The kids have been back in school for a bit now, I’ve been enjoying several nights of roasting s’mores over the fire pit in the back yard, there’s a chill in the air in the evenings and mornings…and yet I haven’t been quite able to let go of summer as I jaunt about in my flip-flops.

So with that mindset, and the fact that several of my Corked Cowgirl followers on Facebook have mentioned a certain cheap Moscato from FlipFlop wines that I needed to try, I caved and picked up a bottle.

The first thing I noticed was the screw top cap. Back in the day, that might have made me cringe and back away, but no longer. Lots of quality wines are now found in bottles adorned with a screw cap top. I moved forward.

Next I noticed where it was from: California. No specific region, no lauded appellation; simply California. Still, I was not dissuaded. There’s a lot of decent table wine out there that isn’t from a specific AVA…especially in California.

Then I looked at the price…$4.49 with my Price Chopper grocery card. I paused. Thoughts of countless cheap Moscatos that I’ve poured, all like liquid cotton candy in a glass with little other discerning qualities came to mind. My life is enough of a circus without adding a cloying beverage to my itinerary. I set the bottle back down.

Then I thought about the Corkies who INSISTED it was a great bottle of wine at an even better price. I sighed, brought it home, and decided to try it just because I have always told them I’m open to new adventures, and wine is NEVER supposed to be a snooty thing.

As I poured it into my glass, the pale, straw colored wine almost skipped into my glass…much like the summer sun skipping along the waters of the lake I love to hang out on.

On the nose, honeysuckle, pineapple, hints of lemon, and peaches…definitely summertime smells. So far so good, but now, I braced for what inevitably would be that syrupy, sickeningly sweet taste that would stick in my throat.

Except it didn’t happen.

At first taste, it’s like biting into a ginormous honeyed peach. Mid-palate comes a refreshing zing of pineapple. The finish, is a wonderfully creamy taste of lemon curd. But the surprising thing about this wine is that it is crisp and refreshing! There is enough acidity in it to keep it balanced…it isn’t the cotton candy sugar bomb I expected.

All in a screw cap topped bottle for $4.49. Who’d a thunk it?

Excited by the prospect, I paired it up with a slightly spicy Thom Yum soup with seafood for lunch. Absolutely perfect! This little number would work well with mildly spicy dishes, pad thai, General Tso’s chicken, or just as a fun little sipper.

It definitely deserves to be in my ‘summer’ portfolio.

And with the weatherman promising 80 degree weather and sunshine tomorrow, I think I’ll find it paired up with one last cruise on the boat…in my flip flops no less.

FlipFlop Winery has also paired up with Soles4Soles and is donating a pair of shoes to those in need for every bottle of wine sold. They have several other varietals available as well, and I am certain I will be trying them in the near future…you should do the same!

Cheers!