Under £10
Domaine de la Fruitière Chardonnay Sauvignon, Vin de Pays du Val de Loire, France 2010 (£5.99, Waitrose)
Chardonnay and sauvignon blanc – two grape varieties with strong and not necessarily complementary personalities – aren't blended together all that often, but they get along just fine here. This is a graceful and zippily fresh white full of citrus and tropical fruit flavours.
Rocca Vecchia Falanghina, Puglia, Italy 2010 (£5.99, the Co-operative)
Ripe, juicy, clean and with plenty of apple and peachy fruit this well-priced find from the Co-op is a great introduction to the increasingly fashionable southern Italian grape variety falanghina, not to mention a standby Christmas party white with very broad appeal.
Torre de Azevedo Vinho Verde, Portugal 2010 (£6.99, Sainsbury's)
From the people behind the excellent – and equally recommended – Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde, here's another dry, crisp, tangy and lemon-scented foil for any fish dishes you may be serving over the holidays. Relatively light in alcohol, and with tongue-tingling acidity, it's an invigorating tonic of a white wine.
.Com Branco, Tiago Cabaço, Estremoz, Portugal 2009 (£7.50, or £6.95 as part of a case of 12 bottles, Adnams)
One of the most characterful sub-£10 wines I've tasted in a long time, this idiosyncratic blend of local varieties such as roupeiro and anton vaz from Estremoz in the warm Alentejo region of Portugal has the right blend of richness and crispness for the Christmas turkey, both on the big day itself or as leftover cold cuts.
L'Orbois, Mandard, Vin de France 2010 (£7.95, The Wine Society)
Don't be fooled by the lowly Vin de France appellation, this is a quite brilliant, complex and original white from the Touraine region of the Loire, made from the rare orbois grape variety. Attractively smoky and mineral, and with really precise acidity, it's as good as many a pricier Loire chenin blanc.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 12 Year Old Sweet Pedro Ximenez (50cl, Sainsbury's £7.99)
STAR BUY Not exactly a "white" wine – it's the colour of molasses – but a sherry made from white grapes that have been left to dry in the Andalucían sun. So sweet, unctuous and full of dried fruit and nuts it's almost a dessert (liquid Christmas pud) in itself, this is deliciously decadent stuff.
Yalumba Y Series Viognier, South Australia, Australia 2011 (£8.49, Sainsbury's; £8.99 Majestic)
The consistently good family-owned Yalumba winery are specialists in the Rhône variety viognier, and their expertise is certainly evident in this gorgeously rich and headily aromatic wine. Weighty without being clumsy, it's full of viognier's characteristic honeysuckle and tinned apricot flavours.
Blind River Sauvignon Blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand (£9.99, Majestic, reduced from £12.49 until 30 January, 2012)
If, like me, you've grown a little bored of Kiwi sauvignon blanc, here is a vivid reminder of what made the style so popular in the first place. All the characteristic green nettley and gooseberry flavours are present and correct, but in this case they're presented with an irresistible verve, concentration and purity.
Between £10 and £20
Tim Adams Semillon, Clare Valley, Australia 2009 (£11.29, Tesco)
One of Australia's – and Tesco's – most consistently good value wines, this is a very refined and graceful, bone dry white that could be enjoyed now or tucked aside for a few years. Lemon zest and lemon juice, and just a hint of honey, make for a fine and versatile food match, from fish to white meat.
The Foundry Grenache Blanc, Swartland, South Africa 2010 (£12.50, Swig)
STAR BUY Trendy Swartland is home to a disproportionate number of South Africa's most exciting wines, and this is one of the best. It smells and tastes of the warmth of late summer – ripe peaches, melon, apricots, white flowers – but it's textured and beautifully balanced, too. A top white Rhône in all but name (and price).
Château d'Epiré Savennières, Loire, France 2009 (£14.95, Yapp Bros)
White wines for Christmas dinner need to be fairly robust if they are to survive the assault of so many competing rich foods, and few do a better job than top-notch Loire chenin blanc. This is an intensely rich and powerful white, with driving acidity, orchard fruit, and a savoury, slightly chalky edge.
Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis 1er Cru Quintessence Minéral Rive, Burgundy, France 2008 (£15.99, Tesco)
With its classically steely minerality, its slight savoury oatmeal and nutty notes, and its precise citrus fruit and acidity, this is a benchmark chablis from the prolific Jean-Marc Brocard. It also comes at a very reasonable price for a wine from a top "premier cru" site.
De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon, New South Wales, Australia 2008 (37.5cl, £15.99 reduced from £19.99 until 30 January, 2012, Majestic)
A classic Aussie sticky, De Bortoli's Noble One is, like many of the world's best sweet wines, made from grapes that have been affected by a benign form of fungal disease (botrytis or "noble rot"), which give it a distinctly honeyed character. With its exceptionally rich, quince jelly flavours, this is a great match for stilton and fruity desserts.
Darting Estate Scheurebe Eiswein, Pfalz, Germany 2009 (37.5cl, £18, Marks & Spencer)
It takes a particularly hardy winemaker to make an eiswien (or ice wine); the grapes for this example were harvested in December at temperatures of -10C. It was worth it though, for this is stupendously sweet and pure, like vibrant pink grapefruit preserved in candied sugar.
Black Estate Chardonnay, Waipara, New Zealand, 2009 (£18.95, Lea & Sandeman)
If you were looking for evidence that the stylistic gap between the Old and New Worlds has narrowed in recent years, then this would be a prime suspect. A finely balanced, rich, toasty but thrillingly clear and pure chardonnay that, served blind, you'd swear was a top burgundy.
Concha y Toro Maycas del Limarí Quebrada de Seca Chardonnay, Limarí, Chile 2008 (£18.95, slurp.co.uk; £20, The Wine Society; £24.95, Berry Bros & Rudd)
The enormous Concha y Toro is a producer that excels at most price levels – from the basic, ubiquitous Casillero del Diablo range, to this magnificent chardonnay, arguably Chile's best. What makes it so good – and so drinkable –is the tension between fine, citrus zestiness, minerality and rich, nutty, creaminess.
Over £20
Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis, Piedmont, Italy 2010 (£21.17, Armit)
Bruno Giacosa is one of the finest exponents of the arneis variety in Piedmont, and here he's fashioned a wine of fabulous purity, clarity and depth. There's a touch of green herbs and spring blossom, some concentrated white peach and a general air of Italian sophistication.
La Bota de Manzanilla No. 22, Spain (£21.78, The Sampler; £24.99, Uncorked)
Selected and marketed by a group of Spanish sherry enthusiasts, this magnificent dry sherry is something of a cult in fine wine circles, and deservedly so. Concentrated and savoury, it has a bracingly briney, nutty character and a white burgundy-like smoothness of texture.
Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot, Burgundy, France 2007 (£38.95, H2Vin)
STAR BUY Chardonnay winemakers the world over still look to Burgundy as the gold standard of dry white winemaking, and with wines as good as this one, you can understand why. Thrilling, nervous acidity cuts through the concentrated nutty-edged fruit above a deep seam of mineral flavours.
Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel, Joh. Jos Prüm, Mosel, Germany 2009 (£64.69, Corney & Barrow)
From one of the greats of German wine, this sweet riesling is concentrated and explosively vibrant, the marked, racy acidity carrying layers of finely drawn green apple, white flowers, a touch of tropical fruit, and the Prüm hallmark, dancing minerality. Lovely now, but it will age for decades.
