Taking mum for a drink down memory lane.

Rolling back through the decades of wine...

It might be hard to get your head around, but our mums used to go to socials, dances, formals, and, depending on her vintage, maybe even raves. And we know where dancing leads, don’t we? That’s right, to the bar. But what were our mums into, beverage-wise, back in the day? 

If you’re a child of the 70’s

Your mum would have been daintily sipping on an off-dry riesling from a small-bowled, heavy-stemmed glass on her ‘night out’. What’s more, she would have felt well posh doing it. Sweet wines have fallen out of vogue these days, but you can still surprise mum with a trip down memory lane with a drier style riesling on Mother’s Day... The gesture is sure to bring a tear to her eye.

If you were born in the 80s

…chances are your dad was falling in love with your mum at the same time Australia was falling in love with chardonnay, tight perms, shoulder pads, big windcheaters and Ken Done. While your mum could have reached for a West Coast Cooler to toast Dean Lukin at the LA Olympics or Australia 2 winning the Americas Cup, being a more sophisticated young woman, she went further down the coast to Margaret River – home of some Oz’s best chardonnay.

A little fruity, a little creamy, and a whole lot of delicious. 

If you were born in the 90s

…your mum probably has photos of her at a house party wearing high-waisted jeans or dungarees (that’s fashion speak for overalls) drinking a deep, dark shiraz from a blue opaque glass with moons on it. Oh and you can’t tell from the photo but they’re probably listening to C&C Music Factory, but we digress. Barossa Shiraz boomed in the 90s thanks to the likes of Cyril Henschke and Peter Lehmann, who bucked the cool-climate elegance trend to deliver big, unapologetic, in your face wine. The world loved it. And you know who else loved it?

That’s right. Your mum.  

If you were born in the 00s

…well, you’re probably not reading this for starters. But you might have had kids then, possibly in a fit of steamy, savvy b-driven passion. Yes, remember now? The ‘Savalanche’. A never ending stream of acidic, grassy, minerally, goodness from across the ditch. Rock up to a dinner party in your Prius or PT Cruiser with a bottle of Marlborough’s freshest sauvignon blanc in tow and you were as cool as Hillary Duff. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a messy break up with the old SB, but it’s nice to go back there every now and then for nostalgia’s sake. 

If you had kids in the 10s

…you were probably looking for a bit of an escape from the news. Major events-wise, the 10s were a shocker; earthquakes, nuclear catastrophes, oil rigs exploding – no wonder we turned to the lightness and brightness of prosecco and rosé to get us through. Prosecco was generally thought of as a poor cousin to Champagne, until we realised that it’s not something you put in the cellar for later.

Anything that’s best drunk while fresh suits the Australian quaffer’s sensibilities to a T. As for rosé…well, if you’ve ever been gossiping at a long lunch as Spring is turning into Summer, you’ll know why it’s a hit Aussie mum’s far and wide. 

So, if you’re doing a traditional lunch or dinner this Sunday, grab mum a nice bottle of memories to enjoy on the day. It’s way more thoughtful than servo flowers and it might just get her to open up about some stories you’ve never heard before.

After all, isn’t that what sharing a nice glass of wine with mum is all about? Need more ideas? Check this out!