this easter weekend, australian families will indulge in tonnes of chocolate, millions of hot cross buns, and mountains of fresh seafood and meat according to woolworths, their customers will purchase enough prawns that if laid out would stretch from sydney to cairns, a staggering 54 million hot cross buns, and a whopping 2,900 tonnes of easter chocolate all that food needs something to wash it down, so femail have asked the experts to advise what tipple to pair with our favourite seasonal foods, from  seafood and lamb, to traditional easter treats drink this with that: with 54 million hot cross buns, 2,900 tonnes of chocolate and enough prawns to stretch from sydney to cairns consumed over easter, femail reveals which tipple is best suited to washing it down  with the easter weekend forecast for the balmy mid twenties celsius, australians can still enjoy their favoured seafood lunches sales of lobster, oysters, prawns and fish will increase by 80 per cent over the easter holiday peter nixon, resident drinks expert at dan murphy's, has shared his top wine pairings, from budget options to mid range and high end, to drink with them sweet and spicy: 'the spice component of cinnamon and nutmeg is harmonious with a classic muscat', says peter nixon, drinks expert at dan murphy's  prawns  'thrillingly juicy, lime juice and lemongrass scented dry riesling with freshly peeled local prawns heaven!' says peter nixon the grape can suit every budget, with excellent options ranging from $1150 for hardys siegersdorf through to $3199 for taylors st andrews budget: hardys siegersdorf riesling (australia) rrp$1150  mid range: pikes traditionale riesling (australia) rrp$2090  luxury: taylors st andrews riesling (australia) rrp$3199  pair with prawns: hardys siegersdorf riesling (australia), pikes traditionale riesling (australia), taylors st andrews riesling (australia) oysters  'the crisp, minerally, citrussy zest of margaret river semillon sauvignon blanc is the perfect partner for freshly shucked oysters,' says nixon for those on a budget, he suggests the madfish gold turtle semillon sauvignon blanc, which retails at $15, or for something a little more exuberant go for the cullen mangan vineyard sauvignon blanc semillon for $32 budget: madfish gold turtle semillon sauvignon blanc (australia) rrp$1500  mid range: wills domain semillon sauvignon blanc (australia) rrp$1780  luxury: cullen mangan vineyard sauvignon blanc semillon (australia) rrp$3000  pair with oysters: (l r) madfish gold turtle semillon sauvignon blanc (australia), wills domain semillon sauvignon blanc (australia), cullen mangan vineyard sauvignon blanc semillon (australia) hot cross buns  easter isn't easter without a a fresh, warm hot cross bun smeared with butter 'the spice component of cinnamon and nutmeg is harmonious with a classic australian rutherglen liquer muscat,' says nixon, pointing to buller fine old muscat as a wallet friendly choice stanton & killeen grand rutherglen muscat, at the luxury end, will set you back $8699 budget: buller fine old muscat (australia) rrp$2099  mid range: campbells classic rutherglen muscat (australia) rrp$3999  luxury: stanton & killeen grand rutherglen muscat (australia) rrp$8699  pair with hot cross buns: (l r) buller fine old muscat (australia),  campbells classic rutherglen muscat (australia), stanton & killeen grand rutherglen muscat (australia) chocolate  in the days before the holiday, before sunday lunch, afterwards, and (for some) weeks after the easter weekend, it is a veritable chocolate fest in most households 'chocolate and richly fruited spirity fortitied wines are just pure decadence' says dan murphy's peter nixon budget: m chapoutier banyuls (france) rrp$2499  mid range: grahams late bottled vintage port (portugal) rrp$2999  luxury: seppeltsfield para 21 year old tawny (australia) rrp$6999 [online only]  pair with chocolate: (l r) m chapoutier banyuls (france), grahams late bottled vintage port (portugal), seppeltsfield para 21 year old tawny (australia) blue eye cod and trevalley  if you are steering clear of meat on good friday, white fish is a popular choice nixon advises pairing it with chardonnay 'a richer, peach and cashew nut style chardonnay works a treat with white fleshed fish dishes' he says budget: cockfighter's ghost hunter valley (australia) rrp$1570  mid range: domaine astruc chardonnay (france) rrp$1599  luxury: tyrrell's vat 47 chardonnay 2010 (australia) rrp$5499  pair with cod: (l r) cockfighter's ghost hunter valley (australia), domaine astruc chardonnay (france), tyrrell's vat 47 chardonnay 2010 (australia) no meat on good friday: seafood sales increase by 80 per cent over the easter weekend  salmon  'as is the case most years, salmon will be the number one selling seafood product over easter,' says adam mourad of woolworths 'an intense, crunchy marlborough sauvignon blanc is the perfect palate cleanser for richly flavoured salmon' adds peter nixon budget: mato bay marlborough sauvignon blanc (nz) rrp$1090  mid range: peter yealands marlborough sauvignon blanc (nz) rrp$1250  luxury: giesen the brothers marlborough sauvignon blanc (nz) rrp$2299  pair with salmon: (l r): mato bay marlborough sauvignon blanc (nz), peter yealands marlborough sauvignon blanc (nz), giesen the brothers marlborough sauvignon blanc (nz) lobster  for those splurging on luxurious lobster at their easter lunch, the drinks will need to stand up to the decadent meaty seafood 'the most luxurious of seafood dishes cries out for a world class, bottle fermented sparkling' says nixon he recommends the 2004 taittinger comtes de champagne blanc de blancs, which costs an eye watering $299 for those looking for a budget option, france's sieur d'arques grande cuvée 1531 de aimery is a steal at $1570 budget: sieur d'arques grande cuvée 1531 de aimery (france) rrp$1570  mid range: a by arras premium cuvée (australia) rrp$2100  luxury: taittinger comtes de champagne blanc de blancs 2004 (france) rrp$29900  pair with lobster: (l r) sieur d'arques grande cuvée 1531 de aimery (france), a by arras premium cuvée (australia), taittinger comtes de champagne blanc de blancs 2004 (france) lamb  'full flavoured lamb is the perfect match for the delicious spicy, gamey grenache based wines of the world,' nixon advises budget: borsao selección grenache blend (spain) rrp$1199  mid range: cirillo the vincent grenache (australia) rrp$2199  luxury: sc pannell the vale shiraz grenache (australia) rrp$3899  bbq: lamb goes perfectly with a spicy, games grenache, says nixon  pair with lamb: (l r) borsao selección grenache blend (spain), cirillo the vincent grenache (australia), sc pannell the vale shiraz grenache (australia)
australians hot cross buns & easter 80 per cent the easter weekend
australians buy 54mil hot cross buns & 2,900 tonnes of chocolate at easter . seafood sales rise by 80 per cent over the easter weekend . drinks expert advises on the best wines to match your favourite seasonal foods, from chocolate to seafood 