Extremely Pale Rose: A Quest for the Palest Rose in France

The idyllic story of London lawyer Jamie Ivey's escape to the south of France in search of sun, an adventure and the palest of rose wines.

A chance conversation with a Proven al vigneron leads to the most unlikely of quests - a hunt to find France's palest rose. Extremely Pale Rose is a richly entertaining and informative account of the travels of Jamie, his wife Tanya and their ebullient friend Peter, as they take up this challenge. Giving up their lives in London, they quickly discover an unfortunate truth - the French won't treat rose or their quest seriously. Rose is seen as a poor cousin to red and white wine, drunk as an aperitif or to wash away the taste of spicy food. In bars, boulangeries and boucheries from Bordeaux to Bandol, Jamie, Tanya and Peter are recommended diverse vineyards to visit, and as they travel they encounter the beginnings of a rose revolution - French attitudes to pale pink wine appear to be changing, but is it too little too late to help them succeed in their quest? With wit, candour and wonderful storytelling, Jamie Ivey maintains a tradition of excellence in food and travel writing. Readers are left with dreams of France, summer days, baguettes, and . . . extremely pale rose.