Mother’s Day Gift Guide For Drinks Lovers

Words by Helena Nicklin

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I wanted to share some of the cheeky treats that have caught my eye over the past month. Be it subscriptions, bottles, chocolates or glassware, there is a little something here to suit everyone, whether you are a mum or not!

Stir-Up Cocktail Subscription Membership

How about getting her a cocktail subscription box for 1, 3 or 6 months? Each smart Stir-Up box contains the ingredients needed to make 4 cocktails and is delivered directly to the recipient’s door with easy to follow instructions included. Learn how to mix a new classic cocktail each month and discover fun facts about the drink, the best place to drink them, and enjoy their curated playlist to put you in the mood for stirring and shaking. There’s also a follow along ‘how to’ video for each month’s featured cocktail. 

Find here: £29.95 a month

Women & Wine prints

I discovered Judith Clara on Instagram recently and fell in love with her Women & Wine prints, each drawn by hand in a single stroke. Choose from red or white wine, landscape or portrait formats and three different sizes. I bought three to make a trilogy! They are just beautiful and it’s a great way to support an up and coming artist.

Find here: From 15 EUR

Gosnell’s BEE KIND TO YOURSELF bundle

Created by the team behind the premier modern mead brand Gosnells, this little bundle of luxury includes two mead-scented bath bombs, a beeswax candle, a can of chilled mead and a mini pot of orange blossom honey. Hops have long been used in beer (and mead) production, but they have relaxing properties of their own and Hibiscus Flowers can be used in skin treatments to give a stunning, natural youth-boost! Choose your bundle in either Hopped green or Hibiscus pink and get a handwritten note with it. 

Find here: £16 (+p&p) 

Set of 2 Geometric Glasses

Perfect for making any drink feel like a treat, even a simple glass of water! I love this pair of gold, geometric glasses from Root7. Thick, 100% hand-blown glass gives them a sturdy feel while the lip has been crafted to provide a satisfying drinking experience. Available with a gold edge or a matte black edge.

Find here: £20.75

Laylo - Beautiful Boxed Wine

Boxed wine can be beautiful both inside and out and a box is infinitely more sustainable than heavy glass bottles. This delicious, easy-drinking Rioja punches well above its price tag and looks beautiful on your countertop at the same time. The first in the range, the Laylo team source the wines directly from smaller producers they know and love and are dedicated to more environmentally packaging. The wine also stays fresh for up to six weeks  - not that you will have much left by then! 

Find here. £34.99

Wild Life Botanicals - Ultra-low alcohol ‘Bubbles with Benefits’

The perfect fizz when you want a drink but don’t want the hangover. These two, immensely refreshing 0.5% alcohol wines have super fine, elegant bubbles and complex aromas and flavours from a plethora of benefit-giving herbs and extractions, from Ashwagandha to Zinc. There is a sweetness there but not too much and they really do feel like a treat. They comes in white (nude) and blush (rosé) and are beautifully packaged. Perfect for gifts and super with Sunday lunch. 

Find here: £15 each

Amedei Chuao Chocolate X Gusbourne Sparkling Rosé

Cartografie are the new, sophisticated chocolatiers in town who think of terroir for chocolate just like winemakers do for wine. In this limited edition Mother’s Day pack, Kae and Sven have taken the silkiest Venezuelan chocolate from Amedei, turned it into a water ganache with a slight sprinkle of sea salt and perfumed it with an English blackcurrant eau de vie from Capreolus. It’s fruity and tangy with a thin shell. They say “think about a kirsch chocolate bonbon but with flavours of an English country garden.” Yum! Match these 12 gorgeous, hand-made chocolates with a bottle of one of England’s finest sparkling rosé wines from Gusbourne in Kent. Gift wrapping available too. 

Find here: £35 for the Chocolates or £80 with the Gusbourne too

100 Prosecco Recipes Book + Bottega Prosecco Gold Bottle

From aperitifs to desserts, this book is a collection of recipes accompanied by many stories and curiosities. More than that though is a journey through the Prosecco hills, just north of Venice. Put together by Sandro Bottega of the well-loved Prosecco brand Bottega. Proud of the land and the riches it offers, Sandro wanted to pay homage to the straightforward, hard-working people who live there and who have created and still preserve its cuisine and its culture. With its stunning, mirrored gold cover, it makes the perfect gift along with the iconic golden bottle itself. 

