£11.99 on offer, waitrosecellar The rocky, arid Saint Chinian appellation in Languedoc is much better known for its red wines, but its whites – just 5% of production – are always worth trying. Witness this captivating example with its late-summer orchard fruit, dried flower and hay aromas and full, yet elegantly mineral, spice-edged palate – a wine bound by energy, texture, structure and freshness. The grape varieties are Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Vermentino and Viognier (40

£12.80/£10.60, Tanners Wines This wonderfully original and delicious dry white is from a family-owned and run organic estate in Corbières that has been in the family since 1750 (I love that kind of continuity). Although it’s in the Corbières region, the wine bears the simple classification Vin de France because it’s made from an array of grape varieties, including several non-traditional: Petit Manseng from southwest France, one of my favourite white grapes, out in front at 3

£11.95, Davy's Portugal isn't as known for its dry white wines, other than Vinho Verde, as it deserves to be. Dão is certainly much more familiar for its reds, but this branco is exactly what I like about Portuguese whites: medium-full and quite succulent with a lip-smacking, almost bracing salty mineral character, juicy lime and herb flavours and a hint of spicy white pepper. The grape varieties are Encruzado, Malvasia and Verdelho and part of the key to the wine's quality a

£14.99 (£12.99 in a 6-bottle mix), Majestic; £16, Booths This is already in my Festive White Wine Guide, but it's an absolute favourite and has reasonable distribution through Majestic, Booths, Berry Bros and a few others, which is useful when last-order dates for Christmas are sailing by. It also gives me the opportunity to say a bit more about it. Why a favourite? It's the combination of floral perfume, citrus, white peach and pear flavours with the textural richness from l

£43 magnum, The Wine Society I was going to put this in my Festive White Wine Guide, which will be out shortly, but have decided it deserves the full-on spotlight here because it's such an impressive and delicious example of rare white Vacqueyras (a blend in this case of Clairette, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc). It's generous and silky textured – sumptuous, even – but with crystalline definition and intensity and flavours that are smoky, floral and peachy. It would be perfect

£6.49, Waitrose and waitrosecellar.com An aromatic dry white from the south of France with the freshness and lusciousness of a perfectly ripe, juicy peach. The components, in descending order, are Viognier, Chardonnay, Vermentino, Mauzac, Muscat and Roussanne, which sounds like a kitchen-sink blend but the wine is far too seamless to be a chance creation or an assembly of leftovers (random and leftovers aren’t producer Benoit Valérie Calvet’s style anyway). It’s unoaked and m