Best White Wine For Every Occasion, From Dinner Parties To Christmas Celebrations

Australian chardonnay has, until now, often been associated with the heavily oaked styles that have put some off this grape altogether. However, this vintage is pure elegance.

It’s had nine months in French oak, which gives it a more subtle smoke, along with buttery brioche, clean lemon zest and some tropical fruit. We’ll be investing in a case for party season.

The vast Penfold's portfolio features wines for every occasion, including investment reds.

For a more everyday option, this chardonnay (named after winemaker Max Schubert), is deliciously approachable, crisp and dry. Ideal with comforting dishes from creamy chicken through to crème brulée, it displays stone fruit and tropical pineapple, with a subtle spritz on the finish.

LVMH-owned Cloudy Bay is more often associated with top-notch sauvignon blanc, but this savoury chardonnay is equally outstanding.

Testers raved about the freshly cut stone fruit, ripe apple and lemon curd notes, which is complemented by buttery pastry and cream flavours. Incredibly versatile, we’d pair with everything from dim sum to guac-topped veggie tacos.

Rich and complex, this South African white is from one of the country’s finest vineyards. With ripe peach and softer honeyed notes developing in every sip, it’s the type of wine to convert even the most vehement of chardonnay nay-sayers.

Well-balanced and elegant, with a finish you won’t forget in a hurry, we’d pair with garlicky mushrooms.

Nuptials on the horizon? Deciding which wine to serve on your big day can be a complex task. You’ll want something crowd-pleasing, yet memorable. A wine versatile enough to go with both the meat and veggie mains, while coming in under budget.

Well, call off the search because we’ve found it. Part of Majestic’s Definition range — which aims to highlight the world’s best grapes at a great price — this chardonnay from Limoux is a bit of a hidden gem. Expect a combination of ripe peach, light vanilla oak and a robust texture.

We couldn’t test chardonnay without bringing you a great value chablis. Expressing a citrus-flecked nose and lingering minerality, this fresh, structured white is ideal with gougères and oysters, making it an excellent aperitif alternative to champagne.

The Neveu name carries a lot of weight in the Loire – and with good reason. The chalky soils create a vibrant, citrus-forward sauvignon that makes this Sancerre the perfect sparring partner for salty-sweet dishes (goat’s cheese and shallot galette, anyone?).

This is an excellent example of a Pouilly Fumé; well balanced, it opens with bags of crisp gooseberry and green apple, while that tell-tale smoky ‘gunflint’ lingers on in the background.

The indulgent, almost butter-soft mouthfeel makes it a worthy choice for pairing with your Christmas cheeseboard.

Made using a blend of indigenous assyrtiko and sauvignon blanc grapes, this zesty Greek sipper is as refreshing as a long, sun-dappled lunch with friends. Flavour-wise, you can expect candied lemon, gooseberry, quince and a hint of grass to bring balance.

Oysters on the agenda? We can’t think of a better match for shellfish than this sprightly sancerre. Light and dry, you can expect refreshing white peach, citrus and an elegant floral note.

With impressive minerality and a savoury palate at play (think: green bell pepper, green mango, cut herbs, citrus peel), this South African sauvignon is the bottle to make a beeline for when you’re making a special occasion seafood pasta – though the racy acidity makes it a dreamy aperitif, too.

If you prefer warmer, more tropical notes in your sauvignon blanc, this new world wine from New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region, should appeal.

The acidity is a little more restrained than you’d typically find in a Marlborough, allowing the orange, passionfruit and mango to come to the fore. Enjoy with the spiciest Thai dish on the menu.

With vineyards in some of the best spots of the Loire, this wine is a true reflection of the terroir. You can expect an expressive palate, with notes of lemongrass, flint and lashings of minerality.

It’s another excellent pairing for spicy food, or alternatively, goat's cheese. Take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before pouring, as serving this too cold will suppress its ‘story’.

You didn’t think we’d forgotten about Marlborough, did you? Although the Rothschild name is bigger in Bordeaux, the winemaker was so smitten with sauvignon blanc, he couldn’t resist making his own.

This perfectly fresh example stood out in our expert tasting for its pronounced lemon, gooseberry and grapefruit flavours.

Making the most of South Africa’s regional diversity, the grapes for this wine are taken from plots across the Western Cape. With a pronounced aroma of lemon, grapefruit, freshly cut grass and green tea, it’s an exciting but well-balanced example.

Testers felt that its refreshing lemon acidity would make this a great match with food — particularly ceviche, or pan-fried seabass — rather than a standalone wine.

Key specifications
Region: South Africa
12% ABV