Good wine for sheep and asparagus

Easter is the second major celebration of the church year. Like Christmas, people gather at the Dining Table to enjoy traditional cuisine. As well as celebrating the moment with good drinks.

For many, Easter is also the start of spring, when the terraces and barbecues are put in order. And enjoy longer leisure.

Iltalehti asked two wine experts to list their own favorite Easter wines.

Award-winning winemaker Ilkka Sirén and Finland’s number one sommelier Samuil Angelov chose five wines and suitable food for them. The wines are sparkling, white and red.

Ilkka Siren’s tips

Ilkka Siren calls his first wine “Easter throw-in wine”. A good wine, he says, doesn’t have to be high in price tag or difficult in style.

This Portuguese is a low-threshold gourmet wine.

1. Casual brewing wine

Casal Garcia Rosé, Portugal (€ 5.59) 0.375 l

I like to brew this wine myself during the relaxed barbecues of spring and summer. The value for money is great. Stylistically, the wine is traditional to the area and is sparkling.

Of course, rosé champagne is also good for this purpose.

Casal Garcia Rosén works well with grilled asparagus, as does salmon. A varied savory appetizer is suitable for everyone. The small sweetness of the wine makes it supple for a variety of dishes.

2. For fresh vegetarian food

Polz Spiegel Chardonnay, Austria (€ 14.98) 0.75 l

Polz Spiegel Chardonnay is on the Slovenian border. Styria is known for its pure white wines.

With asparagus, many drink Sauvignon Blancia, but I think together they underscore each other’s green flavors. Sometimes the end result is like a mouth full of freshly cut grass.

Other fresh vegetarian dishes go well with this wine.

3. Succulently plump

Esporão Monte Velho Biológico, Portugal (€ 11.99) 0.75 l

The organic red wine Esporão Monte Velho Biológico is a blend of numerous grapes.

Portugal knows how to make good value for money wines.

This wine has an intense, dark berry flavor. It is a succulently full-bodied red wine. Rugged tannin structure, but not too tight.

If the sheep goes through the grill, this is a good wine. Spicy raw sausages also work well. The wine is vegan. It is delicious on the side of richly structured vegetarian food, like a spicy vegetarian pot.

Alternatively, try the inexpensive and delicious South African Fish Hoek Shiraz red wine.

4. Rough classic

Ortega Ezquerro Vino De Tudelilla Crianza, Spain (€ 14.80) 0.75 l

A classic from Rioja. This wine works with roast lamb. The richly aromatic mutton has a flavor, but so does this wine.

The red wine suitable for sheep must be crisp, the whole is balanced by a beautiful berry-like world. The wine is a blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha, matured mainly in American oak barrels. It gives a sweet spicy world of taste.

A richly structured, tannic red wine is likely to do well with mutton. The more taste in the food, the more taste in the wine.

5. Splashing dessert wine

Borgo Maragliano La Caliera Moscato d’Asti (€ 8.98) 0.375 l

The lightly sparkling dessert wine has fresh flavors.

The wine made from Moscato grapes tastes like walking on a flower bed and your mouth is full of apricots. Low-alcohol wine is not too heavy and therefore also well suited for socializing. It tastes delicious with a curd cheesecake, for example. Drink well chilled.

Samuil Angelov’s tips

Wine connoisseur, restaurateur of Murun and Villa Lilla Samuil Angelov immediately notes that champagne is definitely one of the biggest celebrations of the church year. But also red wine.

Angelov’s own Easter table has a lamb stewed for a long time. He often cooks lamb in a pot and has a lot of roots involved.

Especially for long-matured meat, Angelov recommends richer, warm and dark-speaking wines. However, Easter red wine doesn’t have to be super-full.

1. Fresh champagne

Gratiot-Pillière Blanc de Blancs Champagne Brut 2012, France (€ 43.55) 0.75 l

Fresh champagne, so it works great as an aperitif and with starters.

If Easter includes Skagen or any fish or seafood dish, this is a great choice.

Enhances the atmosphere as such or with appetizers.

2. Super Discovery

Anselmo Mendes Contact Alvarinho 2021, Portugal (€ 18.99) 0.75 l

An elegant super discovery from Portugal. The hardest wines of the moment. White wine works great with antipasto-style food. It is also suitable with gravy fish or mackerel.

Alvarinho is grassy, ​​fresh and light. The wine has a lot of stone fruit, apricot, peach – as well as good freshness. Gastronomically nice wine. It has the lightness of spring. It is a wine of a bright time with taste and style.

And we must not forget the crabs either.

3. A classic sheep

Château Puygueraud Rouge 2012, France (€ 29.95) 0.75 l

A ten-year-old classic from Bordeaux. For a sheep violin or lamb stewed in the oven, such a slightly matured wine is suitable.

Maturation brings softness and elegance to the wine. It softens the acidity and balances the flavors.

This wine can be put in the cellar for a year or two and opened at Easter 2025.

4. Comfort wine

Cafaggio Chianti Classico 2019, Italy (€ 19.99) 0.75 l

This is a real comfort wine that always becomes a good feeling.

It goes well with the slightly spicier food of Easter. For example, a vegetable or bean stew.

Sangiovese grapes have a good acid structure and can withstand even tighter aromas such as tomato. Great wine with tomato paste. The Chianti are also well suited for reindeer shivering, as they are not afraid of sour lentils.

5. Great credit wine

Chateau Ste Michelle Syrah 2017, United States (€ 19.49) 0.75 l

Just over 10 years ago, this wine was the standard recommended wine in Muru catering. Great wine.

Syrah from the US is modern, juicy from Europe, it has blackberry and darkness.

Oven roots are well suited for this young (5 years old) wine, as is lamb fillet. Meat left over from roses in general.