For Marta Rich from our Digital Trading team, Easter is a feast that spans a couple of continents and takes in everything from traditional Polish soup to chilled red wine. Here, she considers her ideal Easter.

Easter has always been one of my favourite holidays. Harking back to my earliest memories as a child in the US, this was always a joyous day: from painting hard-boiled eggs with abstract depictions of baby chicks; to indulging in the “Easter-only” foods. The day always began with early-morning Easter egg-hunts, which ultimately led to demolishing a pack of neon-pink marshmallow Peeps. 

There was the extra-long weekend, the Easter Bunny (I was a devout believer) and fresh asparagus in abundance. There was also żurek – a sour, traditional Polish soup filled with hard cheeses, crusty bread and sausage – which my family only ate at Easter lunch. This also symbolised the end of Lent, a notion I only vaguely understood as a child. Going to an Episcopalian school, I essentially recognised it as the time all my more devout classmates began eating chocolate or drinking soda again. 

Once I started university in Scotland, however, away from my parents, Easter became more about the first touch of spring – both literally and symbolically. In St Andrews, regardless of when the Easter weekend fell in the calendar, it seemed to mark the first time students were seen outside. They’d finally be out picnicking on the (cold) beach and reading in the sun-soaked (though windy) quad. This also coincided with the several coffee shops in town begrudgingly starting to serve iced lattes again. This was the first weekend after the long, cold and dark winter; the promise of spring seemed legitimate and, at the risk of sounding cloyingly cliché, anything was possible. 

Now, as an adult living in London, away from my family, I’ve learned to embrace the Easter weekend with my own twist. I’ve attempted cooking żurek, which is much harder than my mom made it look. I’ve pulled friends into doing Easter brunches with lots of Bloody Marys. And I’ve even joined in others’ traditions, like a Greek Orthodox Easter lunch – which also involves painted eggs. 

Ultimately, what makes Easter so special is simply getting together with the people I care about, having a great meal and welcoming spring. Whatever the plans are, I try to stick to a classic formula: sunshine and mandatory time outdoors, indulging in food cravings, time with friends and, of course, something special to drink.  

Drinks for an Easter feast

Hambledon, Classic Cuvée, Sparkling, Hampshire, England 

While I’m a firm believer that you don’t need a special occasion to enjoy sparkling wine, there is no better way to start a weekend of festivities than with the pop of a Champagne (or equivalent) cork. For me it can be anything made using the traditional method, which is how I initially became interested in English sparkling wines. Writing my MA thesis on these wines was not only an excellent opportunity to visit the vineyards just south of London but was also a very easy excuse to sample several of the wines. Hambledon is the UK’s oldest commercial vineyard, and its Classic Cuvée is a delightful, delicious wine. I absolutely adore the chalky hints and cool minerality that makes these wines feel a tad lighter than Champagne. The foods I associate with Easter can be quite heavy: meats, cheeses, traditional Slavic sour soups and so on. This crisp and toasty sparkling wine cuts right through. 

2021 Mâcon-Vinzelles, Clos de Grand-Père, La Soufrandière, Bret Brothers, Burgundy 

I had the pleasure of pouring wines next to one of the eponymous brothers at this year’s Burgundy En Primeur tasting, and got to sample all their white wines. These wines always make me smile, tasting that delightfully warm Mâcon sunshine with ripe apples and a splash of creaminess. There is still that crispness, though, which is important – particularly when eating spoonfuls of żurek. Anytime I’ve shared wines from the Brets’ domaine, La Soufrandière, there have been nothing short of rave reviews. (Especially from the friends who say they hate Chardonnay!) This is an absolute crowd-pleaser, and totally easy to drink over Easter brunch. 

2021 Au Bon Climat, Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, California, USA (chilled)

You may have noticed a certain theme for this Easter meal: the heavier the food, the crisper the drink. And that doesn’t stop as we move on to red wine. The first glass of chilled red I ever had was a Pinot Noir, and it’s something I find myself craving as soon as the sun starts to shine in London. This is just one of many delicious wines from Au Bon Climat, and it can just as easily be enjoyed at standard serving temperatures. But I find a certain cherry-and-cranberry tartness comes through after spending an hour or so in the fridge. I always serve a platter of cured meats for Easter, complete with dried Polish kabanos sausages, which pairs perfectly with this rich, refined Pinot Noir. 

Broken Clock Lingering Vodka (40%) 

Last but not least is my perennial brunch favourite: the Bloody Mary. I had this a lot growing up (non-alcoholic, of course) and now it’s my go-to for spring weekends. They too are harder to make than you might think. I have a distant memory of a Covid-era Easter in Scotland, blending canned tomatoes with hot sauce and Old Bay seasoning and serving with Tesco-brand vodka – to the great dismay of my best friend. Now, I am older and wiser. I know how to read a recipe, not to exclude the Worcestershire sauce or the horseradish and not to skimp on the quality of the vodka. Broken Clock uses local English apples to add a lingering botanical flavour that I find pairs nicely with the tomato juice. I love to add a celery stick, a piece of crisp, streaky maple bacon and some large green stuffed olives, and drink while tucking into a plate of devilled eggs.