Wine and beer recommendations for Easter lamb

Lamb is a traditional Easter dish in Norway, and up to 3 times as much lamb is eaten at Easter as at any other time of the year. This is a characterful dish. Not only is lamb itself a flavourful meat, it is also prepared with lots of herbs and spices – often garlic and rosemary – and can be served with many different sauces. Whether you want to serve wine or beer with your Easter lamb, you should choose a drink with as much flavour and complexity as the food you are serving.

What sauce should you serve with the lamb?

Which wine or beer you should choose depends a bit on what sauce you choose to serve with the lamb. For a red wine sauce or a strong dark sauce, it may be a good idea to go with red wine or beer, while lamb shanks with lighter sauces and gravy sauces can be served nicely with either white wine, sparkling wine, red wine or beer.

Red wine for lamb

Classic red wine candidates for leg of lamb are wines that are aromatic enough to match the powerful character of the lamb. This aromatic intensity can be found in certain well-aged wines, but also in younger wines that are inherently aromatic.

Red wine from the French Rhône

Complex and flavourful red wines with herbal and spice notes and perhaps a bit of aging are good candidates for lamb. Wines from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Gigondas sub-districts in the Rhône can often offer both, especially if they have had a few years of aging.

See our selection of red wines from the Rhône

Red wine from the Spanish Rioja

Rioja is known for quality wines with a hint of spice and vanilla. For lamb, you should look for a Reserva or Gran Reserva. These aging designations have strict requirements for maturation and storage in oak barrels. Storage in barrels gives the wine character and typically slightly rustic aromas that go well with the Easter lamb.

See our selection of red wines from Rioja

White wine for lamb

Full-bodied and flavourful white wine that has been aged in barrels with lees is a good match for lamb with a light sauce or gravy. Wines that have had a little age and developed slightly more rustic aromas also go well with lamb.

White wine from Chardonnay grapes

Try barrel-aged (and perhaps a bit expensive) white wines made from the Chardonnay grape from, for example, California, Oregon or the French wine region of Burgundy. These can challenge the flavour of the lamb if it is not served with a sauce that is too dark and strong.

See our selection of Chardonnay white wines

White wine from Bordeaux

White Bordeaux from sub-districts such as Graves or Pessac-Léognan are often made from Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes. These are often fermented and matured in barrels. Sauvignon Blanc is aromatic, and provides slightly green aromas that can complement the herbs with which the Easter lamb is seasoned. The Semillon grape and aging on the lees provide fullness that (you already guessed) complements the lamb.

See our selection of white wines from Bordeaux

Sparkling wine for lamb

If you want to serve sparkling wine with lamb, you should choose a lighter and milder sauce as in the recommendation for white wine. Again – here you should look for a full-bodied and aromatically complex wine that will not be overshadowed by the powerful lamb meat. Classic examples are Champagne and sparkling wine from Franciacorta and Trento in Italy. Rosé sparkling is also worth considering, and will also look nice with pink roast lamb. If you want to try a pink sparkling you should take a look in Champagne, Franciacorta and Trento – the same areas that apply for tips on white sparkling wine.

See our selection of sparkling wine and champagne

Beer for lamb - try Belgian Dubbel

There are many different Belgian beers that go well with lamb. Belgian beer styles tend to be full-bodied and often have herbal and spice notes that reflect the rosemary, thyme and other herbs and spices that the lamb may have been rubbed or stuffed with. The best options are probably the slightly full-bodied and brownish styles, such as Dubbel, where caramelized notes can reflect the flavour of the roast crust and brown sauce.