Lehigh Valley winemakers recommend wine and food pairings for Easter dinner

The owners of the nine family-owned and operated wineries of the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail invite wine lovers to make their Easter holiday meal even more special by pairing dinner and dessert with local wine. They offer the following food and wine pairing suggestions for this year’s dinner:

Amoré Vineyards & Winery, Nazareth - Pair Amore Pink Passion with ham, pork and sauerkraut or Rose Amore with baked ham. After dinner, relax with a glass of Rapport or Vidal Blanc dessert wines.

Big Creek Vineyard and Winery, Kresgeville - recommends their Marechal Foch with a traditional roast leg of lamb, a full-bodied red with just enough acidity and tannin to complement a succulent lamb dish.

Blue Mountain Vineyards, New Tripoli – Winemaker Joe Greff recommends their 2015 Pinot Noir to compliment a glazed Easter ham. For lamb, they recommend their 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. If you’re serving a chocolate dessert, go with Victoria’s Passion, or Harvest Moon, a late-harvest Seyval Blanc dessert wine, with apple pie, custards, and carrot cake.

Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery, Breinigsville - Sparkling Cayuga White - semi-sweet sparkling with soft, fruity flavors. Oak Vidal Blanc - a hearty white will that will stand up to any smoked meat. Clover Hill Rose - sweet and mild fruit flavors will be a crowd pleaser. Turtle Rock Red - serve it chilled as a perfect partner for Easter ham.

Franklin Hill Vineyards, Bangor - pour a glass of their Double Gold Award-winning White Jade to pair with a holiday feast. After dinner take your guests’ breath away by serving Franklin Hills’ port-style wine Breathless with a rich and delicious chocolate cake.

Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery, Andreas – Winemaker Sarah Troxell recommends setting the family table with one of their Rieslings alongside a glazed Easter ham or a roasted turkey. For a less traditional meal – like salmon, pork or vegetarian cuisine - Gruner Veltliner is the answer. For dessert, sip a glass of Vidal Blanc, which is naturally sweet and perfectly paired with cheesecake.

Pinnacle Ridge, Kutztown - recommends their Chambourcin Rose or Brut Rose to go with lighter or saltier dishes (ham or turkey). For lamb or beef, winemaker Brad Knapp recommends his 2014 Veritas. For dessert, go with 2014 Late Harvest Vidal Blanc (Gold Medal Winner in the Los Angeles Wine Competition).

Tolino Vineyards, Bangor - For Easter, the Tolino family recommends pairing its 2015 Vidal with ham. The slight sweetness and pineapple aroma complement the wine beautifully.  For dessert, pair chocolate eggs with Chambourcin. This dry, bold red will balance the sweetness of the chocolate, and will leave a slight vanilla flavor on the palate from its barrel aging.

Vynecrest Winery, Breinigsville – Their April Wine of the Month is Traminette a Gewürztraminer hybrid grape grown in their vineyard for over 20 years. It exudes a flowery bouquet and has a seductive spicy finish perfect with a traditional Easter ham with pineapple. Something a little sweeter with dessert is Autumn Gold for pairing with chocolate coconut eggs.

The Lehigh Valley Wine Trail is a non-profit organization of wineries whose mission is to promote agri-tourism and to create a premiere wine destination and grape growing region while promoting Pennsylvania wines from the region.

The Lehigh Valley region is an official American Viticultural Area as designated by the Federal Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in April 2008. The Lehigh Valley AVA includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania. In order to receive the designation a least 85% of the grapes used to make local wines must be grown within the region. Wineries in the region are permitted to list “Lehigh Valley” as the growing region on their labels. www.LehighValleyWineTrail.com