It’s hard to go wrong with a good dry white wine. The right one is perfect for sipping by itself when the sun’s out but will also make all kinds of food taste better, from classic fish and chips to Christmas dinner.
Chardonnay is both the best-known and the world’s most widely planted dry white grape as it can flourish in a range of climates and produces versatile wine – not just the heavily oaked version many people prefer to swerve. There are plenty of other dry whites if you still want to give Bridget Jones’ favourite tipple a miss and bear in mind that some are known by other names in different countries.
Sauvignon Blanc – most commonly from New Zealand – is the white world’s fastest-rising star, but it’s known as Sancerre if it comes from the region of the same name in France. Italian Pinot Grigio is a failsafe for many when ordering in restaurants, but is actually known as Pinot Gris when grown in France, while Australian winemakers use both names. Finally, Chardonnay is known as Chablis if produced in a particular appellation in Burgundy in France.
If you’ve never met a dry white wine you didn’t love, it’s worth looking beyond the big sellers and experimenting with lesser-known grapes from other areas too. Consider a Riesling from Germany, a Greek Assyrtiko or a powerful Chenin Blanc, which originated in France but is now commonly grown in areas including South Africa. Closer to home, English still wine is gaining in popularity and often tends to be made with chardonnay but also look for Bacchus which generally makes zesty, tropical wine similar to Sauvignon Blanc.
To find your favourite, make sure the bottle is perfectly chilled and try the wine all on its own before experimenting with foods including fish dishes, salads, gently spiced foods, creamy pasta and even soft or salty cheeses. Or simply work your way through the list below of wines that we’ve already taste-tested for you. Cheers!
Best dry white wines at a glance:
- Best overall: M&S Collection Sancerre Les Ruettes 2020 - £17, Ocado
- Best alternative to NZ sauvignon blanc: Errazuriz Estate Sauvignon Blanc - £9, Tesco
- Best Portuguese dry white wine: Esporão Monte Velho, Alentejano 2022 - £9.25, The Wine Society
- Best for vegan white wine drinkers: Journey’s End ‘Eagle Owl’ Sauvignon Blanc 2023 - £12.99, Majestic
- Best for fans of English wine: Chapel Down Flint Dry 2022 - £13.49, Waitrose Cellar
- Best for lovers of fruity wine: Babylonstoren Chenin Blanc 2023 - £14.99, Novel Wines
- Best unexpected dry white wine: Douloufakis ‘Dafnios’ Vidiano 2022 - £18.50, Maltby & Greek
- Best full-flavoured dry white wine: Elephant in the Room Prodigious Pinot Gris - £8.49, Waitrose
- Best classic New Zealand sauvignon blanc: The Ned Sauvignon Blanc - £10.50, Sainsbury’s
- Best for those who think they hate Riesling: Schieferkopf Riesling Baden 2022 - £11.69, House of Malt
- Best food-friendly dry white wine: Kokotos Estate Assyrtiko 2022 - £16.75, Maltby & Greek
- Best for grabbing in the supermarket: Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2023 - £10.75, Tesco
- Best dry white wine to save for later: Robert Oatley Signature Series Riesling 2020 - £15, Cambridge Wine Merchants
- Best supermarket bargain: Plaimont Saint Mont Grande Cuvée 2020 - £9.50, Tesco
- Best chardonnay for those who don’t like chardonnay: M&S Collection Chablis - £16, Ocado
M&S Collection Sancerre Les Ruettes 2020
Best: Overall
ABV: 13 per cent
Grape: Sauvignon blanc
Sancerre is a shortcut to a quality wine for many, often recommended by top restaurants and usually quite a bit pricier than other dry white wines. Though actually made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, Sancerre can only come from the officially designated region of the same name in the Loire Valley where producers are renowned for their premium wines.
If you’re already a fan of New Zealand’s Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, a Sancerre tends to be more complex and less fruit-focused so well worth the upgrade for a special occasion. This version from M&S is a great buy, not as expensive as some others on the market but still exceptional quality. Light yet expressive, its flavours of green apple and intense citrus seem to explode from the glass, with elegant herbal notes and a fresh minerality adding balance. It’s a real dry white wonder.
Buy now £17.00, Ocado
Errazuriz Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2022
Best: Alternative to NZ Sauvignon Blanc
ABV: 13 per cent
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is a failsafe go-to for anyone who loves dry white wine. The Chilean version tends to be equally zesty but less sharply fragrant than its cousin from down under so definitely shouldn’t be overlooked.
This bottle comes from a family-owned winery in the Aconcagua Valley which has been making wine since the late 19th century when they were the first to introduce French grapes to the valley. The long sunny days and cool Pacific wind give this wine a bright, lip-smacking character packed with flavours of tropical fruit, lime and crisp green apples, soothed with a distinct herbaceous note. It’s as fresh as the sea breeze and astonishingly easy-drinking.
