Includes index.

"On a sunny day in the South of France, over a typically languorous French lunch, Jamie Ivey; his wife, Tanya; and their friend, Peter, discover the distinct pleasures of drinking a bottle of cool, pale rose in the Mediterranean sun. Surrounded by fields of lavender and rosemary rather than the rain of his native London, Jamie is entranced by the gently blushing wine and following a translation mishap, finds himself challenged to discover the palest bottle of rose in France by the elegant and formidable Madame Etienne. Rising to the occasion, Jamie, Tanya, and Peter set off to find the elusive bottle. They visit the main rose producing areas, trawl through every tiny bar, and sample the local bistros. They poke around aging chateaux and celebrate at a local fete du vin. Peter noses out the local specialties, concentrating on finding the best purveyors for threateningly odoriferous cheeses, while making a respectable and debonair showing in a local petanque tournament. In the process they discover a rose revolution - the pale pink wine they love so much is rising in popularity across the world and even French wine connoisseurs are beginning to treat it seriously." "Extremely Pale Rose is food, wine, and travel writing in the best tradition as Jamie and his fellow travelers eat, sip, and taste with the colorful vintners, chefs, bakers, and townspeople who live in and among the vineyards."--BOOK JACKET. A chance conversation with a Provençal vigneron leads to the most unlikely of quests - a hunt to find France's palest rosé.
Extremely Pale Rosé is a richly entertaining and informative account of the travels of Jamie, his wife Tanya and their ebullient friend Peter Swift, as they take up this challenge. Giving up their lives in London, they quickly discover an unfortunate truth - the French won't treat rosé or their quest seriously. Rosé is seen as a poor cousin to red and white wine, drunk largely as an aperitif or to wash away the taste of spicy food. And although for many Brits pale rosé has come to epitomize the south of France, French wine connoisseurs view it as flavourless water fit only for tourists.