This is a longer version of an article also published in the Financial Times.
Reducing an annual tasting rate of far too close to 10,000 wines to a selection of good buys for the entertaining season is never easy but I have deliberately concentrated on those wines that are drinking well now. Even more red wines follow next Saturday, and then sparkling wine/champagne on 12 Dec, with recommended strong and sweet wines on 19 Dec. For more stockists, especially outside the UK, see www.wine-searcher.com. Many of the smaller retailers have minimum orders of a dozen mixed bottles and are likely to charge additionally for delivery.
Vignerons de Buxy, Sainsbury's 2008 Bourgogne Blanc15.5 Drink 2009
Nice top note of ripe-apple juice and very juicy fruit on the palate. Tastes as though you should grab it this minute but it certainly has nothing to object to and is truly burgundian rather than New World. The red at the same price is also good value. 12.5%
£5.69 Sainsbury's 543 stores
Falua, Tagus Creek Fernão Pires/Arinto 2008 Ribatejo 15 Drink 2009-10
Arinto and Fernão Pires grown on sand give an immediate sense of Portugal with a nutty, citrus aroma. Almost dry, with cedary freshness but perhaps just slightly too sweet on the finish for some. 12.5%
£5.99 Waitrose Wine Direct and 191 stores
Sainsbury's, Taste the Difference 2008 Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie 16 Drink 2009-10
From Dom Jean Douillard in the new, featherlight but strong 280g bottle. Very respectable wine that tastes artisanal rather than commercial. Quite open already. A useful house white for purists. 12%
£5.99 Sainsbury's 389 stores
Laudun & Chusclan, Réserve de la Saurine 2008 Vin de Pays du Gard 15.5 Drink 2009
Grenache Blanc with 30% Clairette from the Languedoc. Cool and fresh without an enormous amount of character but good sugar/acid balance. Very clean and different from the usual run of Sauvignons and Chardonnays. 13.5%
£5.99 M&S most stores
Three Vintners Riesling 2008 Rheinhessen 15.5 Drink 2009-10
Off dry, lightly peachy and very correct, clever blend assembled by top young producers Stefan Winter, Jochen Dreissigacker and Philipp Wittmann. 12%
£9.99 Somerfield and Co-op but £5.99 (a steal) over Christmas at the Co-op
La Riojana, Tilimuqui Single Vineyard Torrontés 2009 La Rioja 16 Drink 2009-10
Fairtrade wine from Argentina's signature white grape. Deliciously aromatic floral Torrontés aromas. Unmistakable. Equally true to the variety on the palate, crisp, floral and grapey. 12.5%
£6.29 Waitrose Wine Direct and 196 stores
Matthias Gaul, Mineralstein Riesling 2008 Deutscher Tafelwein 16 Drink 2009-11
Some real probity and slate-grown Riesling character here, and at a very fair price. Lovely crunchy apple juice and a great smooth texture. Off dry. This could happily be drunk with or without food. Very pure and cleansing. 11.5%
£6.99 M&S 200 stores
Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Western Cape 16 Drink 2009-19
Big, beefy, dry, meaty. Good stuff from Malmesbury, Wellington, Robertson and Franschhoek in South Africa. 12.5%
£6.99 Sainsbury's 504 stores
Tesco 2008 Chablis 16 Drink 2009-10
Correct and discreetly labelled example from the Chablis co-op. Even without any of the discounts expected over Christmas, Tesco's buying power assures a keen price. 12.5%
£7.48 Tesco
Ch Bel Air 2008 Bordeaux 15.5 Drink 2009-10
This Despagne wine is full of New World pungency and fruit. Bel Air Peroncher is the full name. 12%
£7.95 Wine Society
Knappstein, Asda Extra Special Riesling 2007 Clare Valley 16.5+ Drink 2009-11
Petrol, lime, honey, marmalade, spice – impressive – and only just off dry. Opulent perfume. 12.5%
£7.98 Asda
Dom Wachau, The Terraces Grüner Veltliner 2008 Wachau 16.5 Drink 2009-10
