As Martin Amis notes in his new collection of essays, the smart move for the ambitious and unscrupulous critic is to take an obscure subject - the neo-Stalinist Hungarian documentaries of the 1950s, Mud's Top 10 hits - and announce that he is rescuing the unjustly neglected from the élitist prejudices of conventional wisdom. Rosé wines should be an ideal subject for the Amis manoeuvre. There is no book entitled 'Great Rosés of the World', because, with the possible exception of Tavel, there is no such thing as a great rosé. They are dismissed as sweet, insipid wines for sweet, insipid people who can't make their minds up if they want red or white.

I would love to report that the rosés in the shops this month are a stunning revelation. Alas, many are sweet and insipid. But not all by any means.

Rosé Brolo Alto
***
(£6.40, various off licences)

This wine from Bardolino would be convivial company in a café this summer. Brolo Alto and the other Bardolino Chiaretto rosés are popular aperitifs in Italy, hence the price.

Domaine de Sours, Bordeaux
**
(£5.49 Sainsbury's)

and

Clos Petite Bellane, Côtes du Rhone
**
(£5.99, Oddbins)

Each of these wines have the structure and the strength - both are 13 per cent - to substitute for a light red with a cold supper. I thought the Bordeaux had a better length, but there wasn't much in it.

Romanian Merlot Rose
no stars
(£2.99 Sainsbury's)

This is not, I'm afraid, the bargain it appears. Owing to a combination of unfortunate circumstances, I was forced to drink the bottle by myself and felt quite ill. The wine is an amalgam from various Romanian producers, and it shows.

Ernest & Julio Gallo's 'pink' white Grenache
no stars
(£4.38 Tesco)

This should have a bit more to it. My top tip for mean hostesses is to chill the living daylights out of poor white wine. If you are ruthless, all the flavour can be frozen out. I abandoned the Grenache in the ice box. By the end it was virtually an alcoholic lollipop. Nothing could disguise its weird propensity to be saccharine and metallic at the same time.