Summer Water Rose’ 2019

The Story

The Summer Water Rose‘ 2019 is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah sourced from vineyards in the Central Coast AVA of California. This Rose’ is made in the style of French Provence Rose’.

Summer Water is one of the Winc family of wines. Winc is a wine membership company, you pay to join and receive a certain number of bottles and they ship the wine to your door. Summer Water Rose’ 2019 is available through its program but is also widely sold in wine shops.

You should be able to find Summer Water for around $15. This isn’t one of those “I hope we are not too late to join the fad” Rose’. The winemaker went to a great deal of effort both in the vineyard and in the winemaking to make a legitimate, proper Rose’

Yes it is a drink-it-now, have fun on the patio, sort of Rose’, but that is what a good Rose’ is supposed to be. If the Summer water is based on Provence Rose’ it should be dry, with an interesting, delicate nose, and plenty of balanced flavors.

Cheapwinefinder recently recorded a podcast complaining that the only information shown on a wine label that is worth anything is the artwork. The label here does tell you the grape blend and percentages and indicates Central Coast AVA as the source, so it is better than most labels, but it was the name and the artwork that caught my eye.

I was in the Rose’ isle and since Rose’ is so popular there were about 10 yards of wine bottles. When I saw Summer Water I immediately thought, “Yes, that is what I want'”. It was going to be a hot and humid weekend in Chicago and I did not want a heavy wine. Summer Water seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.

I have not tested it yet, that will happen in the next section, so the jury is still out. But I do have high hopes that the Winc marketing people know their way around a wine label. The alcohol content is a mild 12.5%.

Summer Water Rose’ 2019 Tasting Notes

The color is a Barbie doll pink with an apricot tint. The nose is delicious, I wish scented candles were this good, there is watermelon, lemon/lime, green apple, a faint scent of vanilla, strawberry, and light spice. This is a dry Rose’ with a nice firm mouthfeel.

It tastes of soft ripe cherry, nectarine, tangerine, exotic spice (not sharp), and pear. The mid-palate a salt, cashew flavor, a touch of cream, and watermelon. The acidity has that reach for the next sip without thinking element that I love in summer wines.

The Summary

• The Summer Water Rose’ 2019 is a very tasty wine, I can see why it is so popular.
• And guess what, the artwork and a name told me everything I needed to know about this Rose’. You can’t judge a book by its cover, but it seems you can judge a wine by its label.