Attractive herbal and citrus purity with a dash of white pepper. Fragrant, dry-tasting and absolute benchmark example of Austria's signature grape variety. Well done! 12%
£7.99 Waitrose Wine Direct and 216 stores
Gayda, T'Air d'Oc Chardonnay 2008 Vin de Pays d'Oc 16.5 Drink 2009-11
Rich with bottom depth yet racy and appley and really nicely balanced. Great beginning, middle and end. Limoux fruit, I assume. 13.2%
£7-8 Cambridge Wine Merchants, Field & Fawcett, Wadebridge Wines, Wimbledon Wine Cellar, Vine King
Filipa Pato, Bossa 2008 Bairrada 16 Drink 2009-10
Super-fresh wine made from the northern Portuguese grape Maria Gomez fashioned by the daughter of local wine guru Luis Pato. We are urged, on the label, to drink it and dance. Should be smoother next year. 12.5%
£8 Jeroboams
Montrichard, Les Demoiselles 2008 Sauvignon de Touraine 17 Drink 2009
Very good fruit. Great stuff! Rich, white-currant fruit. Much better value than most wines from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.
£8.50 Philglas & Swiggot, Eton Vintners
Diemersdal Chardonnay 2008 Durbanville 16.5 Drink 2009-11
Leesy correct nose – just a whisper away from white burgundy. Only very slightly sweeter and with lots and lots to chew on. Great value.
£8.95 Jeroboams
Verus Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Stajerska Slovenija 17 Drink 2009-10
Lovely clean fruit – so pure and bumptious and attention grabbing! Reminds me a little of a Styrian from Austria, except for the price. Like an explosion of ripe berries in the mouth. Great balance and zip. Talk about a summer wine. 12% The grapey Muskateller, same price and stockist, is wonderfully exuberant too. Much better value than most Alsace Muscats. 12.5%
£8.99 The Real Wine Co
Ch d'Anglès 2006 Coteaux du Languedoc 16.5+ Drink 2008-10
White varieites Bourboulenc, Grenache and Marsanne make a wonderfully zesty but full, mature wine. Marine, complete, super rich. 14%
£8.99 Hanging Ditch Wine of Manchester and Essentially Wine of Chipstead and Richmond
A A Badenhorst, Secateurs Chenin Blanc 2009 Swartland 17 Drink 2009-11
A fabulous Cape bargain. Very fresh, floral and honeyed with masses of intensity and flavour (presumably because of the age of the vines) but with a satisfyingly dry finish. 14%
£8.99 Handford
Tabalí, Reserva Especial Chardonnay 2007 Limarí Valley 17 Drink 2009
Very smart, if exotic and rather plump, Chardonnay from yet another newish Chilean region that is fast establishing a track record for this variety. Persistent. 14%
£9.50 Stone, Vine & Sun
Ch Les Clauzots 2008 Graves 16.5 Drink 2009-11
Stinky Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc that is lively with lots of character. Racy and zesty; I enjoyed this more than Caillou Blanc de Ch Talbot at £28.95. Just 12%.
£9.95 Jeroboams
Yalumba Viognier 2008 Eden Valley 16.5 Drink 2009-11
From Australia's pioneer of the Condrieu grape. Excellent value. Full, aromatic but not overblown. 14%
£9.99 Waitrose Wine Direct and 214 stores
Dom Gibault, Daniel Merlet 2008 Sauvignon de Touraine 17 2008-early 2010
Delicious! Rich and scrumptious. Yet with lots of acidity and freshness. Definitely ready to drink but gloriously opulent, like a Blossom Dearie laced into corsets. Long. 12.5%
£9.99 Novum
O Fournier, Centauri Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Leyda Valley 17 Drink 2009-10
Cool, fresh, very mineral on the nose, from a new Chilean coastal region. Sleek and pretty – very succulent too. Restrained with attractively natural acidity. Real verve. The 2007 is fine though not quite as exciting. 13.5%
About £10 Great Grog, Palmers of Bridport, Worth Bros of Lichfield
Hatzidikis Assyrtiko 2008 Santorini 16.5 Drink 2009-10
This beautiful Greek island's treasure, the Assyrtiko grape, with 5% each of Athiri and Aidini. Serious, racy, very firm backbone.
