Does the Terret grape lack the magic? Well that's certainly the conventional wisdom. For centuries it's been a bit-part player in blended wine all over Languedoc and the Southern Rhone. Perhaps the key though is that it was once grown widely, particularly around Sete, for use in the vermouth industry. The popularity of that particular fortified wine has declined steadily from its heyday - when Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins could be seen swapping banter on a plane while knocking back Cinzano in the apogee of Seventies sophistication.

                                          

Vermouth may not be, to borrow from Red Dwarf's cat, deader than cordoruy - several British papers were puffing it last summer as the drink 'du jour' - but it's not likely to scale the dizzy heights it once achieved. All this means is that Terret is not as widely planted as it once was.

Over the last couple of years I've tasted several examples of Terret as a single varietal. It is crisp and it's also palate-raspingly acidic. And I love it. Proscription - don't drink it without food. Prescription - some sources suggest herb salad or roasted salad as a pairing, but as a seaside wine of high summer, why not simple mussels or other seafood?