Provence has become a colour. Pale, blush-pink, beaded with condensation on a terrace somewhere expensive. It is a triumph of branding, and it has quietly buried almost everything else the region does.

Rosé earns its fame here; nowhere else makes pale, dry pink wine with such conviction. But treat Provence as a one-trick region and you miss some of the most characterful reds and whites in the south of France.

The Rosé, Done Properly

Provençal rosé is a style, not an afterthought: barely-there colour, bone dry, all crushed strawberry, citrus peel and sea breeze. Built from Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah, it is made for the table and the sunshine in equal measure. Whispering Angel turned it into a global habit, and most imitators still cannot match the original's poise.

Beyond the Pink: Bandol and the Reds

For the serious drinker, Bandol is the region's best-kept secret. Built on the brooding Mourvèdre grape, its reds are dark, structured and built to age for a decade or more: leather, black fruit, wild herbs and a welcome streak of the untamed. This is Provence with the sunglasses off.

The Whites Nobody Talks About

Provençal whites, from Cassis and beyond, are quietly excellent: herby, saline and made for a plate of grilled fish with your feet nearly in the Mediterranean. They rarely leave the region, which is precisely why they are worth hunting down.

Drink the rosé, of course. But let it be the introduction, not the whole conversation. The reds age, the whites sing, and the region has far more to say than its famous colour lets on.