Buy now £9.00, Tesco
Esporão Monte Velho, Alentejano 2022
Best: Portuguese dry white wine
ABV: 13 per cent
Grape: Antão Vaz, Arinto, Roupeiro
As close as you can come to bottling the glorious Portuguese sunshine, this dry white wine is made from local grape varieties at the Esporão estate in the Alentejo region. This has been owned by the Roquette family since the late 1980s but has a history dating back 700 years.
It’s chock-full of citrus and white stone fruit flavours with a fresh finish that works a treat with food. Though it will slip down a treat all on its own, its clean, juicy flavours and balanced palate mean it will cut through oily fish and even gentle spices. Serve it with a huge bowl of seafood pasta and you can (almost) pretend you’re dining on a sun-kissed Portuguese beach.
Buy now £9.25, The Wine Society
Journey’s End ‘Eagle Owl’ Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Best for: vegan white wine drinkers
ABV: 12.5 per cent
Grape: Sauvignon blanc
This South African dry white wine is named after the pair of eagle owls who help control the rodent population in the Journey’s End vineyards. Their namesake is suitably striking, a dazzlingly drinkable and vegan-friendly white made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes grown in the country’s coastal region and hand-picked early in the morning before temperatures rise to preserve their delicate fruit flavours.
Such attention to detail is well worth it in the glass as this wine has delightful lemongrass and passion fruit aromas and a pale olive-green colour. It has a beautifully elegant mouth feel, long finish and balanced acidity that will make it a triumph on any dinner table.
Buy now £12.99, Majestic
Chapel Down Flint Dry 2022
Best for: fans of English wine
ABV: 12.5 per cent
Grape: Bacchus
Everyone already knows English sparkling is a dead ringer for Champers, but now wine fans are falling for the UK’s very own still wine.
Chapel Down have already flown the flag for homegrown fizz and this is their top-selling dry white wine, made entirely of Bacchus grapes grown in Kent and East Sussex. The German grape flourishes in the UK climate where it has drawn comparisons to everyone’s fave Sauvignon Blanc. This is every bit as zingy and aromatic as you’d expect, bursting with notes of juicy melon, sophisticated elderflower, gooseberry and refreshing grapefruit. The taste of an English summer’s day in a glass.
Buy now £13.49, Waitrose Cellar
Babylonstoren Chenin Blanc 2023
Best for: Lovers of fruity wine
ABV: 13.5 per cent
Grape: Chenin blanc
Keen gardeners might already be familiar with Babylonstoren wines. Their gorgeously pale pink rosé was the official rosé of the Chelsea Flower Show earlier this year and this dry white wine is another winner in our eyes.
It’s heaven in a glass if you love fruity white wines. Grown on the foothills of Simonsberg Mountains in South Africa, the grapes undergo cool fermentation in stainless steel tanks to maximise their fruity flavours. The resulting medium-bodied wine is a rush of pineapple, melon and guava flavours that is ideal for summertime drinking, preferably alongside a fresh chicken salad.
Buy now £14.99, Novel Wines
Douloufakis ‘Dafnios’ Vidiano 2022
Best: Unexpected dry white wine
ABV: 13 per cent
Grape: Vidiano
Originating in Santorini, Assyrtiko is the best-known Greek grape and is largely responsible for bringing the country’s wine to the world’s attention in recent years.
It’s not the only Greek wine worth snapping up though. Vidiano is grown on the island of Crete and makes wonderful acerbic dry white wines like this one, available to buy from Greek importers Maltby & Greek. Full of apricot, white peach and nectarine flavours, it’s a powerful drop yet its lip-smacking acidity adds an unexpected freshness. Close your eyes and you’ll nearly believe you’re basking in the Greek sunshine as you sip.
Buy now £18.50, Maltby & Greek
Elephant in the Room Prodigious Pinot Gris 2022
Best: Full-flavoured wine
ABV: 12.5 per cent
Grape: Pinot Gris
The Elephant in the Room range is not afraid of flavour, whether you plump for its creamy Chardonnay or the berry-rich Pinot Noir. Dry white wine fans should go for this Pinot Gris, which has the muscle to hold its own on any dinner table.
Rich but still fruity, it’s made from Pinot Gris grapes grown in the cooler coastal region of South Australia, picked in the morning to maintain freshness and fermented in stainless steel. They’re then vinified with minimal handling to let the fruit take centre stage and one sniff of this wine proves they do. Packed with bold flavours of nuts, citrus and apple, it has notes of spice to add expression and a mouth-filling body perfect for anyone who prefers to swerve wimpy wines.
Buy now £8.49, Waitrose
The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2022
Best: Classic New Zealand sauvignon blanc
ABV: 13 per cent
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
Always reach for a New Zealand savvy b? Allow us to introduce you to your new favourite wine from one of the country’s fastest-growing wine brands.
Named after the tallest peak in the Wither Hills range, The Ned is made by Brent Marris, founder of Marisco Vineyards in the Waihopai Valley of Marlborough. The area’s unique soils and climate produce a classically elegant Sauvignon Blanc that is fermented in stainless steel with yeast strains specifically selected to capture the true essence of this wildly popular dry white wine.
