2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Floresta, Viña Santa Rita, Leyda Valley, Chile £8.99, Waitrose

You need cool conditions to produce good Sauvignon Blanc, and Chile is planting more and more on coastal land. The Leyda Valley is about as close as you can get to the coast and this wine tingles on your tongue.

2006 Semillon, Steenberg, Constantia, South Africa £9.99, Waitrose

Wow, those guys at Steenberg are good. Other trendy Cape wineries rise and fall but Steenberg stokes its fire every single vintage. This Semillon is another star - fermented in oak barrels to impart a little vanilla spice.

2006 Chablis, Domaine Servin, Burgundy, France £8.99, Majestic

Ah, what a delight. The calm, cool voice of reason - a lightly chilled, bone dry, well-mannered wine. It's soft, but has lovely fluffy apple fruit, the acidity of ripe lemon peel and a cool undertow. Mmm.

2006 Chardonnay, Twin Wells, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia £7.99, Marks & Spencer

Hunter Valley Chardonnays were the first to become famous here, but we'd find them pretty yellow and oily nowadays. Modern Hunter Chardonnays like this are far better balanced.

2006 Pinot Gris, Finca Las Higueras, Lurton, Mendoza, Argentina £5.99, Waitrose

The Lurtons are winemakers from Bordeaux, but they make extremely good wine all over the world. Their vineyard in Argentina makes Pinot Gris with real flavour. This would also make a light lunch white.

2005 Bourgogne Chardonnay, Domaine du Pavillon, Burgundy, France £9.99, Oddbins

This one comes from a single vineyard on the outskirts of Meursault village, some of whose vines are in the Meursault appellation. So you get a very attractive 'almost Meursault' for less than half price.

2006 Cuvée de Richard, Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan, South-West France £3.39, Majestic

This is snappy, sharp, but not raw, with lots of grapefruit zest, apple peel and fresh citrus juice acidity.

2006 La Basca Uvas Blancas, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León, Spain £5.49, M&S

Telmo Rodríguez is one of Spain's hottest young winemakers, and it's fantastic to see M&S hitching up with guys of such talent. This is a dry wine full of spanking fresh sharp fruit.

2006 Viognier, Trivento, Mendoza, Argentina £4.99, Waitrose

This is made in Argentina by Chile's biggest wine producer, Concha y Toro. They've planted hundreds of acres in Argentina's best valleys, and this is fresh and bright, not at all complicated, but exceedingly drinkable.

2006 Semillon, Peter Lehmann, Barossa Valley, South Australia £5.49, Tesco

If you like the idea of a bone-dry wine, which combines the scent of fresh leather with the richness of orange custard, the crunchiness of apple and the searing essential oil acidity of lemon zest, then this is a must.

2006 Bordeaux, Chateaux's Selection (Benoit Calvet), Sauvignon-Semillon, France £2.99, Aldi

Citrus, dry white wine at a very good price. Lemon and grapefruit zest blending cheerily with apple and melon fruit and a hint of nutty yeast to soften it.

2005 Chardonnay Reserve, Bushland (Hope Estate), Hunter Valley, Australia £3.99, Aldi

Real, serious, deep Chardonnay from one of Australia's most expensive regions - and check out the price! It's not sleek and modern, but it's packed with fat peach fruit and nut syrup.

2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Excelsior Estate, Robertson, South Africa £4.29, Waitrose

South Africa is making a lot of good Sauvignon Blanc now. The Excelsior Estate is biodynamically farmed and I'm not surprised at the green apple peel and nettle leaf freshness of this wine.

2006 Viognier La Baume, Winemakers Selection, Languedoc-Rouissillon, France £5.50, Waitrose

This has such a lovely, rich, spicy quality I thought it had been aged in new oak barrels, but no oak - the exotic heady spice comes from the grape.

2005 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico, Moncaro, Marche, Italy £3.99, Waitrose

Good, full, direct, tasty Italian white. It hasn't got all kinds of complex flavours, but you do get that fluffy soft flesh of a ripe apple and the sharp crunch of peel, a hint of lemon and a smear of cream.

2006 Cheverny, Le Vieux Clos, Delaille, Loire Valley, France £6.49, Majestic

What a delightful surprise. This is 85% Sauvignon and 15% Chardonnay from one of the lesser byways of the Loire Valley. But it's delicious. It's aggressive, but that's exactly what most boring modern Loire whites lack.

2006 Albariño, Rías Baíxas, Val do Sosego (Bodegas As Laxas), Galicia, Spain £7.99, Oddbins

White from Spain's cool, wet north-west, where the Atlantic storms dump more rain than in Manchester. Thankfully it's hotter than Manchester, so grapes can ripen. This is slightly chubby with pears and white peach.

2006 Ribatejo, Portal da A'guia, Portugal £4.99, Oddbins

Portugal isn't just about reds - it does good, individual whites as well from grape varieties unheard of anywhere else. This has white peach, melon and pear flesh juiciness, and zesty grapefruit pith.

2006 Grüner Veltliner, Obere Steigen, Huber, Traisental, Austria £8.99, Oddbins

Many Grüner Veltliners are marked out by a strong flavour of white pepper. This one is a little riper and softer and has a little grapefruit pith sharpness but is mostly juicy and fat.

2006 Hungarian Pinot Grigio, Hilltop Neszmely £4.29, M&S

Hungarian Pinto Gris is fantastically good. This is quite dry, and has an utterly charming flavour of honeydew melon and boiled lemons.

· Taken from Oz Clarke's 101 Best White and Rose Wines (Pavillion, £4.99)