Here in Kansas City, it has been over 100 degrees everyday for about a week. Though I have been living next to the air conditioner, I can’t stop drinking wine. After hearing and reading some good reviews, I decided to try my first rosé. I had always avoided this wine, simply associating it with boxed wine and cheap dessert wines. However, I when I was looking for something full of fruit flavors, but light and crisp, and I thought a rosé could deliver.

I picked up the 2008 California rosé wine by Ménage à Trois. The price was $9.99 at the liquor store near my office and I wasn’t willing to pay any more for a wine I might not like. I put the wine in the wine fridge when I got home and started thinking about my expectations.

This wine, as obvious by the name, was composed of three distinct grapes: Merlot, Syrah and Gewürztraminer. This really excited me, maybe I could like this wine. I love the fruitiness of Merlot, the complexity and body of Syrah and the subtle sweetness of Gewürztraminer. I know it’s not common to blend white and red, especially this combination so I was suddenly intrigued. I like it when people are willing to play around with wine conventions. A couple hours later, I was eager to try this wine and pulled it out of the wine fridge.

I didn’t want to sway my opinion of this wine with food, so I poured it by itself. It was a lively, slightly transparent pink. I knew that rosés are pink due to their limited contact with the stems and skins, but this was a pink panther pink. I think this may have been a result of the blending of the wine and red.

I smelled berries and citrus fruit in the nose of this wine and when I tried it I tasted similar flavors. Strawberry and raspberry were the predominate flavors but I could immediately tell I was tasting this wine too cold. I immediately thought it tasted like boxed wine, so I wanted to let it warm up a bit to see if any other flavors emerged.

When I re-tasted a short while later, I was much more impressed. The wine was maybe 60 degrees and it seemed to open up. It smelled more floral and lingered longer on the tongue. However, the finish was still tart, like lemonade. I couldn’t help but think this would be a hard wine to pair with food.

Though, at the same time, I saw the appeal. It was easy to drink, refreshing like a cocktail but still full-bodied like a wine should be. This wasn’t a classic, shows-topping wine, but rather a mood wine. The Ménage à Trois rosé would enhance any pool side party or day at the beach. Pair it with some fresh sliced fruit and some good friends, and it’s an excellent moment.

This was a small step into the world of rosé. I am now looking forward to trying more a more traditional rosé, that could give me with bold fruit flavors and acidity I love of merlots, pinot and others, but also be “heat-stroke friendly.” The Ménage à Trois rosé wasn’t what I was looking for, but it certainly was refreshing.