Find the Bottega Gold Prosecco gift pack with two glasses here: £34.99
Find the recipe book here 

Kylie Minogue Wild Rosé Hamper

A perfectly pitched, limited edition hamper where every touch was personally selected by Kylie herself. Inside the large wicker hamper with its hand embroidered lining and detail, you’ll find a  bottle of Kylie Minogue Côtes de Provence Rosé, her Signature Rosé, a Kylie corkscrew, 2 bespoke wine glasses, the Fine Cheese Co English farmhouse cheddar, chutneys for fig fruit, rosemary & sea salt dark chocolate, Yorkshire chardonnay crisps, Yorkshire sweet and salty popcorn, rosemary olive oil, orange candy and mandarin orange crisps. Bring it on!

Find here: £149

Perfect Drinks for Date Night

Words by Aidy Smith and Helena Nicklin

The biggest date night of the year is upon us, so be it still wine, bubbles, vodka or gin that you like to drink the most, here is Helena and Aidy’s selection of top picks to make your night the best yet, whether it’s a romantic date for two or a pamper date for one...

Cupid’s Perfect Sparkle

Taittinger Prestige Rosé Champagne

A deeply coloured, exceptionally vibrant rosé champagne produced using top class Pinot Noir from Montagne de Reims and Les Riceys and a fair whack of Chardonnay that rounds everything out beautifully. Youthful in appeal, it’s a wine packed with bright red berry fruit with an elegant, smooth body and creamy mousse. This is no wallflower champagne. It demands attention! HN

Size: 75cl
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: UK £38

Rathfinny Sparkling Rosé 2017

Rathfinny Estate is located on a prime, south-facing slope in East Sussex, where world class sparkling wines are produced largely from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Their sparkling rosé 2017 is a blend of 63% Pinot Noir, 19% Chardonnay, 18% Pinot Meunier. It has an elegant, cherry blossom pink hue with notes of crunchy red berries and a subtle, spicy finish. HN

Size: 75cl
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: UK £36 (includes a complimentary gift box for Valentine’s Day.)

Hattingley Valley Sparkling Rosé 2017

Internationally renowned for its delicious English sparkling wines, Hattingley Valley has created its first-ever limited edition label just in time for Valentine’s day. A blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir Précoce this award-winning 2017 sparkling rosé has delicious notes of strawberry coulis, a creamy texture and perfectly balanced acidity. Pair this with clam chowder - trust us, you won’t regret it. AS

Size: 75cl
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: £41

White & Rosé Wonders

Gran Moraine Chardonnay 2017

There’s nothing quite like a good Chardonnay to sip as you wind down in the evening and right now this beauty from Oregon is piquing our intrigue. Deriving from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, this rich, fruity and balanced Chard is bursting with flavour and the most important thing for me in a wine like this – texture. Some people love oak, others don’t, but this has the perfect balance, making it incredibly well rounded and sumptuous. Rich, but not overpowering you can expect to taste apricot, buttery lemon, kiwis and clementines. For those who love Chardonnay, this is for you. For those who don’t, I’d dare say it will convert you. AS

Size: 75cl
ABV: 13%
Find here: £43

Kylie Minogue, Rosé 2019

Super easy-drinking, fruity and soft, Kylie’s first wine project is still an absolute smash hit. Made from Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon from the South of France, Kylie has manage to create a beautifully packed, pretty, pink drop that knocks it out of the park for value.

Size 75cl

ABV: 12.5%

Find here: £9

Marques de Murrieta Primer Rose 2017 

Imagine the most beautiful rosé you’ve had from Provence, something along the lines of Domaine Ott? Well, say hello to the Spanish equivalent. Honestly, it doesn’t get much better than this. Strawberries, cream and raspberries erupt from the glass and with it so much texture. You’ll often hear me harp on about that word – but for whites and rosés, texture is key for me! This is the wine to be popping the cork on when the sun shines outside (and when I want it to shine inside, too). AS

Size: 75cl
ABV: 13%
Find here: UK £29.35

Changyu Moser XV Blanc de Noir 2016

Allow us to introduce you to the first white Cabernet Sauvignon from China – and my god is it beautiful. Firstly, the vines are around 15 years old – which is pretty unheard of when it comes to rosé. The vines themselves are located in the Ningxia province with Lenz M. Moser continuing to establish his name as a pioneering force of nature for Chinese wines. Estate bottled for that final seal of quality, you can expect grapefruit peel, exotic fruits and an array of crushed raspberries and apple. Zippy and refreshing with texture – and as you know, texture is everything. AS

