Wines to pair with Easter fare: Richard Esling, April 14

Four wines to pair with Easter fare. Photograph: Richard Esling

While there are absolutely no fixed rules for matching wines to different dishes, there are some pairings which just seem made for each other.

Food and wine pairing is by no means an exact science, yet if you achieve the right balance of flavours, the result can be most rewarding. With Easter just around the corner, there is plenty of scope for choosing some interesting wines to drink alongside the traditional fare.

Fish and seafood for Good Friday goes without saying and Easter Sunday wouldn’t be Easter Sunday without a delicious joint of roast lamb, preferably from the South Downs. Traditionalists would serve the classics at these occasions, starting with a cool glass of Champagne for the apéritif, followed by a selection of red and white wines from the Bourgogne region of Eastern France – white for Good Friday and red with the lamb.

Most white burgundy is from the chardonnay grape and the best reds are from Pinot Noir, and it is these varieties that can pair so well with seafood and lamb respectively. Since these grapes are not confined simply to Burgundy, here are some interesting wines from other regions which can be paired equally well with the fish and the lamb.