£10.50 Waitrose
Spy Valley Gewurztraminer 2007 Marlborough 16.5 Drink 2009-10
Unusually fine, dense, well-balanced example of this super-aromatic grape. Finishes dry and NZ's trademark acidity keeps it zesty. Drink with Thai food?
£10.75 Bibendum Wine
Clos St-Germain 2005 Bourgogne 16 Drink 2010-12
The oak on the nose would be rather too obvious for most palates but this is great value for a four-year-old white burgundy. Slightly oily at first then it tightens up considerably. Not quite integrated yet but most unusual.
£10.95 Jeroboams
Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Elgin 17 Drink 2009-10
Screwcap. Citrus and nettles and finely floral from one of South Africa's coolest regions. Crisp, dry, fresh and fragrantly long. Intense but still subtle. 13.5%
£10.99 Majestic (2 for £7.99 each)
Dr Bürklin-Wolf Riesling trocken 2008 Pfalz 16.5 Drink 2010-13
Wonderful spine and purity. Bone dry and very dense. Biodynamic viticulture. Even slightly austere, and only just ready to drink. 12%
£11.50 Jeroboams
Stefan Winter Riesling trocken 2008 Rheinhessen 17 Drink 2009-11
Great concentration and nerve. Only just off dry. Long and very neat and superior.
£11.50 Swig
Peter Lehmann, Wigan Riesling 2003 Eden Valley 16.5 Drink 2006-11
Unusually mature, aromatic dry white from one of Australia's prime Riesling regions and a much-decorated producer.
£11.95 Noel Young, Australian Wines Online
Verget, Le Clos St-Pierre 2006 Mâcon-Charnay 17 Drink 2009-12
Sweet, nutty, citrus flavours. Intensely creamy and rich on the palate but still fresh. Some orange-peel notes. Southern burgundy full of flavour and depth. 13%
£12.95 Lea & Sandeman
Larry Cherubino, The Yard Riesling 2008 Great Southern 17.5 Drink 2010-17
Super-tingling, bone dry Riesling from the cooler reaches of Western Australia and a super-celebrated winemaker just setting out on his own. 12%
£11.99 Novum
Shaw and Smith Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Adelaide Hills 17 Drink 2009-10
Screwcap. Green pea and ripe green fig aromas from Australia's Sauvignon pioneer. Long, fresh, minerally and showing cool-climate restraint. 13%
£11.99 Majestic (2 for £9.99 each)
Luisa Friulano 2008 Friuli 17- Drink 2009-11
The new name for Tocai Friulano from north-east Italy. Savoury, dense and nutty with a fine grainy texture and still fresh. Really intense and long though the alcohol sticks out a bit. 14.36%
£11.99 Waitrose Wine Direct and 214 stores
Sybille Kuntz, Estate Riesling trocken 2007 Mosel 17 Drink 2009-14
Lovely perfume – very pure and direct. Floral. Dry and intense, flint, lime sours, crisp and charming. 12.5%
About £12 Luvians, Corks of Cotham, Hanging Ditch, Winearray
Te Mata, Woodthorpe Chardonnay 2008 Hawke's Bay 17 Drink 2010-16
Screwcap. Smoky, oaky nose. Intense, slightly oily citrus. Rich, dense but refined New Zealand Chardonnay. 14%
£12.49 Majestic (or 2 for £9.99 each)
Umathum Traminer 2008 Burgenland 17 Drink 2009-12
Pungent and correct with very flattering rose petals and real concentration and nerve. Very good! 13.5%
£12.50 Huntsworth Wine Company, £13.43 Winebear.com, £13.50 Cambridge Wine
Dom d'Arfeuille, L'Originelle Blanc 2008 Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes 17 Drink 2009-12
Local Macabeu grapes yield extraordinary vivacity. Schist and life. Real punch; very young and tangy. Silky, toasty, long.
