It's hot and humid and I have just spent the last two days tasting my way through some pretty hefty reds from Argentina, South Africa and Italy. I'm exhausted, my palate is weary and the prospect of another few days of the same is not that appealing.

I've plenty of friends who tell me they drink white wines in the summer and reds come autumn and winter. Such a predictable routine is understandable but ruling out 50 per cent of the wines on offer at any one time does seem a bit drastic. It's also unnecessary.

Lighter reds are to be found, and as we find ourselves melting in the summer sun, they are a blessing. For me a light' red wine is one that meets the following criteria: it should have moderate alcohol (12.5 per cent or less); be refreshing and fruity and have a vibrancy that might be more commonly associated with white wines.

The wines of Beaujolais are the very antithesis to the opaque blockbusters that have so long been in fashion and hurrah for that. The aromatic, low-tannin gamay grape certainly plays its part in the distinctive, quaffable reds of this Rhône departement but it is the wine-making method that is the key to the wines vitality.

The winemakers of Beaujolais have the technique - known as carbonic maceration - down to a fine art. Complete bunches of grapes are placed into vats where oxygen is excluded with the assistance of carbon dioxide. The grapes then begin fermenting inside their own skins and it is this that creates the unique flavour of these wines.

Beaujolais-Villages and Cru Beaujolais are the swankier versions and if you really must you can think about cellaring the better vintages for a decade or so. Still, that's not really the point. The regional emphasis is on drinking simple Beaujolais young and fresh - lightly chilled even! There might not be too many Parker points stamped on the bottle but I can guarantee that you'll feel all the more invigorated for it.

If reds - light or not - are just a stretch too far this summer you may be relieved to know that there's an alternative: rosé's no longer naff it's cool! Sales of the pink stuff are rocketing, with some merchants claiming that they've seen demand rise by as much as 80 per cent in the last two years.

It's not just a fashionable choice, it's a sensible one. I was enjoying an alfresco restaurant lunch with the folks at the weekend and, nosey creature that I am, was eyeing up what everyone else was drinking. Given the heat of the day I wasn't a bit surprised to spot more than one unfinished bottle of red on the tables of our fellow diners. We, on the other hand, were lapping up a truly delicious Provence pink and there wasn't a drop left come dessert.

Don't think that opting for a glass of rosé is in some way choosing a second-rate wine. There's no less skill required to make a good one than there is in putting together a zippy white sauvignon blanc.

Most rosés are made from red wine grapes, the colour coming from the skins. The amount of time that the juice will spend with the skins depends on the intensity of flavour and colour the winemaker is looking for as well as how highly-pigmented the key variety is.

I'm not an ardent fan of those lipstick red' rosés that come into your glass looking almost ashamed of what they are. There's truly nothing more seductive than a glistening salmon pink liquid with scents of summer berries leaping out the glass. Get your hands on a good one and you've got your apéritif and food wine nailed!

A final cautionary thought: as the days get warmer there is a tendency to pop your rosé (and white) wines in the fridge hours and hours before you're likely to be drinking them.

The colder the wine, the more flavour will be lost. An hour, perhaps two, is as long as they need in the fridge. If you're going for chilled Beaujolais, don't leave it in for much more than 30 minutes. With that you should be set for a summer of refreshing drinking.

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