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Mothering Sunday or (latterly) Mothers Day is celebrated all over the world at slightly different dates in the ecumenical calendar. This year in the UK it falls upon March 19th which is also the date to move our clock forward one hour!
Tradition has it that worshippers attended their Mother Church around mid-Lent to celebrate motherhood. Domestic servants were also given a day-off to participate in this Medieval – based tradition through out the land. Fast forward to the 21st Century where this ancient tradition continues both in Churches and latterly Restaurants and Grand Family Lunches.
As with all feasts the selected (often seasonal) dishes adorn the Luncheon table with suitable beverages offered to match. Many Mothers will have a favourite tipple; this is a most important thing to remember, serving with a stylish swagger to the most important guest.
So a little information is needed to allow the lunch party to flow with ease. If its wine you are charged tofind, a more gentle style of a sipper might be the right wine to offer. Sparkling Wines (of all guises) are very popular with most Mums, especially if you might add a small amount of Orange Juice (Bucks Fizz) or Cassis (Kir Royal) to the glass before topping up with Fizz! It’s just the sort of thing that will please – and why-not offer throughout the lunch?
Pinot Grigio might also be the white wine of the day – and is a wine that can also match many different dishes. My choice for modern Pinot Grigio would be from Asda Extra Special range. At just £ 6.00 it’s a sure-fire winner for many wishing this Lemon-scented dry wine from a family winery in Trentino in N Italy.
For a richer white wine that is also a crowd pleaser why not head for South Africa and the brilliantly namely Semillon-Sauvignon from Porcupine Ridge 2020 this time from Waitrose offered at £5.99 . Offering a fresh fruit and mineral note with a taught texture plus more elegant complexity it’s a sure-fire winner.
What about a Rose wine? With many on the market it would be lovely for Mum’s to sip away on something English maybe? Plump for South Devon’s Sharpham Pinot Noir Rose 2020 from Sandridge Barton that oozes elegance and style with delicate Redcurrant notes over a lightly-spiced finish. Expect around £16.50 per bottle – info on availability from www.sharpham.com
Reds are my next suggestion but not a block-buster! Perhaps a style that will match all tastes could be more important than being defined as maybe a heavier style.
With this in mind I suggest I recommend The Fergus from Tim Adams in Clare Valley in South Australia with its unique blend of Tempranillo, Grenache and Malbec. Sheer elegance with a gentle blue fruit note backed up with spice and silky tannins. A most versatile and sippable red from one of Australia’s master wine makers. For enquiries and availability visit www.timadamwines.co.uk expect to pay around £15.00 for 75cl.
Deserts are certainly something special when dining at your Mothers Sunday Lunch so a dessert wine would be a great treat. Soft, squidgy puddings and desserts deserve an accompanying raft of sweetness to complement and relax the guests at the drop of a hat! A perennial favourite is the ubiquitous Asti Spumante from Martini. This sound swig of frothy Moscatel has enough fresh acidity and grapey sweetness to be the perfect accompaniment to the dessert and/or the cheese course. Serve Chilled in an elegant flute for maximum effect. Around £7.50 a pop from Tesco!
Stephen Barrett is a Wine and Food Writer based in Plymouth Stephen welcomes correspondence via his website www.stephenbarrett.com Facebook and LinkedIn as Stephen Barrett, Twitter and Instagram as @bistrowineman
With more and more drinkers (Mum included) turning to Lo and No Alcohol drinks it’s only right to suggest a drink that would also suit all Mothers who wish to abstain. A wine chum, wine writer Matthew Jukes has created a unique drink made from amongst other edibles English Pinot Noir grape skins. Finding them surplus to requirement he started to concoct a Zero Alcohol beverage based on his find. Blending and infusing, pressing and filtering he ended up with his booty. With the main ingredients being Grape skins and Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, and Sparkling Water, ‘Jukes’, as he calls it, offers a refreshing, spritzy, cool, alcohol free, sustainable drink for modern times. I liked it and served it cool in an elegant wine glass to great effect. It’s very smart in its 250 ml can all ready for the fridge. Go to www.jukescordialites.com or selected Waitrose for more info. So I bring to a close some bespoke ideas for your one and only Mother at Lunch on Sunday March 27th, I hope you find some of my ideas become part of a successful family occasion.