£12.99 Last Drop Wines of London SW10, £13.45 Halifax Wines
Casa Silva, Cool Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Colchagua Valley 16.5+ Drink 2009-11
From Paredones, the new cool wine region where Colchagua meets the Pacific. Very cool and coastal indeed with smoky mineral notes. Watch out Pouilly-Fumé. 13.5%
£12.95 Averys
Dönnhoff, Riesling Kabinett 2008 Nahe 17 Drink 2009-12
German classic. Beautifully mineral nose. Soft and fruity but crisp. Lithe and so expressive even this young. Delicate but long. Lovely balance. 8.5%
£12.99 Majestic
Mullineux, White 2008 Swartland 17 Drink 2009-12
Extremely tangy but deep and satisfying and wild. Very special wine. Firm and bone dry with lots of honey and interest tucked in there. Exceptional. New South African producer to watch. 13.5%
£13.50 Hand Picked Burgundy, £13.95 Berry Bros, and try Jeroboams, Swig
Josmeyer, Le Kottabé Riesling 2007 Alsace 17 Drink 2009-12
Top-quality effort from one of Alsace's stars. Biodynamic.
£13.75 The French Wine People, £15.19 Waitrose Wine Direct. Try also Haynes Hanson & Clark
Adega dos Eidos, Eidos de Padriñán Albariño 2007 Rías Baixas 17 Drink 2009-10
Fragrant, creamy citrus and apricot. Intense orange/apricot flavours – full-blown but still fresh Albariño. Long and intense. 13%
£14.75 Lea & Sandeman
Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards, TMV White 2008 Coastal Region 17 Drink 2010-12
Subtle, dense and really exciting. Honey, depth and still a little bit of astringency.
£13.95 Uncorked, Ballantynes, Caviste, Bluebird Wine Shop. Cornelius Beer & Wine, Delilah
High toned. Lively with excellent, well-integrated acidity. One of the more refreshing wines – would make a good aperitif, unusually for this heady, perfumed grape. Very long. 13%
£14-15 Huntsworth Wine Company, Slurp.co.uk, Cambridge Wine
I Clivi, Brazan 2005 Collio 17 Drink 2009-11
Made from (Tocai) Friulano. Dense, rich, but also minerally with a fine apricot kernel bitterness to add freshness to that rich fruit. Concentrated and still scented on the mid palate. Delicious.
£14.75 Lea & Sandeman
Guerrieri Rizzardi, Costeggiola 2007 Soave 16.5 Drink 2008-10
Lovely tangy, rich stuff. Dry, dense, subtle – not remotely like bog-standard Soave. 12.5%
£14.50 Fortnum & Mason
Crawford River Riesling 2004 Henty 16.5 Drink 2009-11
Steely, driven, evolved and bright as a button with citrus fruit and soaring perfume from a cool corner of Victoria, Australia.
About £15.49 Wine Library, £16.25 Harvey Nichols Wine Library
Sequillo 2007 Swartland 17 Drink 2009-14
Pale honey colour. Tang and life and energy. The sort of wine that inspires you to think of food matches. Really serious. Great value. 14%
£15.50 Wine Society
Waterkloof Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Stellenbosch 17 Drink 2009-12
A third of this wine from British wine merchant Paul Boutinot's Cape operation was aged in old demi-muids casks and this is certainly a very, very distinctive style of Sauvignon – quite funky and dense and for the long haul. More complex than Marlborough. Very juicy and very racy. Really very fine. 14%. The Circumstance Chenin Blanc 2008 in the same range is also very good.
