12 Wineries & Wines That Innately Celebrate the Essence of Mother’s DayTreat mom to the 2018 Terracea Spring Mountain District Riesling; it’s like springtime in a glass.

Ripe, bold and soft, the Tenuta di Arceno 2017 Il Fauno di Arcanum is a hot-vintage blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Despite the difficult conditions of the vintage, which included spells of extreme heat and dryness, this wine hits an especially pretty balance that underlines the care given to preserving the best qualities of the fruit. It pours from the bottle with a darkly concentrated appearance and displays blackberry, plum, spice, tar and leather. There is softness here for sure, yet the wine's structure and carefully engineered construction is intact.

The Tenuta di Arceno 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Strada al Sasso is a beautifully velvety and rich expression from one of the warmest and driest vintages in recent memory. Dark fruit, blackberry and dried cherry segue to leather, spice and tar. You also get hints of earthy potting soil and blue flower that come naturally to the Sangiovese grape. The finish ends with medium freshness and soft tannins. This is a solid Tuscan red to serve with grilled streak.

This medium gold colored Chardonnay from Hartford Court is very good. It opens a very fragrant pineapple, ripe pear and vanilla bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied, balanced, lush and rich. The flavor profile is pear and lemon blend with notes of pineapple, vanilla and oak. We also detected hints of chalky minerality mixed in. The finish is dry and nicely extended. The Panel would pair this tasty Chard with roasted chicken with garlic or broiled scallops.

From a hot and sunny vintage, the Tenuta di Arceno 2017 Chianti Classico Riserva opens to dark cherry fruit, blackberry and plum. Indeed, you get a wide assortment of purple and black fruits in this generous, medium-bodied Riserva to be served with a sliced, grilled sausage and rosemary potatoes. There are streaks of ripeness and sweetness here, and the glass conjures up nutmeg and toasted almond as well. This hot vintage is slightly more near-term compared to some the recent editions we have seen.

Perfect for a quintessential Tuscan pappardelle al cinghiale with shaved pecorino, the Tenuta di Arceno 2018 Chianti Classico is a steady, fruity and fresh expression that delivers on and exceeds the basic promises of the appellation. Dark fruit and wild cherry segue to leather, spice and earth. The wine (made with Sangiovese and a small part Merlot for extra softness) offers a classic window onto the warm and sunny Castelnuovo Berardenga village on the southern side of the appellation.

This medium ruby colored Pinot Noir from Copain opens with a black raspberry and craisin bouquet with hints of strawberry and oak. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic and juicy. The flavor profile is an oak influenced black plum with notes of stony minerality. I also detected hints of red raspberry and mint. The finish is dry and its flavors and mild tannins drift away nicely. This Pinot would pair well with cranberry-glazed pork chops.

The Best Wines to Drink This Spring (and What to Serve Them With)Put away your winter coats (and heavy winter wines). This spring, give your at-home wine list a spring cleaning and take your pick of this fresh crop of wines that are just right for the season.Medium-Bodied Reds2016 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills, California

Six red wines you should be drinking now2016 Mt. Brave Mt. Veeder Merlot17.8 (9.3 for quality, 8.5 for value)The wine: In 2007, winemaker Chris Carpenter launched the Mt. Brave project, using fruit from what was once the Chateau Potelle Vineyard, located between 1,400 and 1,800 feet in elevation on the hillside, where the gravelly loam soils, lacking minerals and nutrients, produce tiny berries with concentrated, complex flavor profiles.Taster’s take: “Blackberry and cherry flavors with a hint of chocolate.”Critical acclaim: The Wine Enthusiast awarded it a score of 94, deeming it a Cellar Selection: “Best from 2026 through 2031.”

This light-yellow colored Chardonnay opens with a musty oak, lemon and pineapple bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied and slightly acidic. The flavor profile is an oak influenced baked apple and Bosc pear blend with notes of ginger and cooking spices. I also detected hints of almond butter and chamomile tea. The finish is dry and its flavors linger for quite a while. This rich and flavorful Chard would pair well with lobster bisque.