Size: 75cl
ABV: 13.5%
Find here: £18.99

Romantic Red Wines

Saint Amour, Domaine Des Côtes de la Roche, Beaujolais, 2018

No date night is complete without a bottle of Saint-Amour. This vibrant, perfumed and fruity wine made with the Gamay grape hails from one of the lesser known and smallest of the ten Beaujolais ‘Crus’. It’s refreshing and lively with notes of concentrated blackcurrant and dark cherry with a whiff of wild strawberry and a slick of slate. Very easy, very pretty wine. HN

Size: 75cl
ABV: 13%
Find here: UK £11.50

Maruxa Mencia, Virgen del Galir, 2019,

Mencia is a grape that we will see exploding onto the wine scene soon as more and more people look towards lighter, crunchier, more refreshing red wines styles. Hailing most famously from Northwestern Spain, Mencia has similar strawberry and cherry-like qualities and high acidity, like Pinot Noir and Gamay, but add to the mix a touch of licorice and plum spice and a cool minerality with this one, which is made in tiny quantities by the same people responsible for the fabulous Contino Rioja. HN

Size: 75cl
ABV: 14%
Find here: UK £12.99 per bottle (£10.99 mix six).

Bolney Estate Pinot Noir 2019

Pinot Noir has garnered a reputation as the heartbreak grape as it needs contact care and attention to flourish, but when it does, it certainly gives the love back. This Pinot from Bolney Estate is light, elegant and silky, with understated notes of cherry and red plum with just the slightest hint of spice. Perfect if you’re after wine with a lighter touch and it goes perfectly with cold cuts, smoked salmon and hard, mature cheese. HN

Size: 75cl
ABV: 11.5%
Find here: UK £19.99

The McGuigan Reserve Shiraz

If a more easy-going, rich and juicy wine is what you’re after, then an Australian Shiraz will be your vinous comfort blanket. The Mcguigan Reserve Shiraz is our go-to, easy drinker thanks to its chocolatey texture and notes of blackcurrant, mint and damson conserve. Concentrated and spice, it’s a warm hug in a glass - one of the very few dry wine styles that can take chocolate and pairs perfectly with a snuggle on the sofa. HN

Size: 75cl
ABV: 13%
Find here: UK £7.

English Wine Gifting: Hampers, Tastings, Tours & More

Gusbourne X Cartografie Chocolate

The ultimate, elegant, English pairing featuring one of the most exciting wine producers in the UK and an emerging, boutique chocolatier, hand crafting beautiful, single origin, single bean chocolates. This duo features the stunning, 2016 rosé from Gusbourne in Appledore, Kent with its notes of crips apple, cherry and strawberry and a Cartografie box containing 4 hand-crafted, ganache filled chocolates. HN & AS

Find here: here

Rathfinny Estate: Hampers, Accommodation mid vines, Tasting packs.

Rathfinny are also offering Valentine’s day hampers packed full of fresh, local produce and a Valentine’s wine case with their Cradle Valley 2018 Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc and their 2018 Seven Sisters Gin. Experience-wise, you can also get vouchers for overnight packages for couples to stay at their beautifully restored Flint Barns in the heart of the vines, tours of the estate and three-course lunches at their Michelin Plate Tasting Room restaurant. HN

See more here

Bolney Estate: Private Virtual Wine Tasting with Bespoke Bottle engraving

Bolney Estate are offering private, virtual tastings of their Cuvée Rosé, Eighteen Acre Rosé, Blanc de Blancs and Cuvée Pinot Noir, you can also request a bespoke package to include any of their wines or even a wine and food pairing tasting packages with cheese and chocolate selections. Bolney is also offering gift boxes containing sparkling wines or gins with chocolates. HN

See all their options here

Candles

Parks Candles

There’s just something about the way Parks create their candles that makes you feel so wholesome and comforted. Whether to create a romantic ambience during dinner or more of a relaxing one in the bath – they’ve got it all. Some of our personal favourites are Feu de Bois, Amber, Tobacco & Leather and of course Bourbon & Maple – but we’re sure you’ll fall in love with something that resonates with you too. AS

Find here: Prices start from £10

MoJo White Truffle & Cognac Candle

We’ve tested a lot of candles over the last few months and MoJo have been knocking out of the park for alluring aromas, long lasting length and fantastic value. We adore the White Truffle and Cognac candle which scents your room with a cosy, creamy, white chocolate scent with a hint of orange peel and spice. Original and gorgeous. We also love their Fig & Rose and Sumi & Paper Ink. Find them while you can! HN

