25 Best Wine And Spirit Gifts For Mother's Day 2023

Jun 03, 2023

Finding the right gift to show mom, grandma, aunt, or any other maternal figure how much we love and appreciate them can be difficult. We owe our mother figures so much. They nurtured us, holding our hands and mending the scrapes when times were tough. They were always there when times were great, cheering us on to become our best selves.

So how can we express our gratitude? We know how. We suggest the gift she really wants: a delicious bottle of wine or tasty liquor. Whether for a celebratory toast to enjoy over brunch, the evening vodka martini, a dinner party pairing, or a nightcap to end the day, one of these delightful options will surely make any mother figure feel supreme this Mother's Day.

And even better, each of our selections is from a strong woman in the industry. They include owners and entrepreneurs, master blenders, distillers, vintners, and winemakers, each following their passion for producing delicious beverages.

If Napa Valley had a royal family, Robin Lail would be a member. The daughter of one of Napa's influential winemakers, John Daniel Jr., grew up amongst the vineyards of her family's Rutherford estate. After years of working in the region, including co-founding Merryvale and Dominus Estate in 1995, Lail and her two daughters began Lail Winery & Vineyards.

The name for the signature white wine is in honor of the family's first grandchild, Lail's granddaughter Georgia. Georgia is one of the finest sauvignon blanc wines in the world. It's easy to get lost in its elegance and complexity.

The dry-farmed Yountville-grown fruit is aged for 18 months in French oak, enhancing the texture and richness. The oak imparts creaminess and subtle spiciness, which melds with floral honeysuckle, lemon blossom, earthy truffle, and a note of minerality that lingers joyfully on the palate.

In the traditionally male-dominated industry of tequila production, master distiller Stella Anguiano shines much brighter above the rest. For the past 30 years, Anguiano has dedicated herself to the art of crafting quality tequila, honoring tradition while also breaking down barriers at the same time.

Her Próspero tequila comes from 100% blue agave plants grown in Jalisco, Mexico's lowlands. The Blanco is fresh, clean, and balanced. It opens with soft aromas of fresh flowers mixed with grassy herbs, sweet baked agave, and pepper notes. The palate is smooth and inviting, ideal for mixing in a perfectly balanced margarita.

When the Champagne house Tattinger expanded into the United States, the family hand-selected California winemaker Eileen Crane to lead the Carneros estate. With Crane's guidance, Domaine Carneros has become one of the finest sparkling wine houses worldwide. After over 40 years, Crane retired in 2020, with another dynamic woman, Remi Cohen, replacing Crane as CEO.

The winery's signature sparkling wine, Le Reve, is the realization of Crane's exemplary expertise. Meaning "my dream," La Rêve Blanc de Blancs is a traditional method brut-style sparkling wine of 100% Chardonnay. The bubbly in the bottle ages at least six years, enriching its delicate grace and style, creating layers of brioche, blanched almond, golden apple, lemon curd, and fresh cream. It symbolizes Taittinger's commitment to producing premium wines in California.

The dynamic duo of Vineyard Manager Kelly Gregory and Director of Wine Gina Hennen create elevated wines for Adelsheim Wines from cool-climate varieties in Willamette Valley. Though Oregon is best known for pinot noir, we love Adelsheim's syrah expression. About ½ of an acre of the variety is planted in the Calkins Lane estate vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains region of Willamette, producing the exceptional Adelsheim Calkins Lane syrah.

Showcasing the fruit's floral and spice characteristics, the red wine opens with cracked pepper and violet aromas, leading to peppery flavors that mingle with raspberry, boysenberry, and licorice. It is a syrah that harmoniously balances strength with restraint, deliciously paired with lamb or game dishes, like a mustard-crusted rack of lamb.

Mezcal is rarely considered a delicate spirit. Instead, rugged, earthy, and rustic often describes the agave-based spirit hailing from Mexico. However, delicate is how we describe Doña Vega mezcal. When creator, Sonya Vega, set out to produce her mezcal, the criteria were simple, create a refined, elegant product with the characteristics of traditional mezcal without the overwhelmingly intense smokiness so often associated with the spirit.

Through countless taste tests and recipe renditions, Vega eventually came up with the final product thanks to the help of her female-led team of mezcaleras. Their process includes an extended growing cycle for the espadín agave, often eight or nine years. Slow roasting over low heat extracts the agave pina's sweetness. After fermentation and distillation, the mezcal ages in wooden barrels, adding creaminess. The result is smooth and rich, with just the right balance of smoke and spice.

