Georgian Wine & Easter Menu: The Best Pairings for Roast Lamb and More

Have you started thinking about your Easter wine list already? While the food choices are more or less similar for each family, the wine picks may vary. We decided to create the best Easter pairing of Georgian wines and traditional dishes from the UK, also providing you with links so you’d know where to source those wines for your feast. Ready to try new flavour combinations?

Roast Lamb

A true centerpiece of Easter tables country-wide, the roast lamb with its rich, a bit gamey flavour profile is asking for something with good acidity, tannins and eventually a touch of wild or spicy aromas. Here is what you can buy in the UK online and offline:

1. Bedoba - Saperavi
A dark purple wine with a savoury-spicy bouquet, featuring notes of blackberries, herbs, and black pepper.
Available at Grape and Grain Warehouse

2. Orovela - Saperavi
A robust red from Kakheti with deep fruit flavours and a hint of spice.
Available at Waitrose

3. Binekhi - Otskhanuri Sapere
This powerful wine made in Qvevri offers rich blackberry, sour cherry, black pepper and leathery notes.
Available at Saperavi Social

New Potatoes & Spring Vegetables

Nothing says “SPRING IS HERE” louder than a combination of asparagus, peas, broad beans, and buttery new potatoes—delicate flavours that ask for a fresh, mineral-driven wine with brisk acidity. We suggest not limiting yourself to classic whites but also giving a chance to amber wine this time!

1. Shumi - Kakhuri Mtsvane
A fresh, aromatic dry white wine with good acidity and floral notes.
Available at Taste of Georgia 

2. Baia’s Wine - Tsitska-Tsolikouri-Krakhuna
A crisp, high-acid, medium-bodied white with floral and citrus notes, perfect for enhancing the freshness of spring vegetables.
Available at Taste of Georgia 

3. Tbilvino - Qvevris Rkatsiteli
An amber wine made in Qvevri with notes of dried orange peel and nuts, offering fresh acidity that pairs well with spring vegetables and new potatoes.
Available at Majestic Wine and HIC Wine Merchants

Scotch Eggs

Eggs are not always easy to pair with wine, but bubbles, fresh fruit flavours and decent acidity are always a good solution. 

1. Marani - White Brut
A fresh, aromatic sparkling wine with bright acidity, floral notes and joyful bubbles.
Available at Georgian Wine Guild

2. Gvantsa’s Wine - Aladasturi Rosé
An aromatic rosé with good acidity, complementing the flavours of Scotch eggs.
Available at Taste of Georgia 

3. Dakishvili Family Vineyards - Kisi Pet-nat
Kisi-based pet-nat with grapefruit, ginger and white flowers on the nose and a touch of yeastiness on the palate.
Available at Clark Foyster Wines

Simnel Cake

Traditional Easter treat with its rich dried fruits and sweet marzipan flavours usually pairs best with a late-harvest or fortified wines, balancing the sweetness while enhancing the cake’s nutty and spiced notes. There are not so many fortified wines in Georgia, but if you come across Kardenakhi wine, grab a bottle without thinking twice. Here is what is available in the UK now:

1. Melitoni - Black Muscat
A dry wine with head-spinning aromas of Turkish delight and dry berries. Not too tannic, smooth and pleasant to drink.
Available in Sad Meli - Georgian Gastronomy and Raw Wines

2. Archil’s Wine - Rkatsiteli
If you can, pick older vintages - 2015 or 2019. This dry qvevri wine is so rich in nutty, spicy, honey aromas that you don’t even need extra sweetness to match it with this type of cake.
Available at Georgian Wine Guild

3. Shumi - Zigu
Zigu is this winery’s specialty. A mix of wine, brandy and highland herbs, it is also aged in oak for some time. It is quite sweet, packed with aromas of vanilla, ripe fruits and spices. We think it’s going to become Simnel cake’s best friend.
Available at Taste of Georgia

What about Georgian specialties, you may ask? Well, in Georgia, Chakapuli, the lamb stew with green sour plums, tarragon, fresh onion, parsley, and other spring herbs, is the king of the Easter table. You can taste it in Kartuli and Geamos restaurants in London!

That’s what Eka Cox, the founder of Kartuli, told us:

“If you'd like to experience Easter the Georgian way, we offer this unique experience for our guests. Our signature Lamb Shank Chakapuli makes a perfect pair with an amber Rkatsiteli. We usually suggest the one by Shumi. Also, we offer traditional Georgian paska (a cousin of panettone) and red eggs, just like we do in Georgia.”

Well, regardless of whether you go for the roasted lamb or the one soaked in fresh greens, you know which Georgian wine to pair with each dish and where to find it in the UK. We wish you a delicious and heartwarming Easter feast!