Follow-Your-Taste-Mellow-Yellow

Whites to sink into, rich in texture and utterly heart-warming. Flavours range from nutty and creamy to lusciously exotic. Most are dry but occasionally there’s a touch of natural fruit succulence or sweetness. Barrel-aged Chardonnay, white Rioja, rich Viognier, scented Gewürztraminer and lush Pinot Gris are classic examples.

What to drink them with? We’re in satisfying, indulgent food territory here. Think roasted root veg, pungent herbs, richer seafood, buttery sauces – also white meats like poultry and pork. Fish pie, roast chicken, slow-cooked belly pork, spaghetti carbonara, chicken livers, tandoori butter chicken. And don’t forget fuller-flavoured cheeses like cheddar, comté, gruyere etc.

Find out more about matching food to these wines and the key wine styles in this category. Meanwhile, below are our top tips in the Mellow Yellow category.

Cota 45 Ube El Reventon 2022

Bodegas Cota 45 Ube El Reventón 2022, 13% (c £25-30, decantalo has the 2023, Fourth and Church has the 2021 - or find it internationally via Winesearcher) In February 2024 I gave a masterclass at Barcelona Wine Week. It was a great experience - excellent event, interested people,...

Banks Brothers Chardonnay No 3

Banks Brothers Chardonnay No.3, 13%, Hemel-en-Aarde, South Africa (13%) (£21 for three 250ml cans) We've been trying a fair few wines in so-called alternative formats recently. Including cans - like this one. And this is, without doubt, the best wine we've ever tried out of a can. It's very...

Aristargos 2018

David & Nadia Aristargos 2018, Swartland, South Africa, 13.5%,  (£25, Justerini & Brooks) We cracked open this voluptuous but energising white to mark South Africa’s Heritage Day (24th Sept). You can see a short vid we filmed for the occasion, as below. Many wine industries around the world...

Saint Veran Trouillet 2018

Saint Veran Domaine Trouillet 2018, France, 13.5% (£17.99 or £15.99 when you ‘mix six’, Majestic) Majestic Wine has been through a pretty rocky patch of late and it’s left most of us wondering what exactly is happening with one of the country’s favourite wine retailers. The company first...

Rabl Gruner Veltliner 2018

Rabl Grüner Veltliner 2018, Kamptal, Austria, 12% (£9.50, Marks & Spencer) There was a time when the Grüner Veltliner grape variety was touted as the next big thing that was going to take over the wine world. It hasn’t really happened. Notwithstanding, it’s still a great grape to get...

Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2016

Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2016, 13%, Australia (£13, Booths) Based in the north of England, Booths is known for its wine range and rightly so. Based on the supermarket’s recent tasting in September 2019, the wine range shows strength and depth, with some particular high points in the...

Blackbook Clayhill Chardonnay 2017

Blackwood Clayhill Chardonnay 2017, 11.5%, England (£18.50, blackbookwinery.com) This is a wine that gets us excited - for many reasons. Firstly, it's made from Chardonnay.  We're aware that may be problematic for those many people traumatised by soupy, sickly, revolting Chardonnays of the past. But this isn't just any...

Chinuri Skin Contact 2015

Chinuri Skin Contact 2015 Iago Bitarishvili, Chinuri Skin Contact 2015, Kartli, Georgia, 13% (£19.60 for the 2016 vintage, Les Caves de Pyrene) If a recent trip to Georgia proved anything, it was the fact that no one single phrase neatly sums up the style of Georgian wine, whether...

Vinus by Paul Mas Clairette 2016

Vinus by Paul Mas Clairette 2016, France (£8, Morrisons)  Who doesn't like a good pie? Even - or perhaps especially - when it's called shakh plov. This Azerbaijani dish was being cooked by the delightful Olia Hercules on Saturday Kitchen. You really need to see it to get...

Saint-Véran 2016

M&S Saint-Véran 2016, France (£11.50, Marks & Spencer)  If Tom Aikens cooking you pan-fried John Dory with turnips and chestnuts isn't an invitation to crack open the white Burgundy, I don't know what is. This was my Saturday Kitchen pairing for Tom's aforementioned delightful creation. It's the affordable end...

Domaine du Vieux Vauvert Vouvray 2016

Domaine du Vieux Vauvert Vouvray 2016, France (£9.99, Waitrose or via Wine Searcher)  First things first: this is not a dry wine! There. Glad we got that one out of the way. But it's important to say because there's nothing worse than expecting something to be dry when...

Surani Pietrariccia Fiano 2016

Surani Pietrariccia Fiano 2016, 13%, Italy (from £8.99, Majestic) I recommended this versatile Piano to go with Lawrence Keogh's squid-ink risotto with saffron chilli squid on Saturday Kitchen. It's a stunning recipe, really vibrant not just in flavour terms but also its striking yellow-and-black colour on the plate. The...

Pasqua Passimento Bianco 2015

Pasqua Passimento Bianco 2015, Italy (from £8.99, Majestic) We've recommended this beautiful white on Saturday Kitchen a few times now - and make no apologies for it. It works really well with food because not only is it delicious in its own right, it also has a richness...