With a non-interventionist attitude, Hubba Wines owner/winemaker Riley Hubbard crafts wines from California's Central Coast that taste like the land. Vintage to vintage, Hubbard's selections represent the earth, honoring what Mother Nature gives.

Hubba Spoonman chenin blanc is a luscious, rich, honeyed wine made with wild fermentation from native yeast, revealing flavors of golden orchard fruit, quince, and white peach. The fruit is from the over 50-year-old chenin blanc vines growing in the sustainably and organically farmed Shell Creek Vineyard of Paso Robles. Old vines produce fruit with concentration, enhanced by six months of aging in French oak. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, capturing a sense of place, the defining characteristic Hubbard hopes to achieve in every glass.

If mom is a chardonnay fan, she will love a bottle of Stoller Dundee Hills chardonnay from Willamette Valley. The wine has a lovely crushed stone and herbaceous note, thanks to the mineral-rich Jory soil of the sustainably grown estate fruit. These flavors meld with golden stone fruit and bright lemon citrus. Crisp and refreshing, with intelligent use of neutral oak, concrete, and stainless steel, bring out the chardonnay's natural fruitiness and richness without overpowering the palate.

All Stoller Family Estates' wines come to fruition under the watchful eye of VP of Winemaking Melissa Burr. Burr has been with the estate from its beginning, consistently delivering delicious wines with character.

Winemaker Beth Adams honors her late grandmother, Abigail, in every bottle of her California Adi rosé made in a Provencal style. Layers of ripe raspberry, cranberry, wild herbs, and lilac create a zesty, very dry, refreshing wine. Her small production rosé blends grenache and syrah from fruit grown in the high-elevation region of Fair Play, California, in El Dorado County.

Luscious and vibrant, the wine is easy to enjoy while sitting around a table and conversing with family and friends, just as her late grandmother loved to do. We suggest pairing it with sushi and sashimi or spicy Thai soup.

Founder Jill Kuehler's Meemaw is the inspiration behind Freeland Spirits. Fierce and full of spirit, Kuehler's grandmother instilled the principles of hard work in her granddaughter, teaching her early on that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right.

Following this advice led Kuehler to create her Portland-based spirits company with the help of distiller Molly Troupe. When the duo began discussing the type of gin they wanted to make, Kuehler said she wanted it to have the aromas of her grandmother's garden. With that, they devised a way to use a hot and cold distillation method to ensure the gin had the freshness of soft herbs, cucumber, and citrus, along with the richness and flavor of spices, botanicals, and juniper provides. Freeland Gin delivers a harmonious balance of flavor, capturing Meemaw's garden.

While we love any bottle of bubbly, the unique wines of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG are spectacular. Prosecco Superiore adheres to strict guidelines to produce a premium product. It is required that all fruit must come from the high elevation, steep slopes of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. These hills are so historically significant the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2019. Here a mix of soils imparts earthy, mineral-rich characteristics into glera fruit. Grapes can fully ripen during sunny days while capturing freshness thanks to cool temperatures at night.

The Sommariva family has been working the region's vines for generations, becoming a leading producer of Prosecco Superiore. Cinzia Sommariva, daughter of founders Caterino and Urbana Sommariva, runs the winery today. Her Sommariva Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore has vivacious freshness, with zesty citrus and a note of minerality wrapped neatly within a mousse of lively dancing bubbles.

Winemaker Elena Walch is an Italian architect by trade. She came to wine after she began the restoration of the historic Castel Ringberg in Italy's Trentino-Alto Adige. While working on the project, she saw the potential in the vineyards surrounding the property, and the proprietor, Werner Walch of Wilhelm Walch Winery. The two fell in love and got married.

Elena Walch became intrigued with winemaking, though instead of joining her husband's wine business, she chose to create her project. Elena Walch Wines launched with the help of her two daughters. Today, her lively, refreshing wines are among the region's finest.

Her Elena Walch pinot bianco comes from vineyards sitting 1,800 feet above sea level, ensuring acidity remains in the fruit, creating freshness in the wine. This liveliness marries with minerality from limestone-filled soils, lifting the crisp wine's palate.

Inspired by the formerly enslaved man who taught Jack Daniels how to make whiskey in the mid-1800s, entrepreneur-turned-distillery owner Fawn Weaver created Uncle Nearest Whiskey in 2017. Weaver purchased the 300-acre Lynchburg, Tennessee farm and distillery where Nearest Green taught Daniels, opening Uncle Nearest Green Distillery.

Uncle Nearest has become one of the leading whiskey producers in the country. Today, a strong group of women runs the company, including the first female Black master distiller in America, Victoria Eady Butler. Butler is the great-great-granddaughter of Nearest Green, the forgotten founder of Tennessee whiskey. She brings authenticity and purpose to her role.

