Hop to It: Easter’s 5 Best Wine Finds Are Hiding in Plain Sight

While children search for Easter eggs this weekend, grown-ups deserve a treasure hunt of their own, right there in the wine aisle.

Who better to lead us on this spring discovery than Natalie MacLean, editor of Canada’s largest wine review site at nataliemaclean.com.

Welcome, Natalie.

Great to be back with you! You know, Easter is the one holiday where we’re encouraged to hunt for hidden treasures. I say we bring that energy to the wine aisle. The best bottles aren’t always at eye level with the glossy labels. Sometimes you have to crouch down, think like a chocolate-obsessed child, and reach for the bottle everybody else just walked right past.

It’s the time of year when inching along while crouching in a public space is considered “festive” rather than “a cause for a wellness check.”

The lower shelves are essentially the indie cinema of the liquor store; it is where the real depth lives, far away from the blockbuster marketing budgets and the neon signage.

All of these wines have earned scores in the 90s from critics, including yours truly.

So what exactly are we hunting for today, and why do these bottles stay hidden?

Four outstanding bottles that punch well above their price points. They stay hidden because most shoppers reach for familiar labels and familiar regions. But Easter tables are gloriously complicated for wine. You’ve got lamb, ham, turkey, brunch dishes like asparagus omelettes, and of course the chocolate. Each of these wines matches something on that table.

Here’s a tip for the brunch crowd: eggs are notoriously tricky to pair with wine. They coat your mouth and carry a sulphur component that can clash with certain styles. Eggs are basically the divas of the refrigerator; they want all the attention, and they refuse to cooperate with the lighting. You want something with bright, lively acidity to cut right through. Keep that in mind.

Let’s start right here in Ontario with the Inniskillin Niagara Estate Pinot Noir.

Inniskillin Niagara Estate Pinot Noir
Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

This is a true field-blend Pinot Noir. Inniskillin chooses fruit from six different sub-appellations across Niagara: Vinemount Ridge, Beamsville Bench, Twenty Mile Bench, Four Mile Creek, Niagara River, and Lincoln Lakeshore. It’s a geographical group hug in a bottle.

Each site contributes something distinct. The bench vineyards deliver refined, chalky tannins. The lake-influenced sites add a vivid acid backbone that keeps the wine energetic and focused.

Feel free to try the Inniskillin Niagara Estate Pinot Noir. In the glass, you get dark berries on the nose, lifted by spice, vanilla, and a lovely floral note. The palate is well-structured but generous, with berry flavours that carry through to a long, complex finish. Can you imagine how beautifully this wine would pair with Easter ham or turkey? It’s just $18.95 at the LCBO.

I should note that all the wines we’re tasting today are in the LCBO, convenient for those of us who consider running to the liquor store as part of their core workout.

More Pairings

Herb-roasted Easter rack of lamb, seared in a cast iron pan until the crust turns a deep, fragrant gold and the kitchen fills with rosemary and garlic, carved at the table over caramelized root vegetables whose edges have crisped and sweetened in the pan juices, the meat blushing pink at the centre.

Bittersweet chocolate Easter bunny fondue, dark and glossy, poured warm into a shallow bowl and served with torn crusty bread, ripe strawberries, and cocoa-dusted marshmallows for dipping, the chocolate so richly concentrated it leaves a silky, velvety coat on every single bite.

That Pinot Noir sounds beautiful. What is egg number two on the hunt?

Oyster Bay Chardonnay
Marlborough, New Zealand

Oyster Bay, from New Zealand’s premier grape-growing region, Marlborough, has earned the nickname “the world’s coolest Chardonnay.” Here’s how popular this wine has become: a glass of Oyster Bay is enjoyed somewhere in the world every single second. It’s Canada’s number one selling premium Chardonnay and the largest wine export from New Zealand by volume.

Feel free to try the Oyster Bay Chardonnay. Marlborough’s warm days and cool nights stretch out the growing season, allowing the grapes to build intense varietal character while holding onto a crisp, balanced natural acidity. The grapes are basically on a luxury retreat where they find their “true selves” before being crushed. The result is a wine of genuine fruit purity. Fifty percent of it is barrel fermented in French oak, which adds a delicate texture and a whisper of creaminess without ever overwhelming the freshness.

With its bright acidity, wouldn’t this be great with Easter brunch table, cutting right through omelettes, bagels and lox, keeping every bite tasting as vivid as the first? All of this for only $20.95 at the LCBO.

More Pairings

Spring asparagus and goat cheese Easter brunch omelette, pale gold and just barely set, folded around a creamy filling of tangy fresh cheese and bright green asparagus tips that snap with the first bite, finished with a scatter of chives and a drizzle of fragrant olive oil, still steaming on the plate.