Find here: £19

Get in the Spirit

Rosé Sainte Marie Pink Gin, Salcombe Distilling

Salcombe Gin’s beautiful, double award-winning pink gin is inspired by the sensory wonders of the South of France. Named after the lighthouse in Marseille’s Old Port where the fruit used to come in, it has a delicate fragrance of citrus fruit, white peach and melon. Pour over ice, top up with tonic and garnish with a slice of pink grapefruit, peach or even strawberry and breath in the atoms of a warm evening in Provence, even if it’s still snowing outside. Available in 70cl, 5cl and a range of gifts. HN

Size: 70cl
ABV: 41.4%
Find here: UK £40

Mirabeau Provence Rosé Gin

When it comes to rosé my top choice for quality and value is always Mirabeau, which made me pretty god damn excited when they announced they were making a gin. While the base botanicals consist of juniper, citrus, orris root, angelica root and coriander it’s the Provençal twist containing a variety of herbs such as bay, thyme and rosemary alongside the neutral grape spirit and base distillate of Mirabeau Classic Rosé that really makes this gin stand out from the crowd. The result is a fruity and textured gin with lemon, coriander and citrus bursting with floral notes, rose petals and lavender. The story ends on a final note as those herbs add an extra kick of character to the blend. AS

Size: 70cl
ABV: 43%
Find here: UK £45

Belvedere Single Estate - Smogóry Forest

Our next treat takes us to a tiny village in the far west stretches of Poland where Belvedere’s Smogóry Forest estate calls home. Mild winters and long summers result in bakers-grade Diamond Dańkowskie rye – the perfect base product for this award-winning vodka. Purposely left unfiltered to allow the flavour to continue to elevate over time, this is a vodka for those who like true craft. The single-estate gem oozes with salted caramel, cereal and a touch of honey evolve to reveal toasted bread and a hint of white pepper. AS

Size: 70cl
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £39.90 // US $49.99

Gran Patron Platinum

I love a good tequila, it seems to be one of the spirits I’ve really found an appreciation for over the last few years. If I was to name one house that consistently delivers quality across its whole portfolio, my mind takes me straight to Patrón. It seems there’s a little something for everyone and while I’ll happily get my hands on a Reposado for my margarita needs (quick tip, avoid the salt rim, it ruins the drink), I love nothing more than to sip on something of premium quality. That brings me to Gran Patrón Platinum, arguably the world’s first ultra-premium tequila. With each bottle taking around 30 people to create, quality is of the utmost level. Agave is individually sourced for its rich sugar content before being harvested, triple distilled and left for 30 days in oak tanks to create pure elegance. The result is a smooth and seductive nectar of agave, orange, vanilla, lime and white peppercorns. Pure bliss if you ask me and don’t even get me started on a Mexican Martini (google it, you won’t be disappointed). AS

Size: 70cl
ABV: 40%
Find here: UK £193.95  // US $199.99

Highclere Castle Gin

The perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, this stunning gin is created using botanicals from Highclere Estate, also known for its appearance in the internationally renowned Downton Abbey series. The multi-award winning gin is distilled at England’s oldest distillery, Langley, in one of the oldest working copper gin stills dating back to the 1800’s. The result is an incredibly smooth gin, perfect for sipping over ice but also equally good in cocktail. Check out their ‘British 75’ cocktail, simple and yet stunning, it is a perfect celebration cocktail that will add the wow to your Valentine’s Day.

Size: 75cl
ABV: 43.5%
Find here: UK £42.30 // $39.99 

Enjoyed this? Then, make sure you check out Cheap Champagne that Tastes Great and Top Pink Proseccos £10 and Under

Fantastic Wine Gifts, Subscriptions & Experiences

We love our wine and have been spoiled for choice this year with the wonderful bottles we have tasted. Here’s a selection of some fantastic gift packages, experiences and subscriptions that really caught our eye and out taste buds, that have that extra wow factor, making them the perfect wine gift.

Wine Gift Packages

Feel Good Grapes: Brilliant Biodynamics Box

See for yourselves the upside of this winemaking ethos with this curated collection of 6 biodynamic wines. It feels great to know that the winemakers are bending over backwards to get life back into their vineyards, but it also means you get to taste fabulous, vibrant wines.

