Mom’s Day: A great time for the gift of wine

Jon Bonné • Profile

I can thank plenty of people for my love of wine. Not sure my mother would show up too high on that list.

Mom certainly enjoys wine, but she readily admits she isn't an expert. When I was growing up, ice cubes could be found in the wine glasses at our kitchen table.

But, hey, I’ve forgiven her. And like every good mom, she's shown she's willing to learn — all the more reason to raise a glass this Mother's Day.

But why leave it at that? What better time than this to help expand her wine horizons? Just because she can’t quote chapter and verse about varietals — or maybe both of you are learning the basics — it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use the holiday as a chance for a little adventure. It sure beats the old cards-and-flowers routine.

Here are some wine suggestions to help make this Mother’s Day extra-festive:

Brunch: If you’ve made reservations to celebrate at Mom’s favorite spot, you’re hardly alone. Mother’s Day is the busiest holiday for dining out, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Brunch is a difficult meal for wine. Midday isn’t always a time when people want to be consuming alcohol. In addition, most brunch food isn’t typically paired with wine. (Imagine a snooty sommelier’s grimace if you ask for something to go with your pancakes!)

All certainly is not lost, though. A brut Champagne-style sparkling wine matches nearly any brunch food you can dream up, and rare is the mother who won’t appreciate a modest glass or two of festive bubbles with the meal.

It doesn’t have to be Champagne; any good sparkler will do. (We reviewed unusual sparkling wines last December; read our picks, French and otherwise. Mimosas (a blend of sparkling wine and orange juice) and bellinis (a sparkler and peach puree) are both brunch staples, too.

And don’t forget moscato d’Asti, especially if Mom has a sweet tooth.  Made from the perfumed muscat grape, moscato’s classic light, citrusy sweet notes not only match everything from fruit salad to eggs Benedict, but at under 6 percent alcohol, these lightly sparkling Italian beauties also are easy on the body, leaving you both intact for a lovely afternoon walk.

The other excellent brunch option, suggests Matthew Turner, wine director at California’s Ritz-Carlton at Half Moon Bay, is riesling. “It works well with a wide variety of foods, which is what brunch is about,” Turner says.

True, drinkers of a certain age can have bad thoughts about that grape, largely thanks to cheap German wines such as Blue Nun (which actually isn’t riesling). Here’s an opportunity to change that.

Between Europe and the New World, you can find riesling in nearly every style and sweetness level imaginable. Most pair well with usual brunch items — eggs, sandwiches, standard lunch fare. Plus, many German rieslings are under 10 percent in alcohol.

If Mom prefers reds, here’s the perfect chance to help her expand her palate. Nothing too heavy or tannic: A good village or cru Beaujolais, made from the gamay grape, will be light and refreshing while still being a serious wine. (This is not Beaujolais nouveau, mind you; the 2004 nouveau is already past whatever prime it had.)

Better yet, give in to the “Sideways” hype (no doubt Mom will ask if you’ve seen it yet) and dabble in pinot noir.  A young, fruit-driven pinot will complement brunch quite well. We’ve covered a few in this week’s Tasting Notes (please see below).

Home cooking: If you’re staying home for brunch, I think the best approach is to consider what wines Mom likes to drink, then gently push her a step or two beyond her comfort zone. If she protests, politely note that she always told you to be open to trying new things. (If you think she’ll really protest, keep one of her old standbys hidden in the cabinet. It’s her day, after all.)

If Mom’s stuck in California chardonnay mode, serve unoaked chard like those from Kim Crawford (New Zealand) or Chehalem (Oregon). Better yet, find a modest bottle of Austrian gruner veltliner. If she’s a white zinfandel gal, you might intrigue her with riesling, muscat or even a late harvest gewürztraminer — anything with some residual sugar. Or seek out some drier rosés.

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