Wine with Leslie: Hurray for rosé and the start of summer

Dry, tart rosé is the perfect wine with a barbecue or recipes with plenty punchy garlic

Dry, tart rosé is the perfect match for the punchy garlic and olive and caper flavours of Provence as few white wines can cut through and assert themselves

The May Bank holiday is the official start of summer so it’s time to start thinking about Rosé. That Scottish saying ‘cast ne’re a clout ‘til May is out’ might be lingering in your head but buck up, dust off the barbecue and make some proper Provençal Aïoli or a Salad Niçoise this weekend and eat it in the garden.

Dry, tart rosé is the perfect match for the punchy garlic and olive and caper flavours of Provence as few white wines can cut through and assert themselves. The best Aïoli recipe I know is from Lulu’s Provençal Cookbook written by the matriarch of Domaine Tempier, that great wine estate of Bandol. It uses a whole head of garlic for 500ml of olive oil and is best made in a pestle and mortar (just make sure to add the oil to the garlic and egg yolks as the thinnest stream possible).