XMAS EVE WHITES

NV Hattingley Valley, Classic Cuvée, Hampshire

(£30, reduced to £24 until 23 January, 19 branches of Waitrose & waitrosecellar.com) THIS is one of my favourite English wineries’ most beautiful wines. The 70 per cent pinot noir, 30 per cent chardonnay blend is treated to a smattering of barrel fermentation which adds gravitas and style. This is a world-class beauty that sits atop my Christmas Eve sparklers. 2016 Clara Hills, Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain (£6.58, Asda) INEXPENSIVE albariño has no right to taste this zesty and invigorating. Spain’s most revered white grape usually needs a few more pounds to get going, but this refreshing beauty ticks all the boxes, including the inexpensive one. Hints of tropical fruit hover over a bone-dry core. A lovely little white for all occasions.

2016 Pinot Grigio, Friuli, Italy

(£8, Marks & Spencer) THERE is a distinct lack of design and certainly no boastful assertions on this label, but you could cover this wine in superlatives because it is a classic pinot grigio, with tangy citrus fruit and a really chic feel throughout the aroma and flavour. If you are after the real thing, with discretion and style, then this is it.

2016 Felsner Moosburgerin, Grüner Veltliner, Niederösterreich, Austria

(£11.99, reduced to £8.99 until December 26, Waitrose) THERE is a delicacy and succulence about this grüner that starts from its gentle pressing in the winery and continues all the way to our glass. Keenly acidic but juicy on the mid-palate, this is a lovely, complex aperitif wine for budding connoisseurs.