Carried to the beach in a hamper, packed to preserve the bottle's chill and kept under a peppermint-striped umbrella, this flirtatious coral-pink sweet-and-tart confection ($15) can accompany a lunchtime egg salad or tuna on rye.

Although the wine was made from 2004 cabernet franc grapes, it is presented as nonvintage because it is not a wine for aging, said Charles Massoud, an owner of Paumanok, in Aquebogue.

"I get strawberry, cranberry and red currant flavors," he said. "It would be a good substitute for cranberry jelly with turkey, or better than sangria with spicy foods."

Paumanok's 2002 barrel-fermented chardonnay ($18) is more serious. This light white - buttery and a little nutlike - can go with seared sea scallops and pasta with clam sauce, as well as with chicken and pork.

Mr. Massoud recommends, correctly, that this chardonnay be drunk "more cool than cold."

Vintners love oak barrels for the softness and roundness they impart to chardonnay, but there is a culinary downside: the oaky background reduces the wine's versatility. If East End winemakers removed barrel-fermented chardonnays from their portfolios, I wouldn't shed a tear.

When reared in stainless steel or in old neutral barrels that impart virtually no flavor and little texture, chardonnay retains far more fruit, zip and immediate upfront appeal, and is far more adaptable at the table, like Chablis.

That's why I prefer Paumanok's 2004 Festival chardonnay ($12) to the barrel-processed version. It's light, smooth, spicy and crisp as newly picked green apples.

At dinner, if you're serving grilled chicken or beef dishes, then Paumanok's 2002 cabernet franc, made more in the light Loire style than in the weighty Bordeaux style, can come into play. The $25 price matches the seriousness of the wine.

"It is a great match with lighter meats such as rabbit or pork chops, or even a rare tuna steak," Mr. Massoud said.

Ideally, this cabernet franc (a cousin of cabernet sauvignon) ought to be decanted four to five hours in advance. The aeration works wonders on its spiciness and earthiness, its berry flavors and its notes of licorice and hints of herbs.

Paumanok has a way with sauvignon blanc, especially in dessert wines. Its 2002 late-harvest sauvignon ($39 for a 375-milliliter bottle) is virtually a glass of honey.

"It reminds me of exotic fruit such as litchi, guava, quince and mango and a touch of honey," Mr. Massoud said. "We like to feature this wine in a way that surprises people: we like to serve it with a blue cheese like Stilton or Gorgonzola."

A result, he said, is "an explosion of flavors."

Sales of rosé wine have risen by a quarter this summer, it is claimed

The variety, once derided for its sweetness, is leading growth in wine sales and now accounts for one in every 10 bottles sold in Britain, experts believe.

Melissa Draycott, Sainsbury's senior wine buyer, said: "Over the last year we have seen a rising interest in crisp, dry roses with some varieties experiencing a sales increase of 100 per cent as traditional red and white wine drinkers look to try something new.

Rosé from the US is most popular among Britons with 52 per cent of total sales.

French varieties have a 10 per cent shares of the market, followed by Italy (nine per cent), Australia (7 per cent) and Portugal (5 per cent).

Miss Draycott said: "Drier varieties such as grenache and zinfandel show no signs of a decline.

"However, these new, drier roses are helping a rose renaissance gather pace with still stronger sales forecast next year.