The 12 Best Mother’s Day Wines in 2023

• BUBBLES •

1. Champagne Billecart-Salmon, Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru

Origin: Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, France
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay (from Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger)
Price: $91.00
ABV: 12%

This wine was made with Chardonnay coming from the Côte des Blancs villages of Avize, Chouilly, Cramant and Mesnil-sur-Oger. The blend of two vintages was vinified in stainless steel and remained four to five years on the yeast before disgorgement.

The wine shows a light straw color with a delicate, abundant effervescence. It reveals a bouquet of spring flowers, lemon, wet stones and stone fruit. The palate is creamy with a chalky texture, a fruity full-bodied richness combined with racy acids and a seamless finish.

> For more information, visit Champagne Billecart-Salmon official website.

> Check GAYOT’s exclusive video interview with Mathieu Roland-Billecart, president Champagne Billecart-Salmon.

2. Zardetto, Prosecco Rosé, Extra Dry 2020

Origin: Veneto, Italy
Varietal: Glera with up to 15% Pinot Noir
Price: $15.00
ABV: 11%

Located in the heart of the famous Prosecco territory between Conegliano and Valdobiadene, Zardetto has been a leader in sparkling wine for more than 40 years. Zardetto’s vibrant and refreshing Proseccos are produced from carefully selected grapes grown on the finest hilltop vineyards, after which Zardetto’s state-of-the-art winery blends modern techniques and traditional practices that result in a collection of acclaimed Prosecco Brut.

The wine has a pale and delicate pink color obtained from the short contact with Pinot Noir skins. The nose is fruity with aromas of apple, strawberry, orange zest and white peach. The palate is lively, fruity and creamy with a refreshing acidity and a vibrant finish.

> For more information, visit Zardetto official website.

3. Paula Kornell, Brut

Origin: Healdsburg, California, USA
Varietal: 80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir
Price: $22.00
ABV: 12%

Paula Kornell grew up embraced by tradition. Her father brought his European background to California with Hanns Kornell Champagne Cellars, producing sparkling wine in the traditional method.

Fruit for this wine comes from certified sustainable vineyards in some of the coolest growing regions around California. The wine displays lively bubbles and a pale-yellow color. The nose shows jasmine, apple and a slice of toast followed by flavors of strawberries, cherries and brioche. Lively acidity leads to a long, balanced finish.

> For more information, visit the Paula Kornell official website.

• RED & ROSÉ WINES •

4. Austin Hope, Grenache 2018

Origin: Templeton Gap District, Paso Robles, California, USA
Varietal: 100% Grenache
Price: $55.00
ABV: 15%

The Hope family has been farming in Paso Robles for more than 30 years. When they arrived in this barely discovered region, they planted apples and grapes. Little did they know that the rolling, oak-studded terrain of Paso Robles would one day become a viticultural terroir of significance and one of the top winegrowing regions for quality red wine within the Central Coast. The Grenache was sourced from the Hope Family Vineyard, which is 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean, in the Templeton Gap district of Paso Robles where the cooling maritime breezes reach the vineyard every afternoon during the growing season, often producing large diurnal swings. The site’s rocky soils of clay and limestone, partnered with the warm days and cool nights, make it ideal for their Rhône varietals.

The wine has a deep ruby red color with a robust bouquet of dried cherry, raspberry, cocoa and spices. The palate offers ripe dark fruit, spices, licorice and black pepper. Soft, yet powerful tannins and juiciness combined with vivid acidity taper off into a long, smooth finish.

> For more information, visit Hope Family Wines official website.

5. Gamble Family Vineyards, Paramount 2018

Origin: Napa Valley, California, USA
Varietal: 33% Cabernet Franc, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot
Price:  $90.00
ABV:  14.1%

Founded in 2005 by third-generation Napa farmer, Tom Gamble, Gamble Family Vineyards farms approximately 175 acres of prime estate vineyards from Napa Valley’s most respected AVAs – Oakville, Yountville, Mount Veeder and Rutherford. Tom Gamble’s mission is to carry on the heritage of quality farming that his ancestors sowed when they came to Napa as farmers and ranchers in 1916.

This ruby red Bordeaux blend offers aromas of ripe red berries, roses, baking spice and coffee. The palate reveals red and black fruit flavors, sweet oak, cacao and a touch of vanilla. It is well-balanced, smooth and has a long-lasting finish.

> For more information, visit Gamble Family Vineyards official website.

6. Green and Red, Zinfandel 2016, Tip Top Vineyard

Origin: Napa Valley, California, USA
Varietal: 100% Zinfandel
Price: $42.00
ABV: 15.4%

Green & Red Vineyards, named for its red iron soils veined with green serpentine, is located in the steep hills on the east side of Napa Valley. The planting was started in 1972 on ground originally in vineyards in the 1890’s. The vineyards are a small percentage of the 200-acre property, which ranges in elevation from 900 to 2,000 feet.

The Tip Top zinfandel comes from their uppermost mountain vineyard grown at 2000 feet above the Pacific. The vineyard is terraced and faces northeast. The soils are rust red and rocky loam.

