IT IS illegal to let a summer slip by without cracking open a bottle of rosé or two. It is also mandatory that wine writers dedicate at least one column a year to the subject of pink wine, excluding the obligatory Valentine’s Day themed pieces.

This week’s pink theme is partly in response to a request from a colleague who suggested I write a column only about lightly coloured, dry rosé, akin to the wines of Provence.

I was going to stick to that theme but another colleague chirped up, saying that he likes the darker, very fruity style of pink. Personally, I enjoy good examples of both styles. It’s horses for courses, to coin a phrase.

Dry, lighter rosés are perfect for sipping with salads, salmon, tuna, pork and chicken for instance. The darker, and often sweeter pinks, I find go particularly well with hot spicy dishes. And all rosé wines, other than the very driest, work as an aperitif and at the barbecue.

In the dry, lighter style, there is Lourensford The River Garden Rosé 2013. From the Stellenbosch region of South Africa, it is a blend of shiraz, mourvèdre and merlot.

With a salmon pink hue, it is dry and crunchy. It has impressively long, yet subtle, flavours of strawberry, cherry, raspberry and salty mineral notes on the finish.

Alternatively, you could head to Oz for a very juicy and darker coloured pink with a hint of sweetness, Grant Burge gb11 Rosé 2013.

The flavour is turned up a notch on this wine, with vibrant red summer berry fruit and spices. It is just off-dry but with a fresh acidity to give balance. It is exactly the sort of wine I like to drink with a takeaway curry.

Or for a little more outlay, try Joseph Mellot Le Rabault Rosé 2013, from Sancerre. This is a very expressive, yet delicate wine, made entirely from pinot noir. It has distinct floral notes and long flavours of raspberry and citrus sherbet.

Lourensford The River Garden Rosé 2013, £8.25 at York Wines (yorkwines.co.uk) 17/20

Grant Burge gb11 Rosé 2013, £8.50 at Nidderdale Fine Wines (southaustralianwines.com) 17/20

Joseph Mellot Le Rabault Rosé 2013, Sancerre, £12.99 from cellarviewines.com 18/20