Mother's Day is in two weeks, a time to honor our mothers, to show the love we possess for them. I love my mother, and she is worthy of much honor for her love, devotion, and sacrifice in raising me. However, she will say that she doesn't need any specific day to be honored, that she feels my love every day. Many mothers probably feel that very same way about their children, yet we children still enjoy celebrating this holiday.
I've previously worked at a wine shop on Mother's Day and sold more White Zinfandel than any other day I can ever recall. The vast majority of them were bought as gifts. One of the customers even seemed almost guilty buying it, telling me that it was for his mother. That made me ponder the matter, raising a question in my mind.
If you truly love your mother, would you buy her an inexpensive wine like a White Zinfandel?
Some might think the answer is easy, that their mother deserves much better than White Zinfandel. Some might think she deserves a high-end Cabernet Sauvignon, a fine Bordeaux or a vintage Champagne. In some respects, they are correct. Your mom is certainly worthy of a pricey, high end wine. My own mom is certainly worthy of any wine I know. However, that doesn't mean you should buy your mother such a wine.
In fact, sometimes a White Zinfandel is the best wine you can buy for your mom.
For Mother's Day, I believe that you should give your mother the things she loves. No matter what they might be. I don't believe it is the day to test your mom, to give your mother something she might or might not enjoy. You want the day to be as perfect as possible for your mother, so you should cater to her desires. If she loves White Zinfandel, then the best wine you can give her for Mother's Day is White Zinfandel. You shouldn't feel guilty or cheap. You shouldn't feel like a bad child.
Even if you're a wine lover, conversant with wines from all over the world, having tasted wines made from hundreds of different grapes, don't shy away from buying White Zinfandel if that is what your mother loves. Maybe your mom has never had a Provence Rose or a Gruner Veltliner, and might enjoy them if she did. Then again, maybe she won't. Don't try to change your mother's palate on Mother's Day. Give her what you know she already loves, even if it is White Zinfandel.
Yes, if you love your mother, buy her White Zinfandel!
I wholeheartedly agree with buying a mom, or really anyone, what THEY would like rather than what I would like. But since it violates my deepest core values to let anyone drink White Zin, I take steps, sometimes over the course of years, to make sure no one in my circle can stand the stuff. I've developed a rigorous twelve step program, a slow and steady course of wine education that has helped even the most hardened Zin Fiend, or 'blusher' in street parlance, break the habit. We start with approachable, juicy, aromatic Sauv Blancs from New Zealand and work our way to increasingly better and better wines.
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