The wines to buy for May bank holiday

Even if it’s not the hot spell we were hoping for, this delicious dozen will put everyone in a sunny mood. Take your pick from a trio of bright whites, including a £5.19 lower alcohol chardonnay, plus a trio of juicy, easy drinking reds and three unusual, food-friendly pinks.

Whatever the weather, everyone needs a bank holiday glass of fizz, whether prosecco, a fruity, champagne-method French crémant, or one of my favourite bargain-basement cavas from Spain, surprisingly on sale at Marks & Spencer. Cheers!

White

Rocher de Saint Victor, Picpoul de Pinet, France
12.5 per cent, Lidl, £7.99
Still my favourite dry French white at Lidl. Picpoul de Pinet, made from the grape of the same name, is the Midi’s answer to muscadet and its bracing, sea-spray style, reminiscent of samphire and lemon zest, is perfect with everything from fish and chips to barbecued prawns.

2022 Chapter & Verse Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia
11 per cent, Aldi, £5.19
The perfect lower alcohol, alfresco white in a sturdy yet slim picnic basket-friendly PET bottle. With lashings of bold, oaky-toasty, sweetly fruited charm, this luscious chardonnay is rounded off with a dab each of colombard and verdelho. Best served chilled with spicy barbecue fare.

2022 Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc, Wairau Valley, New Zealand
12 per cent, Co-op, £8.50, down from £10.50 until May 14
My kind of sauvignon blanc, bursting with mouthwatering passion fruit and lemongrass pizzazz. Unlike most sticky and, frankly, often rather sickly Kiwi sauvignons, Grove Mill has restrained sugar and the sort of invigorating, sprightly fruit that makes it a good sunny-day crowdpleaser.

Red

Bergerac Église Saint-Jacques, Bergerac, France
13 per cent, Tesco, £7.50
Delicious, dusky, brilliant crimson purple, bordeaux-aping, barbecue-friendly red. Made from the usual mix of mostly merlot, topped up with a dab each of cabernets sauvignon and franc and overflowing with bright, spicy, inky, hedgerow berry fruit. Vegetarian-friendly.

2022 Taste the Difference Beaujolais Supérieur, France
13 per cent, Sainsbury’s, £9, down from £11 until May 14
It’s got to be easy-quaffing beaujolais for tricky, strongly-spiced dishes. Served chilled, the best — including this ripe, juicy, red plum-packed 2022 made from 30-50-year-old gamay vines, with a lot less alcohol than most of that vintage — make for a refreshing spring sip.

2021 Kanonkop Kadette Pinotage, Stellenbosch, South Africa
14 per cent, Booths, £13, down from £15 until May 7
Chargrilled meats need big, burly reds as partners and some of the best come from barbecue, or braii-loving South Africa. Aged for a year in oak barrels, with velvety fruit and grippy tannins, this herb and spice box-scented pinotage gets my thumbs up.

Pink

2023 Señorio de Sarria Rosado, Navarra, Spain
14 per cent, thewinesociety.com, £7.95
At last, a deeply coloured serious rosé, this one from Navarra, next door to Rioja, chockablock full of flavour and finesse. Señorio is made exclusively from the garnacha grape and delivers bright yet hearty strawberry fruit with a pleasing nip of bitterness on the finish.

2023 Isula Mea Syrah-Sciaccarellu Rosé, Île de Beauté, France
12.5 per cent, Waitrose, £7.99 down from £9.99
Corsica, the wonderfully named Île de Beauté, was once part of Italy, hence the mix of French syrah and Italian sciaccarellu grapes in this elegant rosé. With masses of vibrant, floral, peppery herb and wild rose-scented fruit this classy Corsican is a brilliant barbecue bottle.

2023 Rosé Bonbon Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire, France
12.5 per cent, leaandsandeman.co.uk, £21.75
Virginie and Guillaume Philip met at Montpellier wine school and their seductive, medal-winning rosés are some of the very best France produces. Enjoy this smoky, herbaceous, blush pink, with tangy fruit and a fine tobacco leaf finish, as a treat with an alfresco salad supper.

Fizz

Marks & Spencer Cava Brutt, Finca Miguel, Spain
11.5 per cent, Marks & Spencer, £7
Skip M&S’s dreary Premium Cava and snap up this cheaper bottle instead. Despite its snazzy new label, it has the same tasty, champagne-method cava from Finca Miguel within. Drier than most, this zesty, lime pickle fizz will be just the ticket as an alfresco aperitif.

Taste the Difference Crémant d’Alsace, France
12 per cent, Sainsbury’s, £10.50 down from £11.50
Not in the same league as crémant from Burgundy and the Loire, but this one’s easy-drinking, fruity mix of mostly appley pinot blanc, enriched with a dab of spicy pinot gris, is the perfect party bottle. With lots of clean, crisp, tutti frutti pizzazz, it’s a terrific sparkler.

The Best Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco, Italy
11 per cent, Morrisons, £8, down from £10
If prosecco floats your sunny day boat, this is the bottle you should buy. Made from superior Valdobbiadene glera grapes and with marginally less sugar than most, The Best’s elegant, floral, vanilla pod fruit has wide crowd-pleasing appeal.