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Hello, from rosé season, the only time of year I order wine like a patriarchal septuagenarian. For this fleeting moment in the wine-drinking calendar, questions are out and assumptions are in; everyone’s happy to drink pink – specifically, pale, dry and berry-crisp Provence rosé. Blushing like cheeks in a summer romance, pale rosé captures something of the hazy holiday spirit: easy, fun, objectively delicious. The liquid equivalent of chips with ketchup, it’s a safe bet.

Finding a wine that almost everyone approves of is close to the holy grail – and if Provence has cracked it so everyone’s happy, why deviate? But unless you’re in primary school, chances are you wouldn’t eat chips at every meal, and I’d apply the same logic here. We’re human! We’re omnivores! And even within the category of rosé, there is a world to discover beyond the Provençal style that dominates supermarket shelves. What’s more, the likes of Whispering Angel may make decision-making easy, but they also command some hefty prices (£22.50 on Ocado at the time of writing).

Rosé is defined by brief skin contact – a process less sexy than that sounds, involving a fleeting encounter between the juice of pressed red grapes with their skins, giving the wine its seductive hue. Said hue can range from almost imperceptibly peachy right through to deep cherry juice, where the line between “rosé” and “chilled red” becomes fuzzy. Sometimes rosé is made entirely with red grapes, as are several in today’s pick, or with a blend of red and white, which is typical of Provence, where big-hitting red varieties such as grenache and syrah are blended with a white, usually vermentino, for floral freshness.

The wines here all hail from outside Europe and arguably offer something a bit more than a Provence rosé; most are better all-rounders to see you from aperitif through a meal, but often put some of the grape varieties most associated with Provence to work. They include Babylonstoren’s 100% mourvèdre from Simonsberg, a mountainous enclave of South Africa known for world-class reds; this – the official wine of the Chelsea Flower Show, no less! – is fresh, structured and hugely table-friendly. Meanwhile, the excellent Moroccan number, sometimes called a vin gris (grey wine) due to its pallor, is made with a blend of cabernet sauvignon and grenache with heat-tolerant hybrid grapes, marselan and caladoc. Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley is making some delicious rosé, too, where surrounding mountains and a sea breeze bring cool nights to offset hot days. In Itata, Chile, granite soils and maritime climate produce En Cabeza, a cinsault rosé that’s juicy and mineral – and a good gateway to natural wine. I’d order that for the septuagenarian in my life, no questions asked.

Five alternatives to a Provence rosé

En Cabeza, Luca Hodgkinson, Chile £13 Forest Wines, 12.5%. A touch of aromatic moscatel joins cinsault for a gluggable and food-friendly summer go-to.

Volubilia Gris La Zouina, Morocco £14.95 Buon Vino, 13%. Blushing and eyelid-batting, a Provence-style bottle that will please fans of very dry rosé.

Babylonstoren Mourvèdre Rosé, South Africa £18 Waitrose, 13%. Light yet robust, a rosé to see you from dawn till dusk, if you feel so inclined.

Massaya Rosé 2024, Lebanon £16.50 Wine Society, 13.5%. Pretty 100% cinsault with a savoury, spiced note – a great companion to meze or piquant dishes.

Cowboys Don’t Have Curls, Ain’t My First Rosé, UK £27 Wright’s Wine, 9.5%. By some standards, not European! A wild and wonderful field blend grown in Somerset and made in collaboration with Monmouth winemaker, Dave Morris, this will make you reassess rosé.