You’d have to have been living under a rock to have missed the rosé boom that has gripped the globe in recent years. It’s not actually entirely new – sales of rosé in France, which accounts for more than a third of the global market, overtook those of white wine 25 years ago, and the gap between the two has been widening ever since. It is in the UK, though, that consumption has risen fastest in the past two decades.

The reasons for the trend are generally put down to rosé’s appeal as a fun, party drink to be enjoyed with scant regard for such nuances as vintage, grape variety or region. Rosé has also become perceived as a lighter, easier-to-drink, less tannic wine that can be consumed beyond the dinner table. In short, it’s a crowd-pleaser. Or as veteran wine critic Robert Joseph says: ‘Rosé is not about ageing, food-matching, terroir or Zalto glasses. It’s about being a simple, enjoyable beverage.’ And well suited to Instagram, of course.

Smart producers have certainly nailed the lifestyle element, with the packaging and branding around many rosés having as much in common with the perfume category than the wine category. The epicentre of the phenomenon, of course, is Provence, where Sacha Lichine kickstarted the rosé renaissance in 2007 with the launch of the brilliantly marketed Whispering Angel, created at Château d’Esclans, northeast of St. Tropez. Where Lichine blazed a trail, others followed, from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at Miraval to the teetotal Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni with their Roseblood brand from Château d’Estoublon. A thirst for refreshing Provençal pinks in delicate hues became shorthand for sunshine and poolsides, offering a liquid passport to a Mediterranean lifestyle that proved catnip for sun-starved Brits.

Not everyone is a fan of the so-called ‘swimming pool wines’, however. Jeroboams’ Wine Director Peter Mitchell MW tasted 150 rosés from around the world at the Decanter World Wine Awards this year. His verdict? ‘Most tasted more like a citrussy white wine, and were almost identical – and pointlessly boring – bland, dull, and better when cold.’

It might just be that consumers are starting to get a little bored too – Provence rosé saw sales decline in nine out of its top ten export markets last year, including a 12% dip in the UK, according to industry title Drinks Business. So where should those looking for more characterful rosés turn their gaze?

Provence still has something to offer, if you know where to look. Winemakers are now experimenting with everything from lees stirring and barrel ageing to old-vine parcels in a bid to elevate their offerings and expand their range. Actor John Malkovich – who has cultivated vines in deep clay soils close to his Vaucluse farmhouse since 2008 – shunned the tried-and-tested triumvirate of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre in favour of Cabernet Sauvignon for his lees-aged LQLC rosé. ‘There’s a lot of GSM planted near where we are because they are heat-resistant varieties, but they’re not my thing at all. It’s just not what I like,’ he says.

But Provence is home to serious winemakers as well as ex-presidents and film stars (Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, no less, makes a rosé at Domaine de Triennes in Var, after all). And anyone who doubts that Provence rosé is capable of transmitting terroir should uncork a bottle of Clos Mireille from Provence stalwart Domaines Ott, made inches from the ocean and tasting of sea air and salt-licked vines. And for what Mitchell describes as ‘Proper Provence’, look no further than Domaine Gavoty, in the heart of the Côtes de Provence, where vineyards have been cultivated since Roman times. Gavoty is run by the eponymous family’s eighth generation, Roselyne, who farms the 43 hectares organically. ‘She has not bowed to fashion,’ Mitchell says, adding that Gavoty’s Cuvée Clarendon is ‘my rosé for the summer’.

While Provence rosé remains perennially popular, its ubiquity may have you scanning your wine atlas in search of something new. You could do worse than try the Tavel appellation in the Rhône – France’s only AC dedicated exclusively to rosé. Dark and brooding in colour and character, these are complex, characterful wines that have more in common with light reds and should be treated in a similar way. And don’t be put off by the colour – these rosés are bone dry with just a hint of tannin.

In Italy too, winemakers are working with native grapes to produce terroir-driven pinks that sing of their soils, from the volcanic slopes of Etna to the wind-whipped coasts of the Maremma. Among them is Podere Le Ripi’s Cappuccetto Rosa – a rosé with clout. Known as winemaker Sebastian Nasello’s ‘naked Sangiovese’ due to its purity of fruit, it’s a juicy, savoury wine that could be mistaken for a short skin contact red.

Our very own green and pleasant land is also carving a niche for its still rosés, which tend to display the same racy acidity for which English fizz has become known. Vibrant and pure, with intense red fruit flavours and a savoury finish, English rosés are being made from a range of varieties, including Pinot Meunier, Rondo, Regent and even Merlot. It is the delicate red berry flavours and crisp acidity of Pinot Noir that make it the most natural choice for rosé production, however, with critic Oz Clarke earmarking Essex rosé as the future of English still wine. The only way is Essex? You heard it here first…

Find some of our favourite rosés on offer this month, at your local Jeroboams, or shop here.