If you are considering what wine to serve with your Easter lamb, Fiona Taylor, of Christopher Piper Wines, has a suggestion.

Sidmouth Herald: Casas del Bosque Pinot Noir Reserva.Casas del Bosque Pinot Noir Reserva. (Image: Fiona Taylor. Christopher Piper Wines)

Easter in Chile is preceded by the ‘Semana Santa’, consisting of a week-long celebration starting on Palm Sunday and ending with a Catholic mass on Easter Sunday in churches all over the country.

Families make a point of joining together for large meals and although there’s no mention of the Easter bunny or chocolate, these national holidays provide the perfect opportunity to combine delicious food with fantastic wine.

Traditional Empanadas (stuffed pastries), stews and Asados (barbecues) are eaten alongside glasses filled with wines from the premium wine-growing valleys - Casablanca, Rapel, Maipo and Colchagua.

Here in England, our traditional Easter Sunday lunch is similar in the fact that we like to surround ourselves with family and friends to enjoy good food and wine.

Whilst we can’t all enjoy the Chilean sunshine, we can enjoy our customary roast with wines from their top wineries imported into the UK.

Casas del Bosque is one of Chile’s top wineries, created in 1993 by Juan Cuneo Solari, the son of an Italian immigrant. This 245-hectare estate is nearly all situated in the Casablanca region where temperatures are amongst the coolest in Chile, so it’s not surprising that varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir do so well.

Here, the brilliant New Zealander Grant Phelps is in charge of wine-making and his philosophy is based upon using as little new oak as possible and where it is used, it is there simply to improve a wine’s texture.

These are amazingly pure and concentrated wines that reveal Chile’s (and particularly Casablanca’s) true potential.

Casas del Bosque Pinot Noir Reserva is a true star and a firm favourite at Easter for many of our local customers. It is sensationally fruity on the nose, with red summer berry fruits at the forefront. Black cherries and redcurrant flavours fill the palate, with great complexity to follow, and all leading to a particularly long finish.

With spring lamb this is truly a fantastic combination that is hard to beat.