Memorial Day Approaches. Get Your Lake Wine Ready!

We’re sooo close to summer now, and summer’s official kickoff is Memorial Day weekend! Are you part of the time-honored tradition of heading to the lake? Good news: we’ve tried out some wines that would be great for your lake day!

We headed over to Plaza Wine & Spirits, where Aaron helped us pick out some great options. Time to channel the lake vibes.

We did two things with these wines. We tried them ourselves one evening, and the next day we had a party after work with everyone at the office, so we took the wine to them to get their thoughts, too.

First up: Josh Seaswept Sauvignon Blanc & Pinot Grigio, 2023.

First, just look at that bottle. It looks like it’s born to be on a boat. Now open it and get your nose in it—this wine smells amazing. We could keep smelling it all day. It smells like key lime pie and oranges and orange blossoms. It’s welcoming summer with a light citrusy hug. Even in tasting it, it made us think of key lime pie (it’s not sweet, though). This is a softer, rounder wine than a Sauvignon Blanc on its own, and it goes down real easy. This would be a stellar wine to drink chilled on a boat in the sun with your friends.

For our colleagues, our first taster agreed it was a light, bright wine that would be great out in the sun. It also paired well with guacamole! One of our tasters admitted it would be easy to drink too much of this since it goes down so easy. Both of them took pictures of the bottle to go buy it later. To be fair, one of our tasters who mainly likes Pinot Noir didn’t love this one, but we love that everyone has their own tastes and palates with wine!

Grade: A-

Price: $14 at Plaza Wine & Spirits

Moving on, we next tried the Wente Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay, Central Coast, 2022.

This Chardonnay smells liked baked apples that your mom makes cooked with cinnamon, or like an apple pie. You still get that baked apples flavor when tasting it, along with a hint of butter (real butter, not like popcorn butter) and even baked pears. This is a bigger, fuller wine than the last. This may not be your fun-in-the-sun boat wine, but it would be great for snacks back on the shore, or as one of our colleagues brilliantly pointed out, this is your sunset cruise wine. Spot on.

Grade: B+ Price: $13 at Plaza Wine & Spirits

We also wanted to have a red wine option, and we went with the Willamette Valley Vineyards, Whole Cluster Pinot Noir, Oregon 2022.

Smelling of bright red cherries and slightly of cloves, classic to Pinot Noir, this one also tastes of cherries. Interestingly, it also has an herbal taste to it, reminding us of drinking wine in an herb garden. Whole cluster means they throw in the whole bunch of grapes, stems and all, when making the wine. We wonder if the stems are what gives it the herbal character. Perhaps that’s why our Pinot Noir-loving colleague at work mentioned that it didn’t taste to her like a classic Pinot Noir, but she found it light and refreshing and overall enjoyed it. This would be a great wine for ending your lake day around a campfire on the shore.

Grade: B

Price: $25 at Plaza Wine & Spirits

We hope you have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend! Head on over to Plaza Wine & Spirits, and Aaron will supply you with everything you need!