Find here: £100

Hattingley Valley - Trio Gift Box

A hatt-trick (see what we did there?) of outstanding, award-winning sparkling wines from one of the countries most awarded wineries. It includes the Classic Reserve, the Rosé 2015 and the stunning Blanc de Blancs 2013. Together, these would have been £133.50 so there’s a great saving there too. The perfect present! 

Find here: £96.47

Bellini Case  - The Wine Society

The world’s oldest, not-for-profit wine club The Wine Society is offering a huge range of gift packages, from their ‘Christmas tidings’ case, to the ’Champagne and Chocolates Case‘ and this, the ’Bellini Case‘. The Bellini case includes The Wine Society’s own excellent quality, family-produced Prosecco, together with both a rhubarb and a white peach fruit nectars from the Van Nahmen range.

Find here: Full range of gifts from £22 to £145

Celebrity Wine & Food Hampers

Pop icon Kylie Minogue and Graham Norton have released their first-ever Christmas Hampers. Kylie’s “Wild Rosé” and “Lovers” hampers feature her best selling wines, alongside culinary delights and gifts hand-picked by the Kylie herself. Graham’s Christmas hamper is for white and bubble lovers, celebrating his best-selling Sauvignon Blanc and Prosecco, accompanied by delicious food. 

Find here: From £125.00 

Barbadillo En Rama Sherry Gift Set

Pastora Mananilla Pasada En Rama is no ordinary Sherry. It was resurrected by Barbadillo back in 2015 to replicate what Sherry used to be traditionally. Bottle ‘en rama’, which means raw, this Manzanilla has had no filtering or finishing, so it keeps as much flavour and freshness as if it had just been drawn straight from the cask. You’ll get a bottle of Barbadillo Pastora En Rama, two tins of delicious Perello Gordal Pitted Olives, two sherry glasses and a gorgeously retro style box, where you can use the lid as a wall hanging! 

Find here: £35

Subscriptions

Port.Club Port subscription from Churchill’s

Port is not just for Christmas! Port.Club from Churchill’s is the ultimate gift subscription for the port curious and port lovers alike, offering a delicious, decadent quarterly surprise. Included in the membership is access to unique travel and educational experiences both in Portugal and online. The Port Packs all come with one everyday port, one special occasion port and one unique club port, selected and blended by Churchill’s founder and head winemaker Johnny Graham. As a special launch offer, anyone who buys a membership will receive one additional pack to gift to someone for Christmas worth £70! It’s an awesome way to get into one of the world’s finest and most underrated wine styles in a relaxed, totally accessible way. 12 months price £240. Quarterly price £70.

Find here: From £70

LITTLEWINE Club

This brand new company was formed by established wine trade members with a passion for organic and naturally made wines. They’re offering 4 subscription packs from £50 a month: Roots, Grower, Backstage Pass and Cosmos, with added perks such as access to winemaker tastings. Little Wine use eco-conscious packaging and gift-wrapping too, which is a bonus for us and the earth!

Find here: From £50 a month 

C&B Wine Odyssey

From one of the UK’s oldest established wine merchants who really know their stuff, send someone on a wine odyssey, with 6 bottles delivered straight to the doorstep on a pre-selected day of the month and the choice of 6 or 12 monthly payments. Subscribers also have access to tasting notes, recipes, producer videos and lots of other fun and educational content.

Find here: £160 & £240

Experiences

Champagne Experience Gifting Vouchers

Searcys have launched a range of 30-plus gift experience vouchers for use across their iconic venues, from dinner at the Gherkin, afternoon tea at Blenheim Palace or lunch at the stunning Bath Pump Rooms, among other venues all over the UK. From beautifully gift boxed single bottles of champagne to extravagant staycation tasting experiences, there’s a huge range for an epicurean. See all their gifting options and experiences below.

Find here

Wine Tasting Tour & Experience at Oastbrook in Sussex

Oastbrook is next to Bodiam Castle in the beautiful countryside of south-east England, where Wine Tasting & Vineyard Tours take place from spring to October 2021. Every tour includes a couple of hours with your very own winemaker guide, America, taking in the stunning boutique vineyards and organic farmland. Each experience rounds off with a tasting of Oastbrook wines in the heart of the picturesque Estate with complimentary handmade local cheese, biscuits and chutney. Book the tour or get the gift voucher for £25pp from Oastbrook.com. You could add a bottle of their Sparkling Rosé 2014 too for £38 while you’re at it!

Don’t forget to check out our Christmas wine, gin and whisky recommendations!