Slow-roasted Easter turkey breast with lemon zest and thyme butter, the skin crackling and burnished gold, the meat silky and yielding, fragrant with citrus and herbs that echo the wine’s own lively character, served alongside crispy roasted potatoes and a simple dressed green salad.

Now I’ve heard there is something Italian hiding on the shelf that most people walk right past. Tell me about that one.

Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva
Sardinia, Italy

Sella & Mosca was founded in 1899 by two Piedmontese entrepreneurs who took wild scrubland near the town of Alghero in northwestern Sardinia and transformed it into one of the largest vineyard estates in Europe. They’ve been shaping Sardinian wine ever since, helping put this island on the international map.

Did you know that Sardinia is one of the world’s five Blue Zones, places where people regularly live past 100. Locals often credit their lifestyle, which includes daily glasses of Cannonau, the grape in this wine, as part of the reason. I’m going to try this experiment because my commitment to science is unwavering.

Feel free to try the Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva. The grape is Cannonau is genetically related to Grenache but with a personality of its own. On Sardinia’s rugged coastal soils, it develops sun-ripened fruit, wild herbs, and warm spice. The word Riserva on the label tells you this wine had extra aging before release, which layers of leather and deeper spice on top of that ripe cherry and violet fruit.

On the palate it’s smooth and medium-bodied, with gentle tannins and bright acidity, and a long, savoury finish. Can you almost taste this wine with grilled rosemary lamb chops, a classic Sardinian pairing, or anything really on the BBQ as we head into prime grilling season. Perhaps, barbecued sausage or steak.

It’s only $19.95 at the LCBO, a true gem hiding in plain sight.

More Pairings

Grilled duck breast with a sour cherry and balsamic glaze, served over charred radicchio. Score the skin, let the fat render slowly over indirect heat until it crisps, then finish over the flame. The glaze pulls from the wine’s own ripe cherry and violet notes, while the bittersweet radicchio plays beautifully against its savoury finish. Duck and Grenache-family wines are a near-perfect match.

Harissa-rubbed lamb kofta skewers with a smoked red pepper and yogurt sauce, grilled flatbread on the side. The warm spice of the kofta, cumin, coriander, and a hit of chili, echoes the wine’s wild herb and spice layers. A cooling yogurt sauce cuts through the heat, and the bright acidity in the Cannonau holds its own against all of it. Make them a little longer and thinner so you get maximum char.
Both lean into the wine’s Sardinian DNA without repeating what you already have on the list.

That Blue Zone story is remarkable. What is our fourth hidden gem?

Tread Softly Pinot Grigio
Southeastern Australia, Australia

Tread Softly is an Australian wine with a conscience. These wines are certified sustainable, bottled in lightweight glass, and naturally lower in alcohol than most Australian wines. But here’s what truly sets them apart: for every six bottles sold, they plant a tree. So far, they’ve planted 3.2 million trees, equivalent to taking over 50,000 cars off the road. They’ve also started planting in Canada, with a sea forest restoration program on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast in partnership with Forests Canada.

Feel free to try the Tread Softly Pinot Grigio. The Pinot Grigio is crisp and refreshing, with green apple and lime zest, ideal for the spring brunch table. It’s the kind of fresh, lifted style that feels like opening the windows after a long winter.

Tread Softly Pinot Noir
Southeastern Australia, Australia

The Pinot Noir has ripe cherries and subtle spice, with a silky, lingering finish that stays with you long after the last sip. It’s light enough to serve slightly chilled, which makes it a brilliant summer red as well.

So you’re helping the planet while you pour and they’re only $15 at the LCBO. They’re a great Easter gift to give yourself.

More Pairings

Easter garden ham and spring pea tart, the pastry shell shatteringly crisp and golden, filled with a silky custard of cream, Gruyere, and thinly shaved cured ham, dotted with tender blanched spring peas that pop with sweetness, warm enough that the cheese melts richly into every slice.

Spring brunch smoked salmon and dill omelette, impossibly fluffy and pale gold, wrapped around cool silky ribbons of smoked salmon and fragrant fresh dill, with a spoonful of creme fraiche that melts into the warmth of the fold, served on warm plates with bright lemon wedges alongside.

Natalie, these suggestions are fantastic! Any final words of wisdom for our viewers?

May your Easter basket always have a great bottle hiding at the bottom.

To the hidden gems that reward the curious: in every vineyard row, every dusty lower shelf, and every person patient enough to look past the obvious.

To the hidden treasures in our lives: may we always have the curiosity to seek them out and the wisdom to share them with those we love.