves completely full – then comes the bit where everyone says they couldn’t eat another thing. Oh, but maybe just one more itty bitty Easter treat…
Bring on the buns: it’s hot cross time
You can’t do Easter without hot cross buns. They’re one of those beautiful foods that seem to work at almost any hour. Breakfast, lunch, post-dinner when someone says they’re “just peckish”.
Whether you’re a purist or happy to entertain one of the new chocolate-orange or blueberry variations, the principle is the same: they should be soft, lightly spiced, and warm enough for the butter to melt into smithereens on contact.
Now, not every Easter treat needs a wine pairing. Tea remains an excellent option, and (in our experience) no one’s ever disappointed with a hot cross bun and a cuppa.
But there are a few bottles that work well if you do want to make a wine moment of it. Something with a touch of sweetness like an off-dry Riesling is a lovely shout. Or if buns are giving way to chocolate, even a small glass of Port would go down nicely.
Handy tip: Speaking of Easter treats… chocolate and wine sounds like a dream pairing. But in reality, it’s complicated. Dark chocolate works beautifully with fruity reds. But milk chocolate – the kind most Easter eggs are made of – is sweeter than dry wines, which means it can leave them tasting bitter. If you do want to pair your Easter egg with something, sweeter styles are the safer bet: like that Port.
When the weather behaves: the lighter moments of Easter
At some point over the long weekend – Friday fizz, a Saturday pop-in, a slightly sleepy Monday afternoon – somebody will inevitably say, “It’s so nice out, shall we sit in the garden?”
Sometimes this is a lovely idea. Sometimes everybody’s back indoors within fourteen minutes. But while the illusion lasts, this is where spring wines really come into their own.
Rosé is the obvious hero here. Whether it’s pale Provence styles, deeper rosés with a bit more fruit, sparkling rosé if you’re feeling festive – all work beautifully with that first proper outdoor glass of the year. Crisp whites like Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio are equally ideal. These are wines made for sunshine, nibbly bits, and pretending you’re somewhere much warmer than you are.
Handy tip: and by nibbly bits, we really do mean nibbly bits. A bowl of almonds (or your nut of choice), some good crisps, a few olives, maybe a bit of cheese. Easter already has enough feasting built in without demanding a whole outdoor platter. And anyway, you’ll probably be back inside in ten minutes.
Or if the weather really pulls its weight, you could even make a case for the first barbecue of the year. Nothing too elaborate – a few simple things on the grill, a nice glass of red in hand, and Easter starts feeling very summer-y all of a sudden.
The big thing: aim for lovely, not 100% flawless
A good Easter doesn’t need to be immaculate. In fact, it’s probably better if it isn’t.
The weather will do something unhelpful, lunch may take longer than planned, and someone will almost certainly eat way too much chocolate before dinner. None of that really matters. The point is to enjoy time with the people you care about – the good eggs in your life – and have something good to pour when glasses start looking empty.
So whether you’re roasting lamb, toasting buns, opening rosé in a patch of weak sunshine or putting the kettle on after the egg hunt, keep it simple. A good bottle and a table people are happy to linger around will do very nicely.
Happy Easter – and happy hosting.
