Blush wines are seriously on the up. It’s a good thing. But what is rosé?

As quality, variety, range and, yes, popularity grows, the parameters of what the wine is supposed to be, remain remarkably hazy. Should that be a worry?

The official South African definition of ‘rosé wine’ is that ‘the product shall have the colour that is distinctive of a rosé wine.’ That little oxymoronic joke means that just about anything goes, as long as it’s more or less the right tone. Pink, of course, as any newborn knows, can glow in endless variation.

So if colour is (for the moment) the be all and the end all of South African rosé, don’t for a minute think (didn’t we all?) that the wine is exclusively made from red wine grapes.

Diemersdal, for one, has just released a 2010 rosé that is mostly sauvignon blanc. Only seven percent red grapes - cabernet sauvignon - feature in the chirpy blend, of which the colour is an eye-catching washed-out ruby. It’s an unusual wine, combining typical SB gooseberry and grass aromatics with cabernet’s cassis and tobacco. A zippy fruit salad. Thys Louw, being the sauvignon expert that he is at that Durbanville winery, parleyed the boisterous flavours to an harmonious result. (Of course, Achim von Arnim was the first to fiddle with the two ‘wild grapes’ some years back. His came in full ruby red regalia, though. Out at Lutzville winery, another similar rosé was made a year or so ago.)

Perhaps more traditional is a rosé blend from Elim. Land’s End partners the classic Bordeaux trio of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot in a lingering earthy blend. It contrasts quite sharply with say, Nederburg’s bold, bright rose-pink ‘Twenty10’ special blend, made for the upcoming football event. Then there’s Solms Lekkerwijn with its charming mourvèdre, grenache and viognier recipe.

If these are blends that make great drinking, plenty of interest is drawn to rosés from single varietals. A sign of vivid experimentation, these may well serve to establish the pink libation as a more serious wine - not one only admired for its (undeniably pretty and appealing) colour.

A new release is Kleine Zalze’s gamay noir. It has all the easy pleasures of young Beaujolais, including those whiffs of strawberry. Waterkloof’s Circumstance Cape Coral mourvèdre slips down easy, while Altydgedacht’s cabernet franc (with a dash of barbera) broadens the scope. Hill & Dale’s 2010 merlot rosé is crisp and pearly coloured, very similar in shade to the Kloovenberg made from shiraz.

With the new vintage rosé wines slipping into the market, pink fans (a growing club) should be on the lookout for an even wider range on the wine shelves. Sunny winter days are greatly enhanced by shades of rosé. And they’re getting better and more interesting, despite the limpid definition ascribed to them by the authorities.