The coolest drinks for parties this spring are pink…

Everything’s coming up pink for spring, from pink house plaques for historic females to gins, vodkas and wines.

Pink wine, i.e. rosé, is tipped for a bumper year. Supermarkets have prominent blocks of shelf space dedicated to the pink genre, mixing all types together, grape types and countries of origin and there are lots of them. The pale pink wines dominate the show and look like the way to go for spring and Easter weekend parties. Gins made pink with fruit additions to the recipe are also displayed on the same shelves.

Here are a few ideas to benchmark your choices and then it is up to you.

SPOILT FOR CHOICE

Pink AF is a fun label, as in ‘pink as flamingos’. Italian Pinot Grigio from the rolling hills of the Pavia region with Mediterranean sunny fruit flavours like cherries and raspberries. It is 12 per cent abv and £6 for a 75cl bottle at Morrisons.

Malbec fans will enjoy Viñalba Malbec rosé from the famous Mendoza region of Argentina. Mendoza has a wide variety of grapes, many grown at high altitudes, and the long summers provide pure tasting fruit. Viñalba Rosé is an excellent example, crisp and refreshing with red berry flavours, 12.5 per cent, £7.50 for 75cl bottle at Morrisons.

For a pink fizzy treat for a fitting-out party or even winning the Easter series, try Italian San Leo Nerella Mascalese Rosato sparkling wine. The San Leo range is well distributed and this one is a good example of simple, uncomplicated wine-making. Made from Italian Nerello Mascalese and Glera grapes, it has a fruity nose and a gentle mousse. In essence, competing with Prosecco but just a bit sweeter. I found it at my local Waitrose for a bargain £6.99 a bottle, down from £10 to the same price as the regular Proseccos and Cavas it slightly resembles.

CHOOSING GIN

The number of fruit flavoured gins on the shelves is growing, a predictable consequence of the flood of new craft gins that have come to market in recent years. Some are from the older established brands fighting back for a younger audience and several are labelled ‘pink’. Beefeater Pink is the regular gin flavoured and coloured by introducing strawberries. Light and fresh it is still best with tonic. At Morrisons, £18 for a 70cl bottle at the UK standard 37.5 per cent abv, a small premium over, say, a regular bottle of gin.

The Chase family is famous for inventing Tyrrell’s crisps, then selling out to distil a fine vodka from their potatoes instead.

They make a very good gin, too, Chase GB, and have created Chase Pink Gin made with grapefruit and pomelo as a tangy variation. It is 40 per cent abv and £38 for a 70cl bottle at Morrisons.

The Chase family has now branched into wines, buying its own vineyard at Lourmarin in the Luboron region of France between Provence and the southern Rhone valley. One product is a fine rosé from Grenache grapes, Maison Williams Chase Luberon, 13 per cent abv.

It comes in a fine square-shouldered 1.5 litre bottle. Not in the supermarkets, but you can buy online from Tanners Wine Merchants at £16.50. A classic rosé, leaving raspberries and fruits on the palate. Great for an Easter party.

 

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