WINNING WINES TO TOAST EVERY MOM
Instead of celebrating Mother’s Day by sending an animated ecard, booking brunch or purchasing more contraception, do the right thing on May 14 and give the mom in your life a bottle of good vino. After all, 99.98 per cent of women who have had children l
Doting mom This woman has four kids (including her husband), two dogs, three cats, a bird and a hamster — but always makes time to host a playdate, throw a baby shower and read to her babes every night before bed. She drives a minivan, lives on coffee and hasn’t slept more than four hours straight in years. Frankly, no one deserves a great glass of wine more. So, give her this robust, smoke-chocolate-berry-rich red that’s so good it will hit the pause button on her three-ring circus life. On shelves May 13.
2014 Petite Petit by Michael David Winery, Lodi, California (Vintages 213017 $26.95 in stores only)
Score: 92 Sporty mom She adds protein powder to her homemade brownies, makes egg white omelettes for breakfast and her idea of weekend fun is hiking the Bruce Trail with her child carrier backpack (because apparently, daily sprints with her jogging stroller isn’t enough exercise.) The perfect gift for this healthy, happy and well-toned mama is a bottle of blossom-and-citrus-scented Sancerre rosé by Jean-Max Roger — you know, to go with all that grilled fish and vegetables she eats. She’ll swoon, I swear. Released April 29 and still on shelves.
2016 Jean-Max Roger Sancerre Rosé “La Grange Dimiere”, France (Vintages 490813 $25.95 in stores only)
Score: 90 Crunchy-granola mom She gave birth at home, feeds her kids a strict a gluten-free, dairy-free organic diet and attributes her constant glow to using coconut oil instead of soap. Not only is she the only person you know without a smartphone, microwave or television, she spends most of September canning local fruit and vegetables to preserve Ontario’s best bounty. No doubt this neo-hippy would appreciate this bottle of multi-award-winning fruit wine made from Ontario berries. It tastes gorgeous on its own, mixed into sparkling wine or drizzled over dairy-free, gluten-free cheesecake.
Southbrook Framboise, Ontario (LCBO 341024 $18.20 in stores and online)
Score: 91+ Hot-mess mom With the massive bags under her eyes, a frazzled perma-frown and her shirt on backwards again, the hot-mess mom is easy to spot — but not hard to buy for. Why? Because she gave up cooking well-balanced meals no one will eat long ago and feeds the fam pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So help this lass pull it together by giving her this Barbaresco to upgrade pizza night. It’s a suave, restrained Italian red that alludes to dried cherries, violet and licorice before tapering to a long, salt-and-slate finish. Prego!
2013 Enrico Serafino Barbaresco DOCG, Piedmont, Italy (LCBO 341156 $20.50 in stores and online)
Score: 91 Empty-nested mom If her children have grown and flown, this mom has paid her dues. Now, it’s payback time. Give her a bottled ode to fabulousness (and the fact she spent the best years of her life raising children). I’m talking about this classic and characterful Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that cascades with plush yet polished flavours of ripe plum, blackcurrant liqueur, vanilla, cocoa powder and baking spices. Worth every cent and hits shelves May 13.
2013 Franciscan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California (Vintages 39388 $29.95 in stores only)
Score: 93