Mother’s Day is the perfect day to get the families together and to contact those that are not near. We were all set to have everyone over to our house for the celebration and of course set out the “Whirling Dervish” also known as my Bride into last minute preparations for the meal. Then it was decided that we were all going to have the dinner at my Mother-in-Laws home, and that changed the logistics of the day, but alls well that ends well.

We loaded up the car with gifts, as we were also celebrating a birthday in May as well as Mother’s Day, folding chairs and of course some wine. We were the designated team to go pick up the food from an Italian restaurant that the families enjoyed, namely Ferlito’s in Grosse Pointe Woods and not far from her house. I have written about another Mother’s Day, when we repeated the same excursion and had to pick up trays of Lasagna, Fettuccini Alfredo and of course an extra order of Gnocchi with meat sauce for that fussy and pain in the rear Raconteur, who is not a fan of Lasagna and requires some meat for his dinner. Thankfully by Bride puts up with me, most of the time.

When we were first discussing Mother’s Day and figuring that we were going to have dinner at our house, I thought of our standard offering of filets and went into the cellar for something interesting to try. I found the wine that I wanted, but the menu changed, but I figured that a Spanish wine would still work with the Italian cuisine with out being too sacrilegious. I had wanted to try Finca Sobrena Selleccion Especial 1999 from Bodegas Sobrena. The wine is from the larger Castilla y Leon district of Spain in the Northern half of the Central Iberian Plateau that borders both Rioja and Portugal. This area has some famous wine areas like Ribera Del Duero, Toro, Rueda and Bierzo; all known for their red wines and of course in this area Tempranillo is king. The wine that we were having was from the Toro district and locally Tempranillo is known as Tinta de Toro and the wine carries the Denominacion de Origen, the broadest of the classifications guaranteeing a geographic area and type of wine that is typical for the area. This wine was listed as Selleccion Especial and had been aged for fourteen months in American Oak, and if it had been from Rioja, it would have been labeled as a Crianza. I never get into fancy wordings for the flavor and taste of wines, but this wine did have what I really favor in wines and that is that ethereal quality of terroir, or as I casually call it “dirt.” I enjoy when a full bodied wine imparts some of the terrain into the wine, as I find that special and a bonus. So even with the Italian food, this red wine was choice for the occasion and of course I look forward to celebrating many, many more years of Mother’s Day holidays