If you asked drinkers which wine best encapsulates the Mediterranean, I have a feeling Provençal rosé would get the most votes. After all, it’s produced in vineyards which, in many cases, have views over the Med and would ideally be drunk in a restaurant in a similar location, the gorgeous, watercolour wash of pale pink inside a beaded carafe contrasting with azure sea and sky.
It’s a holiday wine, or one to drink in lieu of a trip abroad, and for that reason alone, among the most successful of the past 20 years. For me, it’s only the starting point for any cruise around a vast region in which wine is entwined with history and tradition, and where, even as globalisation has altered habits and aspirations, it retains its dual status as everyday staple and cultural symbol.