The signature product, Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey, is 100-proof. It's a bold, spicy, boozy whiskey filled with toasted spice, toffee, mocha, and vanilla cream.

Almost 10 years ago, Ali Smith Story and her husband, winemaker Eric Story, married and started a winery. Today their Smith Story Winery continues to inspire. After staying afloat during COVID-19, during which co-founder Ali Smith Story endured a long-fought battle with breast cancer, the duo's Northern California Winery produces exquisite wines predominantly from fruit coming from small family-owned vineyards. And most importantly, the love of the couple behind the wine is in every bottle.

Smith Story Helluva Vineyard pinot noir highlights the gorgeous fruit grown north of Sonoma in Anderson Valley. The wine is slightly rugged, with a note of dried leaves and forest floor, which melds with red berry, cherry, and black tea. Partially aged in new French oak, the appealing wine ends with a smooth, lingering finish.

For gifting Mom something sweet, we suggest an aromatic white wine from Napa Valley's Palmaz winery. Sustainable estate fruit is the base of Palmaz wines, with women involved in every aspect of the production. Family matriarch co-founder/co-chairman Amelia Palmaz is the winery's chief strategist, with her two daughters acting as CEO and CMO. The Palmaz winemaking team includes two of the best in the business, Tina Mitchell and Mia Klein.

Named after CEO Florencia Palmaz, Palmaz muscat canelli is an off-dry wine with the perfect sweetness. The wine begins with gorgeous layers of stone fruit and honeycomb, followed by blanched almonds, ripe apples, and candied mango. It is ideal for enjoying at the end of a meal with fruit-based desserts, like an easy peach crisp, while effortlessly handling savory dishes like blue cheese soufflé.

If Mom loves something a bit outside the norm, give her a bottle of tequila from 21 Seeds. Founded by two sisters and one friend, 21 Seeds is shaking up the liquor world with inventive flavored tequila selections.

Infusing citrus fruit and tropical flowers into 100% blue agave tequilas in Jalisco, Mexico, 21 Seeds Grapefruit Hibiscus is aromatic and light, with fruity sweetness without being cloying. At 70-proof, the liquor is lower in alcohol than typical tequila options. We love it in our Paloma cocktail or poured over ice with seltzer and lime for a highly refreshing drink.

In Australia's Margaret River region, winemaker Vanya Cullen is proving that premium wines with a sense of place can come from organic and biodynamically farmed vineyards made while minimizing greenhouse emissions. The winery is carbon-neutral, water self-sufficient, and powered with solar energy.

Cullen named her outstanding cabernet sauvignon Diana Madeline after her mother. The wine uses 50-year-old vines growing in the Cullen Wilyabrup vineyard. Working by hand, the fruit undergoes five separate picking cycles ensuring every bunch of grapes is at optimal ripeness. After fermentation, the wine ages 15 months in partially new oak, imparting spicy nutmeg and allspice. The spice melds with black cherry, graphite, and toasted cedar, producing an expressive wine.

Of everything you can give for Mother's Day, the one thing she will likely cherish the most is time for a chat with you. Enjoy this conversation with a bottle of The Discussion from Napa's Duckhorn Vineyards.

Margaret and Dan Duckhorn established their Napa Valley property almost 50 years ago. Today, winemaker Renee Ary oversees production, crafting delicious selections from the winery's estate vineyards.

The Discussion red blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon is a nod to traditional Old World cuvée blends while remaining entirely Californian. Juicy, rich, and brooding, the wine melds ripe black cherry, cassis, and graphite with chocolate, fresh cedar, and spice. It is a rich, opulent wine with a bold character, so allow it to breathe for a bit before enjoying it, extending that time Mom gets to talk with you.

A trio of whiskey-loving women comes together to create the spirits of Milam & Greene. Master blender Heather Greene and master distiller Marlene Holmes partnered with Marsha Milam in 2017 to create Milam & Greene. With distilleries located in Blanco, Texas, and in Bardstown, Kentucky, the women are proving great whiskey comes from the sum of all parts, each having a hand in the liquor's production.

From Indiana-grown rye, Milam & Green crafts a robust spirit with bold character and an earthy, spiciness melding with sweetness enhanced by finishing the grain spirit in port wine casks. Rich and velvety, the rye layers toffee, toasted nutmeg, and chocolate, perfect for including in classic rye whiskey cocktails, like a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned.

