This year, pour Mom what she really wants for Mother’s Day—a knockout Chardonnay from a winemaking family who knows their way around tasteful California wines. Honestly, I haven’t found many Chardonnays that I could rave about. That has all changed… and just in time for Mother’s Day!

On a press trip hosted by Visit Tri-Valley and the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association, I was introduced to Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Vineyard 2017 Chardonnay (about $20) at the Wente Winery. The wine is a WOW. The winery is gorgeous. Lucky are the moms who find this wine on their patio or dining room table.

"The wine world has its share of eponymous regions; so famous, that just the mere murmur of their name evokes a sense of wonder.  Chateauneuf-du-Pape is one of those regions. The rich, bold and sensuous red wines that are created from this parcel of land in the south of France have been renowned for hundreds of years. For those of us who love wine Chateauneuf-du-Pape is practically a place of pilgrimage.

It doesn’t matter from which direction you approach the village. Whether it’s from the rocky plateaus to the north and the city of Orange, from the east and the medieval town of Courthezon, or from the flowing Rhone River to the west – the omnipresent ruins of the famed chateau acts as a beacon to the wine-lover.