The wine writer, Hugh Johnson, once made the memorable (and sobering) remark that if you drink wine to quench your thirst, your relationship with the fruit of the vine is probably “unhealthy”. Note that he was speaking only of wine: presumably an ice-cold beer in a heatwave is permissible. But whether or not by the time you are reading this a predicted second heatwave has materialised, in the UK at least, last month’s highest-ever recorded temperatures and the present warmest-ever summer raise questions, some old, some new, about wine drinking in extreme heat.

From one point of view, the wines that hit the spot in a heatwave are obvious: chilled whites with high acidity, full fruit but lower alcohol; ever popular and increasingly sophisticated rosés; Portuguese Vinho Verde, usually no more than 10 per cent and rarely costing more than £6 to £7; Riesling or other light Alsatian whites all spring to mind.