It’s good to see a producer having a bit of fun. This is a skin-macerated Sicilian blend of Inzolia and 20% Zibibbo from the Girelli family that has appealing grip, freshness and intensity, combining flavours of quince, tea leaf and citrus with a touch of sourdough bread and a twist of quinine-like bitterness.
Wine Type: White
2024 Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine OVP Chenin Blanc, Coastal
( £13.50, 13.5%, Sainsbury's )A white that’s made in large volumes – and at a bargain price – this brilliant Chenin Blanc should encourage people to buy more wines from old vines. It’s a beautifully judged, naturally fermented white from Ricardo Cloete, sourced from Durbanville and Stellenbosch. Vanilla-scented thanks to 30% new wood, it has pear, yellow apple and nectarine flavours and zesty, cool-climate acidity.
2024 Domaine du Clos Saint Martin Sancerre, Loire Valley
( £22, 12.5%, Majestic )I don’t buy or drink much Sauvignon Blanc. Too much of it is predictable, running what Dorothy Parker might have termed the gamut of flavours from A to B. And yet when you come across a great one, you realise why it’s a world-class variety. This one from Isabelle and Pierre Clément was one of the highlights of the recent Majestic tasting:  racy, herbal and slightly salty, with layers of citrus, elderflower and wet stones and commendable energy and palate length. Utterly delicious.
2023 Cape Point Fairtrade Sauvignon/Semillon, Western Cape
( £8.35, 12.5%, The Co-operative )It’s good to see a Cape Sauvignon Blanc, blended here with 30% Semillon, with a little bottle age rather than released and drunk within a few months of the vintage.  This is a tangy, very lightly wooded cuvée from the talented Riandri Visser at a very appealing price, with layers of gooseberry, gunflint and lime and an appealing herbal twist.
2024 Zwartwater Estate White, Paardeberg, Swartland
( £24, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Something of a coup for the Wine Society, where buyer Victoria Mason MW is doing exciting things with the retailer’s South African range, this is a new wine from a historic estate on the Paardeberg, now under new ownership as they say in the hotel trade. It’s a brilliant, layered, complex blend of Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne and the Hungarian grape Hárslevelü, with aromas of honeysuckle, fennel and wet stone and a tangy, racy palate of orange zest, pear and pink grapefruit. A wine that looks every bit as good as it tastes.
2024 Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner, Kremstal
( £9.50, 12.5%, Majestic )Winzer Krems is one of the best co-operatives in Europe, especially well known for its great-value Grüner Veltliners. This is a delicious summer white, best sipped by the Danube, but equally delicious wherever you choose to enjoy it. White pepper and bay leaf aromas are complemented by a palate of citrus and  pear and a bitter twist from 18 days of skin contact.
2025 Pike's Traditionale Riesling, Clare Valley
( £13, 11%, Tesco )When the temperatures are as hot as they are in the UK right now, I always reach for a bottle of Riesling from one of the three As (Alsace, Austria and Australia) or Germany. This is a very well-priced, light-bodied example from South Australia’s Clare Valley with lovely jasmine and lime blossom aromas, racy, stony acidity, flavours of kiwi fruit, cardamom and lemon zest and a bone-dry finish.
2024 G de Château Guiraud, Bordeaux
( £18, 12.5%, The Co-op )Some stores may still be on the 2023, but make sure you track down the 2024 because it’s a textbook white Bordeaux at a very reasonable price. Combining Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Sémillon, it’s a fresh, tangy, herbal dry white from Château Guiraud, who also make one of my favourite Sauternes, with subtle toasty oak, flavours of citrus and pink grapefruit and lovely mid-palate texture.
2024 Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay, Margaret River
( £14.50, 12.5%, Majestic )Virginia Willcock makes some of the best value Chardonnays in Australia. This comes form the ocean-influenced Margaret River region and is a wonderful, refreshing, medium-bodied expression  of the variety,  with gentle oak spice and gunflint aromas. layers of citrus, lemongrass and oatmeal and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.
2025 Cantine Volpi Moscato d'Asti, Piemonte
( £7, 5%, Majestic )Moscato d’Asti is one of my guilty secrets, a sweet, mass market wine that I love drinking. Refreshingly light in alcohol at just 5.5%, this is way better than the slew of “no and low” products that are flooding the market right now. Zesty, tangy and wonderfully grapey – there is no other word – this has flavours of pear, cherimoya and tangerine and a nice interplay between acidity and 115 grams of residual sugar.  Perfect for a summer picnic.
2023 Domaine Jones Les Parcelles, Languedoc
( From £16.50, 13%, Booths, Loki Wines )English winemaker Katie Jones  is making some of the most characterful wines in the south of France at the moment,  curating small parcels of old vines to produce really special whites and reds. This assemblage comes from five sites around her home village of Tuchan in the Aude, combining Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc and Muscat. Tangy, herbal and garrigue scented, it has layers of quince, pear and lemon zest, a hint of oak and an appealing bitter twist.
2024 Yealands Reserve Pinot Gris, Marlborough
( £12.50, 13%, Tesco )It’s a a pleasure to taste something from New Zealand that provides a little relief from the lapping oceans of Sauvignon Blanc. This musky, stainless steel fermented Pinot Gris from the talented Natalie Christensen is appealingly dry in style, with notes of pear, lychee, rose petal and cherimoya, plenty of cool climate acidity and a subtle bitter twist.