When the headline beamed out at me, ‘Rose attracts male following’, I was naturally flattered, albeit puzzled as to who my new friends were. What a difference an accent makes. The word was of course rosé and the story in question confirmed that real men are drinking rosé when once it wouldn’t have been sniffed at. Why? According to Master of Wine, Pierpolo Petrassi, wine buyer for Waitrose, ‘the cliché of rosé being a female drink’ is still prevalent, but less than it was, thanks to the growing popularity of drier styles of rosé and their suitability with food.

Duly upbraided by an indignant reader (male, since you ask) for failing to include any rosé other than fizz in my Christmas Top 50, early summer thoughts of a young man’s fancy are sufficient to make amends for past transgressions with a selection of some pink-hued favourites for the Great Outdoors. But a word of warning first. Demand for rosé is a two-edged sabre. It’s excellent news for the broadening palette of wine styles that producers who take the style seriously have dramatically improved the quality. The downside of the rosé bandwagon is that cashing in a trend has brought us even more dross than there was before.

We traditionally turn to Provence for some of the best dry rosés of the salmon pink, summery kind. Bandol on the Mediterranean is an enclave of wine quality and the Bunan brothers’ stylish 2008 Bélouvé, Bandol Rosé, £11.99, Tesco, epitomises the Provence style, with its pale pink hue, ripe berry fruit fragrance and full-bodied salad niçoise-friendly fruit quality. At more of a budget level, from the southern Rhône’s Laudun-Chusclan Co-op in what the locals refer to as la Provence intelligente, the raspberry / cherryish 2009 Réserve de la Saurine Rosé, £4.49, down from £5.99, Marks & Spencer, is just what the doctor ordered for al fresco summer sipping.

The Iberian peninsula is another source of both quality and value rosé. For sheer value, it’s hard to beat the 2009 Gran Tesoro Garnacha Rosé, £3.62, Tesco, a juicy strawberry fruity glugging dry pink wine from Campo de Borja. On the quality side, I’ve fallen for the 2009 Quinta da Falorca Rosé, Quinta Vale des Escandinhas, £11.20, Armit (02079080655; armit.co.uk). Yes, a Portuguese rosé at over a tenner, but this deep-hued rosé is a lipsmackingly full-flavoured Dão number made from the touriga nacional grape that flagrantly flaunts its fragrance and body and with such panache that your mouth starts watering as soon as you lift a glassful of its deliciously dry red berry fruitiness glass to nose.

Not that Europe has it all its own way with rosé any longer. Chile is starting to produce some seriously good examples of the style such as the 2008 Leyda Pinot Noir Rose Loica Vineyard Leyda Valley, £9.95, Great Western Wine (01225 322 800 ; greatwesternwine.co.uk). Pretty in pink, this is Chile’s answer to sancerre rosé, a deliciously full-fruited dry pink pinot noir with crunchy summer pudding cranberry and raspberry flavours, and an elegantly dry, refreshing aftertaste. And let’s not forget Australia, whose 2008 Turkey Flat Rosé, around £9.99 
Selfridges, Corks Out (01625 582 777 ; corksout.com), Noel Young Wines (01223 566744; nywines.co.uk), Harrods, Four Walls Wine (01243 535353 ; fourwallswine.com), is a New World chip off the Tavel block, full-bodied and opulent and at the same time elegantly dry. A rosé for real men, oh, and women too.

Something for the Weekend 8 May

Under a Fiver

2009 Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay , South East Australia

Strewth! A good time to pick up a bottle of this benchmark refreshingly crisp melon and peachy chardonnay now that ‘Australia’s top drop’ is on special offer in Tesco’s Spring Wine Festival. £4.99, down from £6.99 until Tuesday.

Undera Tenner

2008 Alamos Malbec, Mendoza

Vivid youthful, perfumed Argentinian malbec from the Catena stable, this pure Andean red is rich in blackberry fruit flavours with a succulence of texture that makes it just the ticket for early summer barbecues. £6.99, Majestic.

Splsh Out

2007 Puligny Montrachet 1er cru Les Chalumeaux, £35

From Domaine Jean Pascal et Fils in the Côte de Beaune., a glorious example of Puligny at its complex best, the freshness and lees-derived mealy characters adding complexity to the chardonnay’s minerally expression. £35, Marks & Spencer.