Every year at about this time, we invite our customers to submit rosé-themed limericks. These are then expertly judged, and prizes are distributed to the most deserving poets. A good laugh is had by all. So, with all appropriate pomp and ceremony, let the 2014 Rosé Limerick Contest begin! (cannons fire, doves are released)
   BUT WAIT! We have two stores now, so this year we are having TWO CONTESTS. Ladies and gentlemen, it is our great honor to announce the first ever Rosé Haiku Contest. While the limericks are stored in a secret location and judged by a stern and patriarchal panel of adjudicators, the haikus will be judged by you, in what will surely be a breathtaking use of social media. As tech nerds like to say (probably), the haiku contest is "open source".
   Feel free to submit your work to both contests! Read on for rules, details, and examples. Remember, no matter which format you choose, your muse MUST be dry rosé!

From Wikipedia: A Limerick is a form of poetry in five-line anapestic meter with a strict AABBA rhyme scheme (no, not the Swedish pop band). Limericks are usually humorous and sometimes obscene. Here's an example:

1. You must be at least 21 to submit an entry.
2. Multiple entries are allowed, but each must be sent in a separate email.
3. Poems MUST BE IN STRICT LIMERICK FORMAT. Only true limericks are eligible to win.
4. Entries must be "clean enough" to print publicly. Please don't say a cussie.
5. All entries are due by Friday, September 12th at midnight.
6. All limericks must have a rosé-based theme.

Please email all entries to floatingheads@wineauthorities.com, with LIMERICK as the subject line.
A haiku is an ancient Japanese poetic form, usually meant to inspire contemplation of the dignity and solemnity of nature. For our purposes, your haiku should follow a strict format: three lines, the first and third containing five syllables, and the second containing seven syllables. Here's a truly stirring example:
1. You must be at least 21 to submit an entry.
2. Multiple entries are allowed, but each must be sent in a separate email.
3. Poems MUST BE IN STRICT HAIKU FORMAT. Only true haikus are eligible to win
4. Entries must be "clean enough" to print publicly. Again, please refrain from the invocation of cussies.
5. All entries are due by Friday, September 12th at midnight.
6. Each haiku must have a rosé-based theme.

Please Tweet or Instagram your submissions @wineauthorities, and be sure to tag them #rosehaiku2014. You can also post your entries on our Facebook page with the #rosehaiku2014 hashtag.

• 1st Prize - $50 Wine Authorities Gift Certificate! 
   
• 2nd Prize - $30 Enomatic Card!
   
• 3rd prize - Two bottles of any DAILY-priced rosés!

Our panel of celebrity limerick judges will be announced soon. Stay tuned for more info!