With Easter just around the corner, I had a few ideas on what to serve with your Easter dinner. One very traditional meal served on Easter is ham, which of course can be quite salty. A wine region that produces wines that will match up with such a meal would be the Alsace region of northeastern France. You have a few good choices here, the first being Pinot Gris. The crisp acidity will really match up to the salty, spicy flavors of the ham. Alsatian Gewürztraminer goes perfectly with the many spices you may use such as clove, nutmeg and allspice along with a traditional mustard glaze. If you are a fan of Riesling this is a great meal to serve with either a dry Alsatian Riesling or a German Halbtrocken version from the Mosel. One grape varietal that has become very popular and would be a great choice to enjoy with your holiday meal is Grüner Veltliner from Austria.

 Baked ham in my mind tends to be more of a white wine meal, though you can also enjoy a couple different red wines with your Easter dinner, such as a Cru-Beaujolais from Brouilly or Morgon in the Burgundy region of France. Another good match with dinner would be Pinot Noir from Oregon, Burgundy or California. Here is a recipe I have used in the past to prepare a baked ham:

• Smoked Ham          -   about 6-8 lbs.


• Light brown sugar  -   1 cup


• Ground Clove         -    ½ teaspoon


• Ground Allspice     -    ½ teaspoon


• Ground Nutmeg     -    ½ teaspoon


• Spicy mustard        -    3 tablespoons

 Preheat oven to 350°. Put ham on a rack over a roasting pan and bake 10 minutes for each pound. Place spices, brown sugar and mustard in a small sauce pan and warm together, set aside. With 30 minutes left to cook ham, remove from oven and spread with spice mixture and cook for remaining 30 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes, carve and enjoy.

 Bigger, more full-bodied reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from France’s Bordeaux region or from California may not be the best choice with ham, but they really work well with a roast leg of lamb. This traditional Easter meal will also partner extremely well with a number of other red wines. I really enjoy drinking the Grenache-based wines from the Southern Rhone (France) with lamb. Spanish Garnacha (Grenache) is another terrific wine to serve with lamb and it will not break the bank if you have a lot of guests to entertain for Easter dinner. I normally shy away from some of the so called “modern style” of Australian wines, with their highly extracted fruit and elevated levels of alcohol, but I do recommend you try a bottle of Grenache from Australia with lamb. Another wine to pair with it is a Pinot Noir from the Hawkes Bay or Marlborough region of New Zealand.

 This is a recipe I found on the Epicurious website (www.epicurious.com):

• 1 well-trimmed 6-pound boneless leg of lamb, butterflied to an even 2 inch thickness


• 8  -  garlic cloves, peeled, divided


• ½  - cup whole grain Dijon mustard


• ½  - cup extra-virgin olive oil


• ¼  -  cup dry white wine


• 2  -  tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary


• 2  -  tablespoons fresh lemon juice


• Nonstick vegetable oil spray


• Fresh rosemary and Italian parsley sprigs

 Open lamb like a book on work surface. Using tip of small knife, make ½ inch deep slits all over lamb. Thinly slice 4 garlic cloves. Insert garlic cloves into slits in lamb. Combine remaining 4 garlic cloves, mustard, olive oil, white wine, rosemary, and lemon juice in food processor. Blend until coarse puree forms. Spread underside of lamb with half of puree. Place lamb, seasoned side down, in 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread remaining puree over top of lamb. Cover lamb with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

 Let lamb stand at room temperature 2 hours. Coat grill rack with non-stick spray and prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Sprinkle lamb generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill lamb to desired doneness, about 17 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer lamb to cutting board; let rest 10 to 20 minutes.

 Thinly slice lamb against grain. Overlap slices on platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh herb sprigs.

Ken Amendola, Wine Supervisor, North Florida