With Father’s Day just around the corner, we get rather frequently asked which wine to buy for the breadwinner of the house. The choice will always come down to one’s taste and preference. Though, if that leaves you scratching your head, there are a handful great wines that express a father’s love for his child. These wines are named after their children by their loving father and made to a quality level that distinguishes the wines as leading examples in their respective regions. In this blog, we are going to share how three different fathers chose three different ways to express their love for their children.  The dedication of love does also go in different directions among family members – from sons to their father; from husband to wife. Find out how 5 different producers express their love for their family in the language of wine.

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Father to Daughter

Gaja: Gaia & Rey Chardonnay from Piedmont, Italy

The father of modern Piedmont winemaking Angelo Gaja is known for giving his wines meaningful names, be it a dedication to his family or in remembrance of certain significant moments. Sori Tildin was a hommage to Angelo Gaja’s grandmother Clothilde Rey. Conteisa was to remind all of the “quarrel” between La Morra and Barolo on the cru of Cerequio. Gaia & Rey Chardonnay brings together two of the most important women in Angelo Gaja’s life: his daughter Gaia and his grandmother Clothilde Rey. This is Angelo Gaja’s first Chardonnay. Vines are planted back in 1979. This rich yet fresh and vibrant Chardonnay is fermented on natural yeasts at moderate 17°C for a month. The wine is then aged in barriques from 5 different countries (France, Austria, Poland, Russia and Hungary) for 6 to 8 months during when malolactic fermentation takes place.

The father of modern Piedmont winemaking Angelo Gaja is known for giving his wines meaningful names, be it a dedication to his family or in remembrance of certain significant moments. Sori Tildin was a hommage to Angelo Gaja’s grandmother Clothilde Rey. Conteisa was to remind all of the “quarrel” between La Morra and Barolo on the cru of Cerequio. Gaia & Rey Chardonnay brings together two of the most important women in Angelo Gaja’s life: his daughter Gaia and his grandmother Clothilde Rey. This is Angelo Gaja’s first Chardonnay. Vines are planted back in 1979. This rich yet fresh and vibrant Chardonnay is fermented on natural yeasts at moderate 17°C for a month. The wine is then aged in barriques from 5 different countries (France, Austria, Poland, Russia and Hungary) for 6 to 8 months during when malolactic fermentation takes place.

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Le Vigne de Eli: Full Selection from Etna, Sicily, Italy

With Etna Rosso rising in fame, wine connoisseurs began to recognize leading estates from the region such as Tenuta delle Terre Nerre, Passopisciaro, Benanti etc. Le Vigne de Eli is a small estate founded by Marco de Grazia, owner of Tenuta delle Terre Nere in 2006. Translated to “the vines of Elena”, this small estate is a gift from Marco to his daughter Elena, who was then 2 years old. The estate now produces wines from superior sites within the crus of Feudo di Mezzo and Moganazzi-Voltasciara. The whole series of wines use Elena’s own drawings as labels. Each vintage bears a different artwork created by Elena. There is an element of charity as well – a substantial part of income from sale of Le Vigne de Eli wines are donated to a children’s hospital in Florence. This is certainly a father with a big heart.

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Henri Billiot: Cuvee Laetitia and Cuvee Julie, Champagne, France

Ambonnay-based grower Henri Billiot is one of the leading “grower champagne” houses. The Billiots are growers turn grower-winemakers when Henri’s son Serge Billiot took over the business in 1954. Laetitia and Julie are respectively daughter and granddaughter of Serge Billiot. Cuvee Laetitia sees a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay drawn from a solera-run system of Chardonnay reserve wines going all the way back to 1983, and a recent single vintage Pinot Noir output. It spends slightly less time bottle ageing on lees than Cuvee Julie, 48 months instead of 60 months. Cuvee Julie is a 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay and the fruit often comes from one single vintage. The champagne sees 5 years bottle ageing on lees before disgorgement.

Enjoying Cuvee Laetitia and Cuvee Julie side by side is quite an unique experience. First and foremost it is no easy feat to locate the pair, with Henri Billiot’s total production at a tiny 50,000 bottles a year. Serge as a father expresses how he sees his daughter and granddaughter in his eyes without the use of words. The richness, generosity and versatility of Laetitia, in contrast against the vibrancy, purity and precision of Julie. Billiot has made this pair of champagnes the top choices to enjoy on Father’s Day.

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Son to Father

Beaucastel: Hommage a Jacques Perrin

The flagship wine of Chateauneuf-du-Pape top producer Chateau de Beaucastel is, as its name suggests, dedicated as a hommage to Jacques Perrin by his sons Jean Pierre and Francois. This wine is typically a blend of 60% Old Vine Mourvedre, 20% Grenache and the rest Syrah and Counoise. Mourvedre-dominant blends give this wine a concentrated, manly, masculine profile; as well as incredible concentration thus ageability.

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Son to Mother

Domaine de Montille: Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Aux Malconsorts Cuvee Christiane

Etienne de Montille dedicates the best rows of his Aux Malconsorts vineyards to his mother Christiane, who passed away in 2008 and was a dedicated worker at Domaine de Montille until then. Coming from a 0.49-hectare plot that literally could have morph into La Tache Grand Cru , Domaine de Montille produces one of the most remarkable wines from the celebrated Malconsorts Premier Cru. It is an exceptional wine that seamlessly welds spiciness, minerality and fruit purity together. Complex, timeless – and certainly a touching manifestation of a son’s love for his mother.

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