WITH summer surely just around the corner, it’s definitely time for sausages, home-made burgers and spicy kebabs on the barbecue. This means you’ll need chilled light whites and rosés and a few bottles of a good peppery Australian Shiraz on hand for impromptu garden emergencies.

I always like a wee glass of rosé when I’m firing up the barbecue, and then another one when I’m cooking the burgers. When the sun is shining, it’s hard to beat as an aperitif.

As the biggest area of growth in the wine world, rosé has finally lost its reputation as a less worthy wine. Instead, it is becoming more and more popular in trendy bars and restaurants and you’ll see a bigger selection in your local wine emporium too.

You can sometimes pay £15 or £20 (retail) for a top-quality bottle, but you can also find tasty bottles under a tenner. Just such a bottle is the Reserve de la Saurine Rosé 2016 (M&S, £7.50). This is a good wee glugger from the South of France.

A step up would be the Roubertas Comte de Provence 2016 (Inverarity One to One, £10.99). This has delicacy and depth in equal measures, and is a must-try for all fans of the pinky drinky.

So after your thirst-quenching aperitif, you should turn to a red to complement Shirley’s burgers. I like Australian Shiraz with barbecued burgers as the peppery spice in the food is echoed in the wine. There’s always a staggering range of top-quality wines from Australia available, with each label often more enticing than the last.

So, how to choose? You could start with the producer, as you’ll always get a good bottle from outfits such as d’Arenberg, Tyrrell’s, Wakefield, McHenry Hohnen and Woodstock. Alternatively, you could go by region, and I’d recommend looking for cooler parts of the country, relatively speaking at least. These include Western Australia and the Limestone Coast where the lower temperatures create a longer "hang time" (the length of time that the grapes are on the vine) which results in better ripened fruit and therefore tastier wines.

Tyrrell’s Wood Duck Dam Heathcote Shiraz 2013 (M&S, £16). This is a big and serious wine from Central Victoria, full-bodied and great with burgers.

McHenry Hohnen Three Amigos Red GSM 2012 (Inverarity One to One, £13.99). This is a lovely blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro making a Rhone-esque wine from Western Australia with the winemaking being overseen by David Hohnen, the man originally behind Cloudy Bay. This all adds up to a nice drop of wine.

Now, where did I put my charcoal briquettes?

Pete Stewart is Glasgow director of Inverarity One to One, 185a Bath Street, Glasgow (0141 221 5121) www.inverarity121.com