The wine shows a deep crimson color and delivers aromas of dark cherry and raspberry. The palate reveals red ripe fruit, spices and licorice, elegant tannins and a lingering, layered finish.

> For more information, visit Green and Red Vineyards official website.

7. Le Dix de Los Vascos, Colchagua Valley, 2016

Origin: Colchagua Valley, Chile
Varietal: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% mix of Carmenère, Cabernet Franc and Syrah
Price: $62.00
ABV: 14%

Le Dix, meaning “ten” in French, was introduced in 1998 to celebrate Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)’s first ten years in Chile. Le Dix de Los Vascos is grown in an exceptional vineyard called El Fraile, which means “the monk,” the oldest planted vineyard at Los Vascos and the original vineyard on the estate. The vineyard is 100% planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and many parcels have vines reaching 80 years in age.

This classy wine has a deep crimson color and aromas of plum, cherry, currants, cedar, pencil and a touch of well-measured oak. It is richly layered on the palate with flavors of bold black fruit, spice and cacao, all enveloped in smooth acidity and fine tannins, and finishing long and complex.

> For more information, visit Los Vascos official website.

8. Bodegas Borsao, Rosé 2020, Campo de Borja

Type: ROSÉ
Origin: Aragon, Spain
Varietal: 100% Garnacha (Grenache)
Price: $10.00
ABV: 14%

Bodegas Borsao is located in the D.O. Campo de Borja in the Aragon region in Spain, nestled against the Pyrenees Mountains. Bodegas Borsao stretches over 5,425 acres belonging to some 375 vine-growers. The hillsides of the Moncayo range shelter the vineyards located between 1,000 and 2,400 feet of altitude, regulating cold, heat and moderating the effects of the North-west ‘Cierzo‘ wind. This region is historically and geographically conducive to growing Garnacha, which makes up 60% of the vineyards. Other varietals include, Syrah, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and minimal amounts of Mazuela, Macabeo and Chardonnay.

The wine shows a light salmon color with aromas of red berries, citrus and white flowers. Flavors of ripe berries and stone fruit unfold on the palate together with a hint of spice, all wrapped up in juicy acidity and finishing steady and clean.

> For more information, visit Bodegas Borsao official website.

• WHITE WINES •

9. Famille Vincent, Bourgogne Blanc 2019

Origin: Burgundy, France
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Price: $20.00
ABV: 13%

Famille Vincent Bourgogne Blanc is a tribute to Jean-Jacques Vincent who managed the family domaine of Château Fuissé for over past 40 years. It is a distinctive wine exclusively from the southern part of Burgundy near Mâcon and Pouilly-Fuissé. The Mâconnais area offers naturally rich soils with a high proportion of clay which leads to a wine rich in mineral character. Summer temperatures are generally higher in the Macônnais area than in northern Burgundy, affording the wines rich and ripe fruit character and soft acidity.

This Burgundy has a pale-yellow color. The nose is fruity with a discrete touch of vanilla. The palate is dense with flavors of ripe apples, melon and mineral ending in a long and elegant finish.

> For more information, visit Château de Fuissé official website.

10. Pascal Jolivet, Attitude, Sauvignon Blanc, Val de Loire 2020

Type: WHITE
Origin: Loire, France
Varietal: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Price: $19.00
ABV: 13.5%

The house of Pascal Jolivet was founded in 1987 and is one of the most dynamic domaines in France’s Loire Valley. Pascal Jolivet is a firm believer in natural winemaking and practices environmentally friendly techniques in both the vineyard and the cellar. The philosophy of the estate is to let nature take its course as much as possible. The juices are fermented with wild yeasts in stainless steel tanks with thermoregulation.

This Sauvignon Blanc has a brilliant, pale-yellow color. Aromas of grapefruit, green apple and lemon unfold in the nose. The palate has a soft texture with flavors of citrus, apple and a touch of minerals, all evolving into a long, smooth finish.

> For more information, visit Pascal Jolivet official website.

11. Jorge Ordonez Málaga, S.L. No. 2 Victoria

Origin: Malaga, Spain
Varietal: 100% Muscat of Alexandria
Price: $24

A multi-award-winning wine, the Jorge Ordoñez & Co. No. 2 Victoria is made from 100 percent Muscat Alexandria. Notes of peach, mango, lemon and apple are present in both the aroma and palate.

The sweetness is balanced by crisp acidity and mineral elements, making this a superb dessert wine.

> For more information, visit the Jorge Ordonez Selections official website.

12. Ram’s Gate, Hyde Vineyard, Chardonnay 2019

Origin: Carneros, California, USA
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Price: $70.00
ABV: 13.7%

With its cool climate, Carneros produces wines of great depth and distinction. Situated upon a rolling hillside, where the San Francisco Bay meets the edges of Napa and Sonoma counties, Ram’s Gate Winery patiently awaits. Director of Winemaking Joe Nielsen is parlaying the estate vineyard into a model of thoughtful precision farming and sustainability, while also elevating each wine in the portfolio to its highest vineyard expression.

A golden straw yellow colors the wine. The elegant nose with hints of stone fruit, spices and wet stones is also reflected on the palate where it is intensified and promising increased complexity with some aging.

> For more information, visit Ram’s Gate official website.