Transparent ruby. Fresh and grainy on the nose. Round and spicy. Lots of character. A little bit too sweet for my palate but it does have personality and is not too heavy.

Transparent ruby. Damp rope again. And quite a skein of sweetness but the balance is good – acid and tannin at the right levels. Not that concentrated but that’s OK.

Bright garnet. Complex nose that speaks of much more than sweet fruit. Very bright in every way with just a (non-fatal) hint of cappuccino. There is freshness (tick) though quite a lot of sweetness. It has admittedly lasted well.

Deep orangey gold. Pretty mature on the nose. Savoury finish. Interesting! Cool and fresh. Lots of green grassy character. Quite long.

Deep gold. Rich nose but very lively on the palate. A great California archetypal Chardonnay. Racy and round. At peak but not losing it.

Another deep-gold wine. Not much nose. Monterey coolness on the palate but not enough fruit grip in the middle.

Not that deep gold. Lively, green-vegetation nose. Much, much fresher than the average California Chardonnay! Though there is still a bit of sweetness there. But it’s a good example of where it comes from. Funnily enough, without connecting any dots, tasting this immediately reminded me of their neighbours Au Bon Climat. Power to both their elbows…

On the nose, this Chardonnay from Copain displays notes of hazelnut, caramel, buttered popcorn, and yellow apple. The palate is fresher than the nose would indicate and lighter too. On the palate, tropical fruits like pineapple and passionfruit make an appearance but are subdued by the vanilla and butterscotch flavors. The finish could use a bit more acid to reign in the tropical flavors, but it might be fading due to age. Serve this Chard in the near term with lemon glazed pork chops.

This deep ruby colored kitchen sink blend from Kendall Jackson opens with a blackberry and stewed plum bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced and easy to drink. The flavor profile is a plum and blackberry blend with notes of cinnamon and cherry. There are hints of oak and craisin mixed in the towards the end. The finish is dry and its gentle tannins and fruit flavors linger nicely. This is an easy-going red blend to enjoy mid-week with a tangy pulled pork sandwich.

Moderately light garnet color in the bottle. Soaring aromas of Bing cherry, raspberry, spice and sap right after opening. Delicious tastes of black cherry and raspberry have mouth-filling fullness and length. Beautifully balanced with buried tannins and an invigorating acid backbone. Very polished with a thoroughbred finish. The next day, when tasted from a previously opened and re-corked bottle, the wine led me on a wonderful Pinot high.

This wine is from Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County, and proudly states the certified sustainable farming designation on the front of the label.The color is a pale ruby, very much on the pale side. It pours light but that’s not an indicator for what’s coming. It’s the nose that gets you right away. The aromas are super vibrant; fresh berries, spice and earth.Nice depth in the mouth with cherry, cola, strawberry flavors; toasty in the finish with a nice peppery spice and a little vanilla.Excellent wine, and an amazing value.

The Cambria Pinot Noir has done a good job of melding ripe berry fruit flavors with savory ones. On the nose, this wine opens with notes of raspberry, black cherries, earl grey tea, and tapenade. The palate continues the theme but has additional notes of strawberries, cola, leather, and black pepper. The finish is fresh, but the tannins are still a bit green. This Pinot would pair well with a Reuben on rye.

Here’s a serious, rich and maturing merlot with deep colour and a great, dense yet satiny texture. The nose displays very ripe plummy fruit with very fine oak spice and violet florality. It is full bodied, almost velvet in texture with fine tannin. The 14.5% alcohol brings some heat to the finish. The length is excellent.

A very good, almost chewy wine, but still very lively on the palate with some perfumed notes, some wood accents and great tannins.

A friend and I tasted this together, and both of us said we would have guessed in a blind tasting that it was a top-growth Bordeaux, with its barrel treatment, blackberry flavors, and a finishing dollop of cream. And it is an all-Bordeaux blend, led by a preponderance of Merlot. Note, too, that with this and the other two Arceno wines, Pierre Seillan, who oversees the estate, likes to hold the release of his reds for a few years until they are at least beginning to mature. (Tenuta di Arceno is one of the prize estates owned by Jackson Family Wines of Sonoma.)