Today is Mother’s Day in the United States, and so the perfect time to raise a toast to all the Mothers and Others who serve as MOMS and who mother and nurture small and large humans, plants, and other beings on this planet!

To all the moms out there:

thank you for all the love and compassion you show and you shower on this world.

Thank you for being a strong, beautiful person who stands up for what’s right.

And when times get tough, remember there are millions of powerful and creative women standing with you, ready to help.

Cheers! And I’ve got two lovely wines to toast you with!

WINES

Stella Rosa – Moscato – Orange – 6% alcohol – SRP $22
2013 – Balletto – Brute Rose – 12.9% alcohol SRP $42

MENU

Cheese plate
Orange Zinger Cake from Trader Joe’s with lemon curd and macerated raspberries soaked in the Moscato.

Stella Rosa – Moscato – Orange – 6% alcohol – SRP $22
bought at Vons on sale

I would much rather have this wine than a mimosa any day for brunch.

Color: While labeled as an orange wine, don’t expect it to be too orange in color as much as it is gold with persistent bubbles

Nose: Elderflower, green notes from the woody stem part or the leaf of the elder bush, orange blossoms, lilacs.

If you’re a fan of the elderflower liquor St. Germain, you will LOVE this sparkling wine.

Palate: Nice bubbles, sweet but not syrupy with good acidity, would not be so great warm or without bubbles. The bubbles lighten the palate. You can pick out the distinct flavor of the muscat grape with orange and apricot.

Pairing: The flavors and textures in the wine went brilliantly with the lemon zinger cake with lemon curd and raspberries; you generally want the wine to be sweeter than the food — and this dessert was very bright and lemony which set off the fruit and floral character of the wine.  Sue created this dessert with Moscato in mind.

NOTE: This wine is SWEET — the alcohol is low at 5% which means there’s a fair amount of residual sugar.

Try it as a mixer: I made the final glass into a cocktail with whiskey, Cointreau, and fresh Meyer lemon; it was still bubbly and tasty several days after opening by doing the “spoon trick” where you place a spoon in the neck of the bottle.

Share this wine with anyone who loves white zinfandel and they will go nuts!

 

2013 – Balletto – Brut Rose – 12.9% alcohol SRP $42 (Sample)
Russian River Valley – Sonoma County

Color: Very pale golden pink.

Nose: Mild yeasty notes, soft florals, salinity, but not sea spray as much as ocean breeze, there is an essence of plant life.

Palate: A Prosecco glass is perfect for serving this wine. Soft beautiful bubbles, stone fruit, citrus, green granny smith apple on the finish.

Pairing: While awesome on its own, this is more of a food wine than a dessert wine. It went well with the cheeses but this wine and the lemon zinger cake dessert was not a great pairing.  It’d be great with brunch foods like quiche, frittatas; anything you might pair a Chardonnay with you could pair with this wine. I really enjoyed it with Ceasar salad and roast chicken, and I was impressed at how long the bubbles persisted in the glass and over a few days.

A beautiful, beautiful American sparkling wine.

All Balletto wines are estate grown; they have 800 Acres of Estate Vineyards with 900,000 Estate Grown Vines. Each vine is touched by a human at least four times prior to harvest in the Fall. Balletto has a solid sustainability program which you can read about here; they follow the Lodi Rules.