We’re starting to get hot weather which means it’s time to switch from the red wines of winter and fall to whites wines of summer and spring. I went to the local wine store with the intention of getting a wine from their fridge. To the right of dozens of bottles of chardonnay, sauvignon blancs and pinot grigios a lone rose caught my eye.

I don’t know roses well at all. During a visit to Greenport, Long Island, a town with tons of wineries, I tried my first rose at Croteaux. That very week they were written up in the New York Times. It was an amazing blend of light and sweet for not in your face. It’s from that high bar that I’m judging the rose from the liquor store: Thierry & Guy Fat Bastard Rose (2009, $8.99). It is a budget wine which always makes things taste better.

Day One

I’ve been having this wine over two days. I had the first few sips without food yesterday to get a sense for the flavor. The initial taste almost didn’t exist, and then I got a slight tart crispness and the faintest of sweet. This is not a “fruit forward” wine at all. There is a nice lightness and brightness. I had a chicken sandwich with the wine. (I didn’t plan to have another sandwich), but it just worked out that way. After several bites, I was able to tease out a little more of the wine’s sweetness.

Day Two

Tonight I’m having another glass (no sandwiches today). It’s much, much more enjoyable. As with many wines, Fat Bastard Rose’s flavor opened up much more on the second day. The lightness and brightness are there today along with a more pleasing level of sweetness. This is very much a sipping wine.

I would consider getting Fat Bastard Rose again but would be tempted to open it, skip drinking it the first day and drink it all the second day. I didn’t notice this before but this is an Old World, French wine. That would explain it being not so fruit-centric. Cheers to second day wine drinkers. You know who you are.