Pairing: Pink Kush Rosé & Calm & Focus Gummies

THE TANNINS

Wine Boss 2019 Pink Kush Petit Verdot Rosé

Based in Paso Robles, Wine Boss is owned by Thomas Booth – an entrepreneur with a B.S. in Viticulture from Cal Poly and an obvious passion for reggae and 420 culture. The company has white-labeled wine brands for several prominent reggae artists, including Pepper, Collie Buddz, Fortunate Youth and Rebelution. Their Pink Kush Rosé is the first in a series of wines that Booth is naming after popular Cannabis strains.

This Pink Kush is dry, acidic and refreshing, with slightly higher tannin content than you’d expect in a typical rosé. On the nose, I found subtle aromas of rose (the flower, not the wine), peach and even leather. It has a very tart, minerally flavor with notes of cranberry, peach and a hint of strawberry. Honestly, it’s one of the strongest, most unique rosés I’ve ever tasted … which is probably why it was awarded a Gold Medal by the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in 2020.

THE TERPENES

When considering which Cannabis product would pair best with vino, Garden Society’s Wine Country Gummies was a no-brainer. Based in Sonoma County and owned by two women with a history in the wine industry, the company is well-suited to craft these delectable wine-inspired edibles. They come in four flavors, each infused with its own unique varietal flavor and cannabinoid combination. For a perfect pairing with the Pink Kush, I selected the “Calm and Focus” Sparkling Strawberry Rosé (their CBD-forward variety).

The small, pink, flower-shaped gummies appear dusted with a light powdered sugar coating, are made with all-natural ingredients, and are infused with full-spectrum nano CBD oil. They’re soft and chewy, with just enough firmness to give a slight bounce back when you bite them. They have a sweet-tart strawberry flavor, with a rosé aftertaste that lingers long on the taste buds.

THE PAIRING

Garden Society advertises that their gummies are made using a proprietary, fast-acting technology that has you feeling the effects kicking in around 15 minutes after consumption. Since their cannabinoid content is pretty low, I started off with two.

Though the wine and gummies are both rosé flavored, their tastes are actually quite dissimilar, yet complement one another rather well. The wine’s extreme tartness all but cancels out the tartness in the gummy – amplifying its sweeter strawberry side while simultaneously syncing with its rose infusion to bring it to the foreground.

I didn’t notice much effect from the gummy at the 15-minute mark, but about half an hour (and half a glass of wine) in, I definitely felt that full-body high creeping up in the background. By the time I’d emptied my glass (about an hour in), the CBD had caught up with my booze buzz – my back aches were gone, my mood was mellow, and I was ready to rosé the day away.