There’s more to southern French rosé than Provence | Fiona Beckett on drink

Clean, fresh and good-looking, French rosé is more popular than ever – and there are plenty of regions that give Provence a run for its money

Among the new rosés that Tesco showed off at their tasting a few weeks ago was a £19 rosé from Provence, Maison No 9. Surprising? Not really. Along with prosecco and New Zealand sauvignon blanc, Provence rosé has been the big success story of the past decade, with sales up by 51% in the past year alone.

And it’s not only at supermarkets. Pubs and restaurants sell it by the bucketload, even when they have cheaper rosés on offer. “I have never found the price of Provence rosé to be a barrier,” says Piers Baker of the heavily wine-focused The Sun Inn at Dedham in Essex. “The attraction is the colour, obviously, but it’s also clean, fresh and undemanding. When people order it they know what they are going to get, which isn’t necessarily true of other wines.”