Pink of the moment: M&S Cape rosé

2009 Cape rosé from Breedekloof region, South Africa, made by Nicolaas Rust (14%) - quite full-on style with rounded oily mouth-feel and underlying "sweet" red berry and cherry fruit; smooth and fairly easy (with food anyway, a bit punchy on its own perhaps) with attractive and off-dry finish. £4.29 Marks & Spencer.

Beer of the moment: Fischer, France

Summer weather usually dictates less red and more white and rosé hues, around Mediterranean parts anyway, and occasionally a smidgeon of refreshingly chilled beer. Many of my favourite French beers come from the Alsace region - and I don't mean that well-known monster brand I won't bother naming - and one in particular, Fischer, always hits the spot. Even if it's now owned and brewed by Heineken, it's much better than most Brit-type lager or US-style 'lite' stuff, although isn't perhaps as characterful as certain Belgian beers or quite as incisively Pilsner-like in that German or Czech way. But their classic Blonde Tradition is consistently tasty and palate-cleansing while being fairly full-bodied too (6% alcohol by volume); and there's a good Ambré beer as well (darker). It also comes in one of those cute bottles with a stopper on a wire type closure.

Costs about €1.75 for a big (two-thirds of a litre) bottle in most French supermarkets (such as Carrefour -- the image was taken from their site), and is widely exported too.

Argentina: Malbec & Cabernet Sauvignon

Malbec and Cabernet at a glance: my notes and ratings, for your pure pleasure, of twenty diverse reds made from arguably Argentina's forte on the variety front - varietals or blends of the two (or sometimes with a third grape such as Merlot)... Highlights: 90-pointers from Septima, Piedras Pura Vid, Calle, Vistalba/Fabre. Tango tango! Picture from winesofargentina.org (a bit of a cliché, I know). Click here to find out more.