In an effort to be a bit more natural around here, I decided to learn how to dye Easter eggs with red wine. I am over the moon with the result. They are so beautiful! It’s super easy and take little effort but a bit of time. The wine dyes the Easter eggs a beautiful purple color plus gives them a cool crystalized texture. You simply boil the eggs in red wine and let them sit in the wine until the desired color is achieved. Okay, it’s a little more complicated than that. Read on to learn how to dye Easter eggs with red wine.
What wine to use to dye Easter eggs?
My husband happens to grow Mourvedre vines which is the perfect wine for dying Easter eggs. You’ll want to find a wine that’s heavily pigmented like Mourvedre, Syrah, Zinfandel, or Malbec; the inkier the better. Buy a cheap bottle, like seriously, 2 buck Chuck levels. No need to invest in something expensive since you won’t be drinking it. Mourvedre worked great. Mourvedre is also called Monastrell in Spain which has some great bargains, too.
Should I use white or brown eggs for Easter eggs?
Our chickens make these off-white colored eggs which worked out really well. I wouldn’t recommend brown eggs because it’ll mute the color too much. White eggs will would a great choice since they’ll likely pick up the most color from the red wine.
How long to boil eggs for Easter eggs?
I set a timer for 10 minutes to boil these Easter eggs in the red wine. Here’s a very helpful chart to get the eggs to your desired cookness (is that a word?).
Here is how to dye Easter eggs with red wine in recipe form. Save it for later.
How to Dye Easter Eggs with Wine
Equipment
- Medium Pot
- Slotted Spoon
Materials
- 1 Dozen Fresh Eggs (Room temperature) White or Off-White
- 1 Bottle Dark Red Wine Monastrell, Syrah, Malbec
Instructions
- Fill pot with entire bottle of wine
- Bring to a boil
- With slotted spoon, carefully place eggs in the wine
- Let boil for 8 minutes for soft boiled and 15 minutes for hard boiled eggs
- Turn off heat
- Let the eggs sit in the red wine until desired color has been reached. Up to 12 hours.
- Remove eggs from wine and place on a paper towel until they dry.
- DO NOT polish them with olive oil.
How long to let Easter eggs dye in red wine?
Once you’ve removed the pot from the heat, let the Easter eggs sit in the red wine for up to 6 hours. Keep checking the eggs with a slotted spoon until the desired color has been achieved. The eggs you see in my pictures were left in the red wine dye for only 1 hour. Depending on the pigment in the red wine, the eggs will likely go from bluish purple to nearly black.
When you take the eggs out of the wine, you’ll notice they have a little crystals on them. It’s an extra sparkle to your eggs and completely natural. Love that for us.
How long do hard-boiled eggs last?
Keep your wine-dyed Easter eggs in the refrigerator. Consume within a week. In the Greek Orthodox faith, Easter eggs are dye on Holy Thursday. Which is something I never really understood because you can’t eat them until Sunday. Since dying Easter eggs with wine is relatively easy, I’d do it the night before and let the eggs sit in the wine dye overnight until Sunday morning.
Looking for an Easter Wine Guide?
I’ve written 2 Easter wine guides, one for ham eaters and one for lamb eaters.
Please let me know if you give this a try! Leave me a comment if you do. I really loved dying Easter eggs with red wine, I’ll probably do it every year!