How To Be A Good Egg!

Are eggs on your home-chef menu for the Easter weekend? If so, get cracking and pick up some white wines from Alsace to pair with them.

Although we enjoy eggs just by themselves for breakfast — scrambled, poached, boiled, fried sunny side up or over lightly — eggs most often co-star with cheese when they are fixed for an entrée — a soufflé, quiche, frittata, omelette. And that's a combination that goes well with the mild fruitiness, good acidity and tempting minerality of such Alsace favorites as pinot blanc or pinot gris.

To get you started thinking, the people at Wines of Alsace have suggested three pairings. As one of the pairings includes a goat cheese soufflé, I decided to whip up my favorite recipe to try with one of the wines.

Here are three suggested pairings:

Grilled ramps and bacon frittata paired with Meyer-Fonné Alsace pinot blanc 2013 ($10). The Meyer-Fonné is a complex wine that is quite juicy and a little creamy with mellow apples and custard notes.  But its spiciness, including cloves and a hint of tanginess, allow it to stand up to the fragrant ramps, whose pungency has been somewhat reduced by the cooking.

Asparagus and aged cheese quiche matched with Domaines Schlumberger "Les Princes Abbés" Alsace pinot blanc 2013 ($15). This is a full-bodied wine and a fruity one, with mellow apple flavors (always an aged-cheese pleaser), a touch of cloves, good minerality, and acceptable acidity.

Goat cheese soufflé with vegetable mélange sautéed in mild salsa paired with Albert Mann Alsace pinot blanc 2013 ($19). Mildly sweet but well-balanced, with spicy and minerally flavors, it pairs well with the creamy eggs and cheese, but also stands up to the lightly spicy, lightly acidic vegetables.