This one has all the fruitiness you’d expect with a pleasing pop of lime, gooseberry and pink grapefruit plus a contrasting hit of minerality to keep things interesting. We’re smitten.
Buy now £10.50, Sainsbury's
Schieferkopf Riesling Baden 2022
Best for: Those who think they hate Riesling
ABV: 12 per cent
Grape: Riesling
Riesling often gets a bad rap in the UK, with drinkers mistakenly dismissing it as the over-sweet wine popular with a generation of parents in the 1970s.
The native German grape is actually one of the most versatile around and can produce all kinds of wines depending on the soil and climate it was grown in. In this case, the grapes are organically cultivated in Baden in the Black Forest and then pressed directly before fermentation in stainless steel vats. The resulting crisp dry white wine has bags of fruity flavour with a rush of floral and orange notes and a long finish that will guarantee you’ll never rail against Riesling again.
Buy now £11.69, House of Malt
Kokotos Estate Assyrtiko 2022
Best: Food-friendly dry white wine
ABV: 14.5 per cent
Grape: Assyrtiko
The most famous grape from Greece is a match made in heaven with most food. A dream duo with seafood, chicken, vegetarian pasta and even roast lamb, this version is made by the Kokotos family in Greece. Fittingly, they farm organically in Stamata in Attica on the northern slopes of Mount Penteli where Dionysus, the god of wine, was worshipped.
This dry white wine certainly tastes suitably divine. Lively and bone dry, it’s beautifully balanced with a clear structure, distinct acidity and bags full of citrus character including lemon, lime and grapefruit plus a long finish that’s bound to have you reaching for that second glass.
Buy now £16.75, Maltby & Greek
Robert Oatley Signature Series Riesling 2020
Best: Dry white wine to save for later
ABV: 12.5 per cent
Grape: Riesling
If you have super-human skills and are able to buy a bottle and not drink it straight away, this is the one for you.
Good to drink until 2026, this is the perfect dry white wine to bring out for a special occasion in future rather than resorting to a corner shop dash for a bottle of plonk when you’re celebrating. It’s made in Western Australia’s Great Southern region, quickly gaining a reputation as the country’s go-to Riesling region. Grapes are high quality and the wine has a precise dazzling freshness with gentle texture, a citrus bite and moreish mineral notes. Serve it with a lightly spiced Thai curry and thank us later.
Buy now £15.00, Cambridge Wine Merchants
Plaimont Saint Mont Grande Cuvée 2020
Best: Supermarket bargain
ABV: 13 per cent
Grape: Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu, Arrufiac
You don’t need to find an obscure wine merchant to hunt down premium bottles of dry white wine (at least not unless you want to).
A great supermarket find, this Grande Cuvée is made in the appellation of Saint Mont in South-West France, close to the foothills of the Pyrenees. Historic and rare grapes are used in production that were first planted by Benedictine monks in the 11th century. These are grown in cooler vineyard plots making this wine lively and full of floral aromas with a rush of delightful citrus and peach on the palate that guarantees this wine will earn a regular spot in your weekly trolley.
Buy now £9.50, Tesco
Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Best: For grabbing in the supermarket
ABV: 12.5 per cent
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc
It’s not always easy to choose a great wine in the supermarket when bamboozled with so many rows of options. However, if you’re looking for a dry white wine, you won’t go far wrong with the Villa Maria label.
This one is their brand new 2023 vintage and is 100 per cent Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, now one of the world’s most popular whites and currently celebrating its 50th birthday. The original vines were planted in 1973 and the first vintage followed in 1977. Marlborough is now New Zealand’s largest wine-producing region and this is a premium example of a much-loved wine that explodes with flavours of lime and passionfruit and is simply a joy to drink.
Buy now £10.75, Tesco
M&S Collection Chablis
Best: Chardonnay for those who don’t like chardonnay
ABV: 12.5 per cent
Grape: Chardonnay
Another outstanding dry white wine from the M&S Collection – their curated selection of top wines from big-name regions.
Don’t write this one off because it’s made of 100 per cent Chardonnay grapes either. Unlike some of the best-known Chardonnays, wines produced in the Chablis region of Burgundy in France are generally unoaked, delicately fruity and crisp with noticeable minerality. You won’t end up with a heavy buttery vino in your glass in other words. Instead, this one is deliciously sophisticated with a bracing acidity, rounded mouth feel and flavours of green apples, citrus and nuts. If you’re looking to impress a devoted dry white drinker, you won’t go far wrong.
Buy now £16.00, Ocado
Verdict
None of these dry white wines will disappoint but we’d happily turn to the M&S Collection Sancerre Les Ruettes 2020 whenever we craved a classic, crisp drop that is perfect drunk all on its own.
If you’d rather spend less and fancy a fruitier option, go straight to Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2023, a top-notch dry white ideal for any occasion.
