The sun is shining and my freckles are out so it can only mean one thing…. I’m not in the UK!! I’m on a short but well needed holiday in Portugal. It’s not all pleasure play I’m not far from Sir Cliff Richard’s winery and my curiosity couldn’t resist a pit stop, more on that later. For now though the sun is out, the fridge is stocked with rose and in the words of Sir Cliff “we’re all going on a summer holiday” so here are my top tips for drinking rose this summer, it’s better late than never: ………

The last of the summer wine…. is it that time of year already? My bikini has yet to see the light of day & my consumption of rosé hasn’t peaked since Christmas, yet the *crunch* of pink screwcaps opening, which has long signalled the sound of the summer wine, has been unusually quiet this season. Surprisingly though I’ve realised I’ve not actually missed it.

Amongst the wine trends I’ve been enjoying over the last few weeks – including a renewed interest in chilling red wine (hands up those that heard me on the radio talking about that one?!) and the rise and rise of the delicious wines of Portugal (more on that next time) – a general nonchalance towards the nations favourite summer wine had passed me by. ………

The results are in! The wines selected to fly the Miss Bouquet World Wine Flag are ready to be revealed! Last month, when England was still in the World Cup and the St George’s cross was freckling the streets I got a group of football widows together for a night flying a flag of a different kind. The World Wine Flag. Red, white and rosé of course.

Why? Well I’ve sat through my fair share of formulaic wine trade seminars in my time, you know the ones with the dramatic sounding titles that lead you to believe that by attending this seminar you’ll walk away with the key to abundant wine sales at profitable margins for years to come. My most recent experience of this time wasting exercise was at the London International Wine Fair 2010 in May. The seminar was alluringly titled:

“Where is the UK wine category heading”

………

The other day I was invited to … drum roll please…. ‘the world’s first synchronised wine tasting!’ An event where wine, technology and a truly international palate would meet. The concept seemed simple – 90 wine specialists (journalists, bloggers, wine educators) from across the world would taste the same wines at the same time and be connected via video link to the winemakers*. Hosted by the Sud de France, one of France’s many generic bodies responsible for promoting produce from the area, I was invited to taste 5 wines** chosen as the standard bearers of the region at their London offices in Cavendish Square.

In the spirit of the high tech event that it was I had been asked to bring my laptop, naturellement, so I could ‘blog’ about what was happening in real time. On arrival though it was clear to see the genre of the event hadn’t registered in the minds of some, and despite the video link equipment around the room only 4 of us had the right tools to fully participate. A reflection of the wine trades inability to keep up with what is now the most basic of technologies? Perhaps. But what then does it say about wine journalism when 2 of the remaining invitées had to be supplied with notebooks! Seriously. ………

I’m fresh back from Milan, the city of fashion, food, and fabulous weather. Have you been? It’s a place where brands rule and paupers drool. Prada, Missoni, Ferrari…. there’s temptation at every corner!

I was amazed at how quickly we acclimatised to the local way of life. Fresh pasta, authentic pizzas, and gelato felt like second nature after our first lunch and our afternoons quickly became structured around the Milanese institution that is aperitivo hour as soon as the clock strikes 6pm.

Yes, everything to do with London became a distant memory the minute Milan’s summer sun hit our shoulders. Everything that is except for the rosé. In London when the sun comes out sales of rosé wine peak along with burger buns and BBQ sauce. Not so in Milan, it’s red, white or limoncello it seems. We hunted high and low, from traditional trattorias to curb side cafés, from pizzerias to fancy Milanese bars, hell we even ventured to the Bulgari Hotel, all in the name of research you understand! ………

Well I would say that wouldn’t I especially to my colleagues when I arrive at the office in my cycling lycra! But that’s not the only time I’d say it. I’ve noticed it becoming more and more relevant to wine. For example last night I opened a bottle of rosé that I bought from Majestic for my birthday party. It was a rich pink colour, bright and glossy with a clean and simple looking label. Lovely. I chose it for two reasons. 1. it reminded me of the colour I had painted my toe nails and 2. it was a ridiculously low price and I needed some plonk to go into the punch. ………