Went into a wine shop after seeing a bottle of Languedoc rosé with Gerard Bertrand’s name on it. Wanted to buy that wine, but the store was out. So, for the same price — £6 — purchased another Gerard Bertrand, a Roussillon. Huh? Exactly. What?

I think it will still sourced from the South of France, only way south, in the Basque regions, because of the tell-tale red and gold striped flag on the label.

The 2006 Sang & Or is tarty and full-bodied. Hint of watermelon. An unpleasant hotness from inharmonious alcohol levels. Smells crisp and delicious, finishes dry, way dry: 8.3, which is good for a rosé.

Come to think of it, a good red wine to chill would be the 2004 Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon, for around £7. Cedar and dill will flourish with a little chill. The hard-nosed alcohol edge and grapiness will diminish:8.5, much better than the 2003, BTW.

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As the days heat up, the sun heralds a rush to the wine shop for ’seasonal’ wines. Rosés, blush wine, chilled whites. Mundo Pinot Grigio.

Well, that will be the first few sentences of every single wine blog out there, people. But not here. White-washed wine writing makes InterWined see red.

Look, you can drink any wine in any weather. Kick around the idea of sloshing a bottle of Brouilly or Pinot Noir in an ice bucket. Or even an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. Well, actually, that advice is kinda stupid when looked at in reverse: sticking Chardonnay in the oven for Christmas. If that oven isn’t on, and that wine isn’t going in the roasting tin to do whatever it is wine does to the chicken, then it just isn’t right.

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