Tom Doorley

We are drinking less wine, I’m sorry to report. Overall consumption fell by 2% last year and per capita consumption by 3.6%. Chile is still our favourite country, followed by Australia. Spain beats France into fourth place in our affections, reflecting the fact that the Iberian peninsula is the best value source of wine on the planet at present.

Following the financial crash, red wine overtook white as marginally the preferred colour but this has been reversed and white is once again in the lead by a short head.

I wonder about the psychology behind that. Do people equate red with comfort, white with refreshment? Is there a (misguided) sense that white wine is somehow healthier?

Puzzling as this may be, it’s nothing to the mystery of why so many people say to me: ‘Oh, I never drink white wine.’ That must surely be a very limiting position to take. I mean, I can’t think of any red wine that I’d like to drink with smoked salmon, for example. Or oysters. But horses for courses, of course.

I used to say that at formal dinners white wine with the starter was regarded by some as a form of purgatory until the drinker was assumed into the heaven of red wine. I wonder if that still applies.

I can’t imagine life without white wines. Crisp, dry white wine when the sun is over the yard arm and as you start the evening’s cooking. Citrus-scented, fruity whites that go so well with many spicy dishes. Chablis or Muscadet, or the equivalent, with oysters. A buttery white Burgundy with buttery fish.

Most of us are creatures of habit and we have our go-to wines, red, white and possibly even rosé.

If I’m feeling flush, it’s white Burgundy, serious New World chardonnay, or riesling, ideally dry.

Tell a good sommelier what you like, and ask them to challenge you.

In the meantime, I have some unusual suspects for you...

Is there a sense that white wine is healthier?