Accolade Wines for Easter
Everyone seems to do wine and whatnot at Christmas but what about Easter? When I celebrate Easter at home in Toronto with my family, we have a day-long brunch with my grandfather who is Hungarian. The entire community comes together and we all spend around 6 hours having water poured on our heads and being hit by pussy willow before eating ourselves silly the whole day. So we start at noon with some sparkling wine or pop or juice or beer and go through the whole day.
Sometimes Easter is inside, and sometimes outside. Easter in Toronto is sometimes cold and sometimes warm but in the UK Easter seems always warm. One of the things I’m most sad about here in the UK is that I don’t have the chance to entertain for Easter. True, I’m usually at EasterCon but if I was at home I’d totally want to emulate my late Grandmother’s love for parties and entertain.
Whether entertaining or at EasterCon, I need booze. Now, you all know I’m in love with that Cremant de Jura from Aldi which is just sooooo drinkable and perfect with mixers and cheap as chips but what about the rest of the dy? What should I buy? What should you bring? My friend from Basingstoke is on a diet, does she have to go without? Well, thank frack for Accolate Wines because I went and tried them all (the day before I came down with a stonking cold so my palette was slightly off). I’ve had to borrow directly from their press release because I was *really* sick and so I think my tast buds were off as I was getting weird flavours as I tasted them 😮
Banrock Station Shiraz Rosé – is a bright, fresh, flavoursome sparkling rosé with a crisp, refreshing taste. Delicious flavours of strawberry and cherry with a touch of sweetness to finish. It’s a great way to kick things off I think – pink sparkling yummies.
Banrock Station Moscato – Dieting? No problem. I thought light wane was pretty crap until I tried this. I was actually surprised that I really liked this one. Fresh with flavours of passion fruit, pineapple and tropical fruit, this wine is enjoyed best with fruit and cheese platters, or simply chilled and served (so says the press release). I’d do this with those non-melting ice cubes in those giant plastic wine glasses that you reuse and come in funky colours. There are 3 other wines in the light range that were OK but I really liked the Moscato best.
Kumala Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz – there are a lot of meats and rich spicy foods at our Easter brunch in Toronto. The press release says you should indulge your senses with the fruitcake flavours, and red berry aromas of this rich and robust red wine. It is actually a decent red and it does need food – and it seems like it would be best with the kind of spicy meat we have at brunch.
Hardys Nottage Hill Cabernet Shiraz – I’m surprised at this wine and it is nice. It still needs food but you could have it with some ice and sit outside and enjoy some meat and bread rolls and roast some pork chops and sip this wine. Rich with the flavours of ripe plums and bright red berries, this robust red is smooth and well balanced.
Hardys Stamp Rose – Finally, if you aren’t dieting but want something light that isn’t fizzy, this is it. Its flavours are crisp and palate finishing with vibrant strawberry aromas. I think this is absolutely perfect cold and is full of sweet flavours. I did enjoy it and could sip my way through a whole chilled bottle while nibbling on all the nibbles my grandmother always had around.
All in all these are great wines and Easter is the perfect time to try something new. These were all great and while I didn’t love everything I tried, these were absolutely the nicest of the lot. Don’t just think about wine at Christmas – Easter is a great wine time too!
