With the colour pink being so synonymous with romance, and with tomorrow being Valentine’s Day, it seems an appropriate time to highlight the virtues of that vinous underdog, rosé wine.

Overlooked by many and often disparaged by so-called wine elitists, there are many wine drinkers around the world who are rediscovering and appreciating the subtleties of this most refreshing of wine styles.

When the majority of wine lovers reach for a wine list to select a wine, most automatically think white or red, but very few give a second thought to the third option of a rosé. In many instances, rosé wine is far more consumer-friendly than many whites or reds, and is a good all-rounder, especially when it comes to pairing it with our Mediterranean cuisine.

There is a good reason why many of us think this way. For many years, rosé wines, even from famous wine-growing regions, were more often than not bland, fruitless and pretty boring. But, in recent years, the winemakers of Europe and the New World have woken up and are now putting as much effort behind making their rosé wines as they do for their reds and whites. The results are there for all to taste: better wines with more flavour.

In particular, rosé wines produced around the shores of the Mediterranean enjoy great prestige and, no less so, the rosé wines of Malta, which have proved to be in a class of their own. They are crisp, fruit-driven and remarkably refreshing. They have more longevity than most rosé wines and are extremely versatile, meaning they can be enjoyed equally with or without food.

For lovers of serious dry styles of rosé wine, there are three great examples available: the Medina Rosé Grenache Cabernet DOK Malta, the Victoria Heights Rosé Shiraz DOK Gozo and the recently released new Classic Collection Rossini Rosé Syrah IGT Maltese Islands. However, although Shiraz (Syrah) Grenache and Cabernet grapes are grown in Malta and Gozo, they are not indigenous to this country.

For lovers of something truly native and unique, one has to try a rosé wine produced from Malta’s very own Ġellewża grape variety, like Delicata’s award-winning Ġellewża Frizzante. If ever there was a wine made for the Maltese summertime or a celebration like Valentine’s Day, this is it. Just get it nice and cold, serve in nice elegant flutes and enjoy. It’s the perfect celebratory wine and is really convenient now that it comes with a screw cap closure.

For lovers of rosé wines with a touch of sweetness, there are three unique medium dry rosé wines to look out for: Dolcino, probably Malta’s most popular rosé, made from an exclusive blend of grape varieties; Pjazza Regina Rosé, which is made from a fascinating blend of Syrah and Tempranillo, two grape varieties that complement each other perfectly; and the Maltese Falcon, which is made entirely from the Ġellewża grape.

Besides being a good pre-dinner aperitif or celebratory wine, chilled dry rosé wines are equally a great wine accompaniment to lighter-flavoured foods. They are particularly good with fresh Maltese fish like red bream (paġell) and rock fish (skorfna) or other Maltese seafood specialities like octopus stew, pasta with sea urchins, assorted shellfish platters or fresh sautéed Mediterranean prawns. The medium dry rosé wines also make the perfect picnic wine as they go well with most salads and make a good partner for Asian dishes, especially the sweeter cuisines like Chinese, Malaysian and even some Thai dishes.

One of the most important things to be wary of, however, when buying rosé wines, is the vintage. A basic rule of thumb for most of the world’s rosé is the younger, the better. And at this time of year you should be able to find rosé wines from the latest 2014 vintage readily available.