Global notes

Pink wine has never been more prolific, or made at such a serious quality. Jane Parkinson recommends the following international examples to seek out this season.

Jane Parkinson welcomes spring with excellent international rosés

THE INSTAGRAM generation loves a pink wine post, which means rosé isn’t short of a hashtag or two – #roséwine #RoséSeason #drinkpink #yeswayrosé #WomenWhoLoveWine #brosé #rosé #roséallday #didsomeonesayrosé #rosévibes #alldayrosé #Rosélife #drinkpink #rosélifestyle #pink… The list goes on.

Even though rosé is just the kind of wine style that fuels this voyeuristic ‘look at my fun life’ era, no one should overlook the fact that rosé can be a legitimate and genuinely complex wine. This is despite the prejudice that sometimes still exists within the wine trade of it not being serious – a notion that sadly isn’t helped by the fun-loving pink wine drinkers on social media.

However, prolific social media coverage has its advantages. In rosé’s case it has meant people are used to seeing it more, which in turn has made it less of a summer-only drink. People are now happy to drink it in spring and autumn as much as in the hottest season of all. This is also partly to do with rosé being such a sensational food wine. Generally speaking (there is more detail as we delve into specific regions), its crisp-but-fruity persona makes it an excellent match with seafood as well as cheese, plus it’s a useful option for spicier food on account of that extra fruity factor and the occasional extra little hit of sugar.

For bone-dry pink wines from Europe though, Provence is the exalted hub and makes the style to which most other regions aspire. Nestled in the far south-eastern corner of France, stretching around 200 kilometres from east to west, Provence enjoys a Mediterranean climate as the vines soak up a good 3000 hours of sun each year. Growers rarely concern themselves with disease either, thanks to the long, dry summers and forceful winds like the Mistral that sweeps through the region.

Given its exposure and popularity, Provence has only a small number of appellations, the largest being Cotes de Provence. This area spreads mostly across the east of the wider region, while the western half’s most famous appellation is Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, and Ventoux and Luberon can be found in the north. Arguably the most serious Provencal pinks are found on the Mediterranean coast between Marseille and Toulon in the appellation of Bandol.

With minimal skin contact, a common practice in the wider region, the typical Provencal rosé is famously pale in colour, with elegant soft red fruit flavours. This lightness of touch means it’s usually best with lighter fish dishes, salads and milder cheeses.

Of course, Provence isn’t where French rosé starts and ends.

Far from it. Tavel in the southern Rhone makes dry rosé from a combination of grenache, syrah and clairette, and the typically longer skin contact (than Provence) gives its dry rosés a heftier richness, more like the concentrated pink wines from Bandol.

The Loire also makes its fair share of rosés in dry and off-dry styles. The latter is the more famous pink style, embodied by cabernet d’Anjou, which has an extra hint of sweetness that makes it an especially good match with the flavours of Thailand. In fact, these rosés rarely taste sweeter on account of the high acidity.

Rosé Champagne, meanwhile, can either be made in the saignee method (as most pink wine is made around the world) or, uniquely in Champagne, it can turn pink with the addition of red wine – crucially also made in the region. Pink Champagne is nearly always dry and when it comes to food matching, if you scratch beneath the tourist surface, you’ll see the houses take it very seriously. I’ve been served rosé with rare red meat at various houses and in most cases it was a surprising triumph.

From north to south, Italy is becoming increasingly engaged with rosato, most of which is made using its wealth of indigenous varieties. In the chillier foothills of the Alps, the spicy cool-climate red grapes such as lagrein produce gutsy reds with bold cherry flavours and firm acidity, a profile that puts it in good stead when made as a rosé.

Further south, the sun-kissed vineyards produce bold rosés with ease, but perhaps some of the more interesting examples come from those on volcanic soils. In Campania, for example, the vines planted among the ash of Mount Vesuvius produces aglianico with plenty of spice, minerality and red berry concentration. Meanwhile, across northern Europe, uber-fresh cool-climate rosés are easy to find. They generally do a very nice job at cutting through and balancing out richer food flavours, and they love the kind of cheese that’s high in lactic acid, like goat’s cheese.

In the past, English rosé was almost guaranteed to be off-dry to compensate for the lightness of flavour, but with advancements in still and sparkling wine, not to mention extra know-how and slightly warmer weather, the dry rosé scene is flourishing and improving with every vintage. Meanwhile Austria’s high-quality native reds make it easy breeding ground for stylish pink wines that have enough potential to be just as refreshing, fruity and satisfying as the best of Provence.

So as the weather warms up, now is the time to start thinking about chilling a bottle of crisp rosé. After all, it’s never been more delicious, it’s great with food, and there are plenty of complex versions around. Posting a picture of it on social media is optional.