£15.95 Amps
Dom Ganevat Chardonnay 2007 Côtes du Jura 17 Drink 2009-13
Postively fizzing with wildlife. Slightly cidery but with masses of potential as well as reverberantly Jurassic charm. Only 13% and very vivacious and eloquent. Wax seal alert.
£15.99 Caves de Pyrène
Dom Chevalier Père et Fils, Bois des Gréchons 2008 Ladoix 17 Drink 2009-11
Smoky and attractively reductive nose and palate. Restrained, tight, citrussy white burgundy. Very youthful. Good concentration and persistence. 13%
£15.99 Majestic
Cordier 2008 Pouilly-Fuissé 17 Drink 2009-11
Subtle, mealy nutty aromas, mineral and some underlying citrus. Dry and zesty, well-judged oak. Firm and pretty good length, lovely refreshing finish from southern Burgundy. 13.5%
£15.99 Majestic
Domäne Wachau, Achleiten Grüner Veltliner Smaragd 2008 Wachau 17 Drink 2010-14
Very bright and fresh. Mouthfilling, crystalline.
£15.99 Waitrose, Planet of the Grapes
Gaia, Wild Ferment Assyrtiko 2008 Santorini 17.5 Drink 2009-11
Super steely, concentrated, bone-dry essence of this volcanic island in the Aegean, although I'd prefer a screwcap to the black plastic stopper.
£16 Novum Wines
Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin, Vaillons Premier Cru 2007 Chablis 17 Drink 2009-14
Lovely purity with green fruit flavours. Chardonnay at its most appetising, juicy and racy. So easy to love already,
£16.39 Domaine Direct
Polz, Therese Erste Lage Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Südsteiermark 17 Drink 2009-10
Really exciting Austrian. Rich and yet with enough acidity. Very powerful and intense and electric. Like a first night in Manhattan? 14%
£16.95 Winebear.com, £17.20 Theatre of Wine, £17.50 Cambridge Wine, £19.50 (halves £12.50) Fortnum & Mason
Pyramid Valley, Hille Vineyard Semillon 2007 Marlborough 16.5 Drink 2009-12
From an exciting new artisan producer in NZ's South Island. Fresh and bracing example of Sauternes' signature grape vinified dry and racy. Very distinctive.
£17.50 Swig
Dom Cordier Père et Fils, Cuvée Première 2007 Pouilly-Fuissé 17 Drink 2009-12
Very rich, bright, lemony, creamy from southern Burgundy. Not too fat but very rewarding. Luscious but dry.
£17.83 Domaine Direct
Au Bon Climat, Bien Nacido Chardonnay 2006 Santa Maria Valley 17.5 Drink 2009-15
Apricots and cream, delicious. Worth every penny. Has the ripeness of California with the finesse of burgundy. You could also cellar this. 13.5%
£19.99 Majestic
Maycas del Limarí, Quebrada Seca Chardonnay 2007 Limarí Valley 17 Drink 2010-13
Exciting wine grown within just 4 km of Chile's Pacific coast. Very clean and fresh yet subtle with a dry finish and really rather burgundian.
£20 The Wine Society
Amayna, Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Leyda 17 Drink 2009-12
Quite rich and opulent. Lots there! Very ambitious, long and interesting. The oak is very subdued. Long and pretty impressive.
