With the sun finally out and plenty of spring cleaning and maintenance tasks to be taken on (after which a refreshing beverage is called for), it’s time for rose.

There are an extraordinarily high number of roses available now – many of them very, very good – and this column is in no way comprehensive. There are so many good roses out there that I haven’t tasted, and even some of the very good ones I have tasted are not mentioned below.

(Additionally, my list betrays a European bias that’s not entirely fair, as more New World wine makers embrace the rose genre.)

That’s how bountiful the scene is right now: enough different delicious roses that you could explore from now until September and never grow bored.

These are listed in approximate order of depth, going from pale, ethereal and stony to deep, plush and plunging:

Domaine Poujol 2010, Pays de l’Herault, Languedoc, France, $17 (Nappi) – Really interesting, in that there’s utterly no fruit expression. (The wine is only a couple of weeks off the boat, and so might still be in shock from its journey.) Still, I like it a lot: wet wool at first, stainless-steely. Very bracing, olive-and-garlicky, and mineral-rich. Perfect for someone suffering from White Zin PTSD.

Bieler Pere et Fils 2010, Coteaux de Provenae, France, $10 (Pine State) – Go-to, straight-down-the-line, clear-as-a-bell pink wine. A perennial favorite for those looking for a tip-toeing study in precision and grace.

Jean-Luc Colombo Cape Bleue 2010, Provenae, France. $11 (Pine State) – Classic fine Rhune style. Lovely peach and raspberry perfume, but perfectly dry and Provenaal on the palate, by which I mean herbs, fennel and oil-cured olives. Light-bodied but not thin; rather, integrated.

Saint-Pouraain 2010, Loire, France, $14 (Devenish) – Lotsa lime and graphite, then raspberries and fresh leafy herbs like parsley. Light-bodied, but with a fascinating mucky earthiness that could only come from 100 percent Loire Gamay. The long finish means that after all the refreshment and vivacity, there’s a space opened up for contemplation. Highly recommended.

Mittelbach T 2010, Austria, $14 (Crush) – Zweigelt, with its inherent, pleasurable red-fruit aspects, is such a natural grape for rose, and this is a splendid example. The strawberries are grilled, sprinkled with cinnamon and dolloped with whipped cream – not that there’s a desserty note in here. I swear, summer could not get more fun. Highly recommended.

Gournier 2010, Provenae, France, $10 (SoPo) – A fresh, lively, beautiful dry Provenaal wine. The bright color whets you for the primary explosion of red berry fruits, then make sure you follow the spice and touch of earth at the end. Balanced, easy and primal.

Cortijo 2010, Rioja, Spain, $10 (National) – A 50-50 blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo expresses a potent strawberry nose but none on the palate. Instead, you taste more dried herbs and black pepper, surrounded by soul-satisfying oily fat. A rich wine, though perfectly balanced and with a nice low alcohol level of 12.5 percent. Great with tomatoes and olives.

Librandi Ciru 2010, Calabria, Italy, $12 (National) – The real cherry-lollipop deal at first, like a cannonball splash of fruit, but spectacular acidity throughout preserves its self-esteem, and after that first cherry blast it dips into liqueur and cassis notes. A deep-fruit wine.

Bagordi 2010, Rioja, Spain, $15 (Wicked) – A stunning 100 percent Garnacha Rioja, exceptionally food-friendly (sausages, tacos, salmon) but so gosh-darn gulpable that no food is necessary. The strawberries are like some famous chef’s grilled-strawberry reduction with the molecules rearranged. An earthy, bareback-riding cowboy of a wine. No one’s paying me to make such unoriginal exclamations, but I’ll write it anyway: This is incredibly good. If y’all don’t buy it up, I’ll be drinking it happily in December. Highly recommended.

Villa Gemma Cerasuolo 2009, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, Italy, $16 (National) – Another magic act of sorts, and testament to the complexity roses are capable of as they integrate fruit-filled pleasures with novelistic twists and turns. First, aromas suggest a trip down the dense-fruit path, but soon you find yourself in the land of dried cranberries and toasted walnuts, roasted peppers, a hidden-hand-buzzer of acidity and sundried cedar. Note that 2009 is the current vintage; pink wines this great only gain power with a little age. A salmon steak is the natural accompaniment. Highly recommended. 

Joe Appel works at Rosemont Market. His blog, soulofwine.com, continues the conversation, and he can be reached at: soulofwine.appel@gmail.com