“If there was any magic in this world that was not magic, it was wine.”

Lev Grossman

None of us like to admit to exercising double standards, but have a ponder about your attitude to Italian white wines and then think again.

How many of you, like myself have enjoyed really good quality whites on holiday but then reverted back to your normal aversion to them once you get home?

For most of us, Italian whites are three for a tenner specials that you take to the party you didn't really want to go to. They rarely get consumed in our own houses and it's such a shame.

Mind you, the Italian wine industry is largely to blame for flooding the market in the 1980s and 90s with thin, fruitless acidic pinot grigios that were served chilled to the bone to hide their total lack of character on your frozen palate.

The problem is that like cheap German Rieslings and that other crime against wine, blush Zinfandel, they tended to taint anything of quality bearing the same grape name, so unless we had a penchant for shell suits or bulldogs with large studded collars we tended to avoid buying them at home.

Once we go abroad, however, we relax in the knowledge that people won’t think we’re letting our standards slip and we happily order such delights as pinot grigio, soave, verdicchio and Lugana. Italy has a style for every palate and purse ranging from rich sweet pudding wines to crisp and crisp refreshing tropical fruit delights and to complex, nutty chardonnays and expressive sauvignons, in fact the range of flavours and styles is truly outstanding. Perhaps it’s time to stop worrying about the neighbours inspecting the bottles in your recycling bin and begin a new and rewarding wine journey around one of the true great wine making countries in the world.

Terlaner Classico, Cantina Terlano

Pinot blanco with a tad of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc thrown in for good measure. It's crisp and refreshing with apples and peaches on the palate.

Ten Acre Wines £18.95

Gavi di Gavi DOCG

A really gorgeous wine with zesty lemon on the nose and refreshing peach flavours on the palate. Serve it chilled with roast chicken or as an aperitif.

Aldi £6.99