The far northwest corner of Spain has one of the world's largest concentrations of female winemakers. Within the Galicia region known as Green Spain, just inland from the Atlantic Ocean, women account for over 50% of the winemakers. These women are crafting the zesty, refreshing albariño wines of Rias Baixas. Rias Baixas is so ideally situated for producing albariño due to its proximity to the ocean, bringing a note of brininess, and granite-filled soils, adding crushed stone minerality.

When the region became a designation of origin under E.U. wine law in 1988, Marisol Bueno of Pazo de Senorans was the first president of the Rias Baixas consortium and a dynamic leader of winemaking in the region. Pazo de Senorans harvests its grapes late in the season when the fruit is very ripe, bringing juicy fruit-forward flavor to the grape's natural acidity and briny character.

Napa Valley's Frank Family Vineyards produces its thirst-quenching rosé in honor of winery co-founder Leslie Frank from Carneros-grown estate pinot noir. Cooling breezes off the San Pablo Bay blow through the vineyards daily, locking in freshness to create a zippy, lively flavor profile.

Frank Family Leslie rosé of pinot noir opens with aromas of honeysuckle, roses, and orange blossom. These aromas lead to juicy strawberry, cranberry, and tangerine flavors, with clean acidity and a soft, silky palate. It is the perfect wine to toast Mom with over a picnic of brunch favorites like eggs Benedict or a rich and creamy frittata.

GlenDronach 15-year Revival scotch whiskey is one of the finest single malt selections crafted in the Scottish Highlands under the watchful eye of master blender Dr. Rachel Barrie. Barrie grew up not far from the GlenDronach distillery. One of the few female master blenders in the world, Barrie is a disruptor with a delicate touch, bringing refinement, precision, and elegance to every dram. She has been a master blender for the past 20 years, joining GlenDronach in 2017.

GlenDronach's 15-year Revival single malt is an excellent representation of her pursuit of perfection. It's aged at least 15 years in a mix of oloroso and pedro ximinez sherry casks, imparting dried cherry, toasted spice, and toffee flavors. The cakes create a rich palate with a subtle sweetness not found in other single malts. Revival is an easy-sipping liquor, easily enjoyed neat.

Caring for the land with respectful farming practices is the guiding principle of the 150-year-old Bodegas Montecillo in the Rioja region of Spain. Today, the winery is run by sixth-generation vintner Rocio Osborne with the help of master winemaker Mercedes Garcia Ruperez.

By blending tempranillo with a touch of manzuelo, Montecillo Reserva Rioja has a plush, medium-bodied palate with energetic acidity, balanced tannin, and rich flavors of red fruits, woody herbs, and balsamic. It ages in a combination of French and American oak for a minimum of 24 months, enhancing the spiciness of the wine. This wine is great for the mother figure who craves a bit of spice in her wine.

Sisters Robin and Andréa McBride are daughters of the same biological father but did not grow up knowing each other. However, they shared more in common than they would have known, as both grew up in wine country. The two met in the late 1990s, and over the next few years, found a mutual connection over their love of wine.

In 2005, they turned their passions into profits, beginning one of the most impactful Black-owned businesses in the country. On May 8, the sisters will release their new reserve white wine, "Abalone or Paua?" It's a nod to their native roots (paua means abalone in New Zealand's native Māori). The fruit's Paso Robles' soil is filled with fossils and marine sediment from once being underwater. A blend of Rhone white varieties, the aromatic wine is available just in time for Mother's Day.

For 26 generations, the Antinori family has farmed the family estates throughout Tuscany, crafting expressive selections from native Italian varieties. Today three sisters, Albiera, Allegra, and Alessia Antinori, are leading the company into the future, honoring tradition while embracing modernity. Of the nine estates in Tuscany, Badia a Passignano has been growing grapes for over 1,000 years.

Located within Chianti Classico, Badia a Passignano Gran Selezione uses only the best, hand-selected sangiovese fruit from the historic estate vineyards. Nicely textured and concentrated, the wine opens with notes of wildflowers and warm spice, followed by red berries, dried tobacco, and spiced vanilla. With a savoriness, the wine is perfect with stuffed portobello mushrooms.

We are including a celebrity liquor in this year's selections as big and small screen stars continue influencing the field. Kate Hudson has hit gold with her King Street Vodka. The actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and mother has created a clean, fresh, easy-drinking vodka.

Crafted in Santa Barbara, the vodka is distilled no less than seven times before filtering. It is perfect for adding to classic vodka cocktails, including everything from a lemon drop to a dirty martini. And you'll be ready if your mother figure desires a Screwdriver cocktail during Mother's Day brunch instead of a traditional brunch mimosa.