Wines Like Provence Rosé: Xinomavro, Moschofilero and Baga

If you love Provence rosé, you love one of two things about it: the savory, dry structure or the crisp, pale freshness. Xinomavro gives you the structure. Baga gives you the crispness. Moschofilero gives you the freshness and adds a perfume most Provence never had. The style isn't patented, and these three pour it for less.

The short answer

• Xinomavro rosé (Greece): red berry, tomato leaf and herb, bone dry. The one that belongs at dinner.
• Moschofilero rosé (Greece): rose petal and orange blossom over dry citrus. Provence's freshness with a floral lift.
• Baga rosé (Portugal): tart red apple and berry, high acid, often a fine sparkle. The crispest of the three.

Which part of Provence do you miss?

Strip away the frosted bottles and Provence rosé is a recipe anyone can follow: pick red grapes, press them quickly so only a blush of colour bleeds in, ferment dry, keep the acid high. The result is pale, savory and mineral, not sweet and not candied. So "like Provence" is really two requests. If you want the savory grip that holds up to food, you want a grape with backbone. If you want the pale, cool snap of a glass by the water, you want the crispest, most aromatic pink you can find. Grapes grown in cool, high or Atlantic-cooled places make exactly this style, and most cost less because the name on the label isn't doing the pricing.

Xinomavro rosé: the structured one

Amyndeon, Greece · bone dry, pale coral · ksee-NOH-mah-vroh

From Amyndeon, high in northern Greece, Xinomavro makes a rosé with backbone: pale coral, bone dry, red-berry fruit cut with tomato leaf and herb, and acidity that makes you want food.

Versus Provence: the same pale, dry, savory glass, with more grip. If you drink Provence with dinner rather than by the pool, start here.

The catch: that grip is the point and the limit. The name means "sour black", and its acid is built for a plate. As a pool wine it's more than you need, so go to Moschofilero instead.

Look for: Amyndeon on the label, from a producer your shop stands behind, and ask them by name.

Moschofilero rosé: the aromatic one

Mantinia, Greece · dry, pale, perfumed · moss-koh-FEE-leh-roh

Moschofilero is a pink-skinned grape, so a blush of rosé is almost its natural state. This is the perfumed option: rose petal and orange blossom over dry citrus, pale and fresh.

Versus Provence: everything Provence rosé gives you, plus a lift of floral aromatics most Provence never had.

The catch: that perfume is something Provence doesn't do. If you drink Provence for its restraint, the rose petal may read as too much.

Look for: a producer your shop stands behind, and ask them by name.

Baga rosé: the crisp Portuguese one

Bairrada, Portugal · crisp, still or sparkling · BAH-gah

Bairrada sits near Portugal's Atlantic coast, and the grape behind its pink is Baga. Expect pale colour, high acid, tart red apple and berry, and often a fine sparkle, since Bairrada is sparkling-wine country too.

Versus Provence: the crispest, most mineral of the three, for when you want Provence's snap turned up.

The catch: Bairrada makes rosé both still and sparkling, so check which one you're buying. If you want the Provence glass exactly, ask for the still one.

Look for: Bairrada on the label, from a producer your shop stands behind, and ask them by name.

Where to buy

These are made in far smaller quantities than Provence rosé, so a general shop may carry none of them. A specialist shop or an online order is the likelier route. I haven't confirmed a specific bottle in stock online this month, so I'm not linking one. Take the grape names above to your local shop and ask for them by name.

One thing I owe you plainly: I haven't scored these bottles side by side yet. When I have, the scores go here, and this guide gets shorter.

New to the overlooked grapes? Join the Pack, one overlooked wine at a time. Or see the whole approach in Order This Instead.