Yes Way Rosé x Club W's "Summer Water"

Yes Way Rosé x Club W's "Summer Water"
Price: $18
Region: Napa
Retailer: Club W

Back in March, I was in NYC to host a wine tasting. It was still cold, like snowing (okay, it was a "flurry", which apparently means something to people who live in snow cause for me, it was fucking snowing and "flurry" is not a real word if it's missing a "Mc"), but all of my friends who lived there kept excitedly going on and on about how ROSE SEASON WAS COMING.

"Rosé season?" I pondered, looking out a gray city window, wistfully. "What the fuck is that?"

It took me all of fifteen seconds to realize that much like how I don't understand "suede season" or "winter", "rosé season" is something that people who live outside of California experience because it gets so cold that they cannot drink rosé. On the one hand, I'm like, "Why would you guys ever live like this?! I drink and wear whatever I want all the time!"

On the other hand, I will never experience the sheer joy on two dudes' faces two weeks ago in Brooklyn while I watched them put back their fifth bottle of rosé by the pool at the McCarren Hotel. I don't know if I've ever been as happy as those two dudes in my whole life the way they were acting over this shit. It was FINALLY ROSE SEASON! EVERYTHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN NOW! IT'S FUCKING ROSE SEASON, MAN!

It is that emotion that my friends at Yes Way Rosé captured with their Napa pinot noir rosé, Summer Water. It's an excitement encapsulated in an easy-going attitude that even us Californians know is specific to summer. It's three months where everything feels possible. There are endless ideas for long weekends and trips to get the hell out of town, daydreams of desert nights, bougainvilleas and beaches. Outdoor movies and the smell of lighted grills, street fairs and the feel of first kisses (even when they are your one hundredth). Everything is beautiful in the summer, a blown-out Polaroid memory waiting to be made. And it all truly seems possible. The sun is out-- what couldn't we do?

Summer Water is an extremely pleasing bottle, whether you're looking at it or drinking it. The label is a design dream with its poppy minimalism. And it tastes like having the most fun. It tastes like those dudes' faces, which were extremely happy and laughing and one of them looked EXACTLY like Bradley Cooper, so also attractive. They were going to Governor's Ball and were just so fucking stoked on life. "THIS SUMMER IS GOING TO BE THE BEST SUMMER!!!" they said like they'd never said it before. And that is exactly what Summer Water tastes like. 

Now, who wants to find a boardwalk and get into some trouble with me and my Summer Water?

Tasting Notes: The light floral and strawberry bouquet makes for a wonderful transition into its flavor profile: strawberries with hints of pears and peaches, and a striking minerality. Dry and frisky, this wine takes me to a place where there is lots of sunshine, very little clothing and even less responsibilities. 

Ross Test: SOMEONE! QUICK! GET A BOAT! THIS WOULD BE THE BEST ON A BOAT!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Sauvignon Blanc

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Sauvignon Blanc
Price: $13.99
Region: Marlborough, New Zealand
Retailer: Club W

I never intended on drinking this wine, mostly because I never intended on having it in my home because I never intended to be a part of Club W. My friend Gennefer Gross, a fun-and-food-loving wino such as myself, gave me a coupon for three free bottles of wine from Club W. I got them, I drank them, I did not review them because they did not spark inspiration in my heart, and was like "Okay, that's Club W." 

But apparently I was drunk and totally missed the part where I redeemed my three free bottles but also signed up for a regular subscription.

So, here we are. With Club W's Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

My initial thought is that I hate it. It reminds me of the huge subdivision of wine culture that panders to new mothers and people who adopted "adorkable", with its cute name and its cute lettering. It's so "Teeheehee! I'm drinking wine!" which is the exact opposite attitude from my own.  

But I do not hate the wine, which is most important. 

Despite its Pottery Barn Kids' packaging, this is a decent Sauvignon Blanc that delivers. I am not overcome with revelations about it, which is fine. Not every wine has to turn my palate on its head. It tastes a lot like lemons. And it is quite easy to drink. So I can't be that mad at its name because it is extremely accurate, although I am kind of mad because the name is still too damn long and now I am drinking a wine that looks like I bought it off Etsy from an adorable twenty-something girl that focuses on font work. IT'S TOO CUTE.

The more I drink the more adorable it becomes, and the more accepting I become. It's a whimsical little lemonade stand that I am setting up on my porch for the only customer in the neighborhood that matters: ME.

Watch out. I may be stenciling shit by the end of the evening.

Tasting Notes: It tastes like a good Marlborough Sauv Blanc. Better than what you'll get at your chain grocery store, but not a unique take on the varietal. Light and tart, lemony and peppery, with nectarine and melon. I really wish I had a grilled chicken salad right now. 

Ross Test: Too cat pissy.