One of the smallest AVAs in Napa, Stags Leap District is also one of the coolest for growing Cabernet in the Napa Valley, however the fruit attains full ripeness, without getting overripe, and Clos Du Val shows this well. Since it’s founding in 1972 Clos Du Val has had an insatiable desire to produce beautiful Cabernet’s and their Hirondelle Vineyard is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from the Clos Estate.

Mom deserves the very best and the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is certainly one of the very best. You may not recall, but 2006 in Montagne de Reims was a hot year, helping to produce stellar fruit. This Rose’ comprised of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay is aged about eight years on the lees, helping to create more complexity and creaminess.

My mom likes Champagne…well most moms do. But rather than the predictable sparkling wine round up for Mother’s Day, it seems that pink is the drink that doesn’t stink – as in a gift, or to just imbibe with mom herself. Frankly, Mom is probably buying a lot of wine herself - in fact a little over 80% of all wine purchases are made by women. Not to mention that rose’ is currently on an upswing seeing a 30% increase in sales worldwide. So IntoWine searched out diverse rose’ wines; ones that are expressive, unique and at price points for everyone. Disable rich-text

Wine geeks love oddball wines and whereas many people seek out the wines they are not familiar with, still many more stick with the traditional. Fortunately, Vietti is not only well known even though their Arneis is not, meaning you can try this wine knowing that this fifth generation producer will deliver. In fact, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of this wine.

Pinot Noir is one of those wines that truly encapsulates its place of origin better than other red wines. Russian River Valley as a whole reflects this, as does the Hallberg Ranch in Sebastopol. Hallberg, formerly an apple orchard, is entirely dry farmed Pinot Noir grapes, which offers a balance between lush fruit and an earthy darkness given its sandy loam, clay soils and cooler temperatures.

Washington State is the 2nd largest wine producer in America, after California. The wine regions here are making incredible strides and one of the most auspicious places out of the 14 AVAs in the state is Red Mountain, a sub-appellation of Yakima Valley (which is, in turn, a sub-appellation of the Columbia Valley).

Markham is better known for Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, even Chardonnay, but Charbono? You may rightly ask…what is Charbono? It is believed that Italian immigrants came to Napa during the California Gold rush and brought Charbono cuttings with them. In Argentina its called Bondara, but it is assumed the grape is actually native to France, not Italy.

Pinot Noir is the 5th most planted grape in California and produces diverse iterations of Pinot. In 1994 J Vineyards began making Pinot Noir. What’s unique about this wine is that it is constructed from diverse appellations; Monterey County’s Santa Lucia Highlands (70%), Sonoma’s Russian River...