£20.99 Oddbins, Woodwinters
Dom Vincent Girardin, Les Gravières Premier Cru 2005 Santenay 16.5 Drink 2009-11
Good-value white burgundy with attractive smoked-meat aromas. Attractive earthy quality with length and maturity. 13.5%
£21.49 Wine Library
Dario Princic Pinot Grigio 2006 IGT Venezia Giulia17 Drink 2008-10
The oddest Pinot Grigio you are ever likely to taste. Very pale rose red, from PG's pink skins. Rich almond-paste nose, as though the wine is going to be a bit sweet but in fact it is bone dry – if anything a little low in acidity and high in tannin, like an old-style German Pinot Noir (a relative after all). Fascinating and very long, this worms its way into your affections. 13.5%
£26.16 Caves de Pyrène
Schloss Gobelsburg, Lamm Grüner Veltliner 2008 Kamptal 17.5 Drink 2009-15
Racy, creamy, flirtatious example of Austria's peppery signature grape. Already enjoyable but there are considerable hidden depths too. 13.5%
£27.29 Winebear.com, £29 Noel Young, £30 Cambridge Wine, £31.50 Philglas and Swiggot, £32 Berry Bros
Dom Huet, Le Mont Demi-Sec 2008 Vouvray17.5 Drink 2009-20
Very exciting biodynamically grown jewel of the Loire that would be delicious with creamily sauced fish. The 1945 from Huet's Haut Lieu vineyard is still going very strong too.
About £27 Berry Bros, Bibendum Wine, Raeburn
Ch Malartic Lagravière 2007 Pessac-Léognan 17 Drink 2009-13
Top-quality example of increasingly fashionable dry white bordeaux. Fine, pure, creamy lemon zest. Tight and with fine freshness on the palate. Dry, linear and long.
£28 Lay & Wheeler, also Bordeaux Index
JL Chave Sélection, Blanche 2006 Hermitage 17 Drink 2009-12
Revitalising perfume – and then lovely rich palate with hints of lemon and eucalyptus. Really interesting and unusual. A little racier than the 2005.
£34.95 Berry Bros
Hirtzberger, Hochrain Riesling Smaragd 2008 Wachau 17.5 Drink 2009-15
Pungent nose with rich, green leafy aromas with big impact. Lots of acidity and minerality. Bone dry and reminiscent of Heymann-Lowenstein in the Lower Mosel. 13%
£38-9 Berry Bros, Philglass & Swiggot, Noel Young
Dom Jean-Noël Gagnard, Chaumées Premier Cru 2004 Puligny-Montrachet17 Drink 2008-11
Well mannered and fully evolved already. Quite savoury. Pretty good. Fills the palate with a hint of marzipan. Satisfying. 13.5%
£39 Wine Society
Dom Fontaine-Gagnard, Le Grand Montagne Premier Cru 2007 Chassagne-Montrachet 17+ Drink 2009-14
Very exciting white burgundy that has almost grand cru concentration. 13.5%
£39 Woodwinters
Sadie Family, Palladius 2007/8 Swartland 17.5 Drink 2010-15
Both vintages of this are exceptional. Full, lively and tangy with almost bitter-lemon-like zing. Seems packed with the scent of wild flowers. Racy yet rich. Still quite youthful. Should develop into something pretty exciting. 14.5%
£40 Berry Bros & Rudd, Bowland Forest Vintners, Butlers Wine Cellar, Cape Wine and Food, Swig, Whistle Wines
Dom Bernard Morey, Les Embrazées Premier Cru 2004 Chassagne-Montrachet 17.5 Drink 2007-11
Pure, subtle but satisfying white burgundy at the peak of its powers. Magnums are great for large numbers.
About £85 a magnum Four Walls Wine Co (equivalent to £42.50 a bottle)
Dom Darviot-Perrin, Le Tesson 2006 Meursault 17.5 Drink 2009-13
A rich, round start, great texture and then silky fresh and racy. Really very good indeed. Satisfying and complete.
£46 Jeroboams
Neyret-Gachet 2005/6 Château-Grillet 17.5 Drink 2009-12
This famous property just south of Condrieu is really back on track. Intense orangey apricot nose. Very pure Viognier character. Creamy from the use of older oak. Fine purity. Fresh and long. Archetypal. The 2006 is also amazing. 13%
£55 Yapp Bros
Dom Bonneau de Martray 2003 Corton-Charlemagne 17+ Drink 2009-13
For those who like a grand cru white burgundy with real oomph. The heatwave vintage yielded mass rather than subtlety but this is quite ready to enjoy, in much the same way as rich, buttered toast. 13.5%
£69.79 Corney & Barrow