The best thing you can do for your Mom this Mother's Day weekend is to let her know how much you love and appreciate her.
If you can do it over a glass of wine, so much the better.
Because Mother's Day is a special occasion and the weather is glorious, I'm leaning toward celebratory sparkling wine on the patio with Mom.
Bubbles also fit the bill for brunch, lunch, or happy hour with Mom.
Whites and roses are also light and fresh -- the perfect accompaniment for spending time with Mom in the sun.
Or, if you're having steaks or burgers off the barbecue with Mom this weekend, make it a red.
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With so many options for pairing wine with Mom, I'm recommending any one or combination of these 12 bottles:
- See Ya Later Ranch Sparkling Brut ($25) from Okanagan Falls
Let these classy and affordable Champagne-style bubbles set the scene.
- Laughing Stock Market Bubble 2021 ($40) from the Naramata Bench
Another elegant Champagne-style sparkler.
- Evolve Pink Effervescence ($25) from the Narmata Bench
When it needs to be pink and frothy.
- Red Barn 2024 Transfiction Rose ($25)
Made by the winery in Oliver using grapes from California.
Pink is feminine for Mom, but also masculine if you happen to be a grown man sipping it with your Mom.
- Liquidity Rose of Pinot Noir 2024 ($36)
Made by the winery in Okanagan Falls of grapes from Oregon.
Premium pink for a premium Mom.
- Calafuria Salento 2024 Rose ($27) from Italy
If you'd like to inject some pink dolce vita into Mother's Day.
- Laughing Stock 2024 Blind Trust White ($33) from the Naramata Bench
This wine was recently named one of the top 50 wines in the province at the British Columbia Wine Awards.
Serve it to your No. 1 Mom.
- Ex Nihilo 2025 Chardonnay ($25) from Lake Country
For when Mom demands an elegantly oaked Chard.
- Rewild Pinot Grigio ($16) from Australia
The 'rewild' in the name refers to how the winery is helping lands surrounding the vineyards return to their natural state.
Therefore, this light sipper is for the sustainably minded Mom.
- Rewild Cabernet Sauvignon ($16) from Australia
Ditto for the red and if Mom is having a burger off the barby.
- Synchomesh 2023 Storm Haven Vineyard Pinot Noir ($40) from the Naramata Bench
Light, bright, flavourful red.
- Fort Berens Meritage 2022 ($31) from Lillooet
Full-bodied red blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon for Mom to pair with grilled steak.
Happy Mother's Day to my wife, Kerry, the mother of our exceptional kids, Alex and Grace, and to my Mom, Anne -- you're simply the best. Love and gratitude to you this Mother's Day and always.
Pig Out previews an incredible season in Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country
Last weekend's Pig Out Festival may be over, but whether you attended or not, it was a fun and tasty primer for what's to come in Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country this spring, summer and fall.
"Pig Out kicked off the season and created the buzz that will continue all summer long," said Jennifer Bussman, executive director of the Oliver Osoyoos Winery Association.
"All wineries are now open for the season offering a warm welcome for all visitors."
In other words, if you happen to live in Oliver or Osoyoos drop by a winery and buy a bottle.
Tourists: visit Oliver, the Wine Capital of Canada, and Osoyoos, hit up some wineries, drink while you're there and buy bottles to take home to enjoy later and remind you of the good time you had in the South Okanagan.
If you can't visit for any reason, seek out Oliver and Osoyoos wines at your local liquor store to bring some South Okanagan sunshine into your life, wherever you happen to be.
Here's a photo collage from Pig Out, the wine-and-pork-centric barbecue that attracted 600 people to Oliver last weekend.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