Tim Adams Clare Valley Semillon 2014

Tim Adams Clare Valley Semillon 2014, Australia (from £9, Tesco or via WineSearcher) This wine is one of the best in Tesco's range - and one of the most reliable (of the very few) decent oaked whites under a tenner in the UK. With the zesty acidity you'd expect of good Ozzie...

Louis Latour White Burgundy Chardonnay 2014

Louis Latour White Burgundy Chardonnay 2014, France (from £10.29, Waitrose or via Wine Searcher) This elegant white Burgundy was my choice to go with a cod and parsley stuffed jacket potato by Nathan Outlaw on Saturday Kitchen. The dish was simplicity itself and went with a fair old range of...

Brave hart: Cérvoles Blanc 2005

Cérvoles Blanc 2005, Costers del Segre, Spain (£21.95 for the 2013 at Berry Bros or globally via Wine Searcher) Tasting this venerable white wine in plush London surroundings, it was odd to recall that Susie and I had visited the sun-strewn, dusty upland landscape of Costers del Segre shortly before this...

Colinas de Uruguay Albariño 2016

Colinas de Uruguay Albariño 2016, 13%, Uruguay (£8, Sainsbury's or in the Netherlands and Canada via Wine Searcher) We often find ourselves searching for whites that have plenty of oomph but aren't super extrovert in their flavour profile. This happens especially when we're picking wines to go with food: whites can need...

Honeycomb Chardonnay 2016

Journey's End Honeycomb Chardonnay 2016, South Africa (£10, Marks & Spencer)   Poor old Chardonnay. I was told of someone recently who refuses to even allow it into the room, such is the virulent distaste they have for it. I'd argue this is to throw the baby out with the...

A stunning white Nuits-St-Georges 2015

Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Nuits-St-Georges Blanc 2015, Clos des Grandes Vignes 1er Cru Monopole (£795 per 6-bottle case, in bond, Justerini & Brooks)  My scribbled note for this white Nuits-St-George kicks of with the words ‘delightful, absolutely delightful’. From me, this is saying something. Tasted in the damp,...

Muga Rioja blanco 2015

Muga Rioja Blanco 2015, Spain (£9.99, Majestic or via Wine Searcher)  This Muga white Rioja is a rare example of an elegantly oaked white under a tenner on the UK high street (and indeed elsewhere, if you care to check the Wine Searcher link). It made a seamless pairing...

Côté Mas Vermentino 2015

Côté Mas Vermentino 2015, France (£8.49, Waitrose or via Wine Searcher)  I'll admit it. When I first saw the recipe that Atul Kochhar was cooking on Saturday Kitchen - sumptuous spiced roast chicken with bread sauce, brioche-filled stuffing and gravy, all with an aromatic Indian twist -...

Zenato Villa Flora Lugana 2015

Zenato Villa Flora Lugana 2015, Italy (£9.99, Waitrose, or via Wine Searcher)  I took in the sights of a delightfully festive (and Beatrix Potter-themed) Leeds Castle in this Christmassy episode of Saturday Kitchen - before selecting what is a consistently delicious and great value Lugana to go with salt cod...

Le Montrachet 2007 Lucien Le Moine

Le Montrachet 2007, Lucien Le Moine, Burgundy, France - en jeroboam (Not commercially available but see Wine Searcher for other vintages) OK, OK, so it came as the 12th wine during a marathon dinner at the domaine. And yet, for a dinner positively swilling in fine wine of the highest...

Passimento Bianco Pasqua 2015

Passimento Bianco Pasqua 2015, Italy, 13.5% (from £7.99, Majestic or via Wine Searcher) Oooooh but this Passimento Bianco by Pasqua is yummy! It's also seriously versatile with food. And you need versatility when you're trying to find a wine to go with confit chicken wing with blue cheese mousse and...

Fiano Sannio 2015

Fiano Sannio 2015, Italy, 13.5% (£9.50, Marks & Spencer) This was my attempt to pay homage to the hog - a delightful Fiano to go with Jason Atherton's wood-fired pork collar and crackling with sage and pine nut crumb on BBC1's Saturday Kitchen. Pork can be equally at...

Triade Bianco di Campania 2015

Triade Bianco di Campania 2015, Italy, 13.5% (£6.59, Waitrose or via Wine Searcher)  There are few better endorsements of your work than when people enjoy the wine you're recommending. This was certainly the case on this weekend's Saturday Kitchen when former Madness frontman Suggs was clearly a big fan...

Jordi Miro Garnacha Blanca 2015

Jordi Miro Garnacha Blanca 2015, Spain, 13.5% (£9, Marks & Spencer or via Wine Searcher) White wine for game? And from a little known Spanish region (Terra Alta) to boot?! This one raised a few culinary eyebrows when I recommended it on Saturday Kitchen. But, as ever with game, it's...

Valdesil Montenovo Godello 2015

Valdesil Montenovo Godello Valdeorras 2015, 13% (£9.89 when you buy 6, Majestic, or via Wine Searcher) We find we're turning more and more to the Godello grape variety as a reliably food-friendly, frequently good value wine. It has that unique blend of freshness but textural elegance that...

She’s the best! Chatel-Buis Montagny 2013

Chatel-Buis Montagny 2013, 13% (£10.39, Waitrose or via Wine Searcher) I recommended this classic white Montagny to go a with a suitably classic, elegant dish on Saturday Kitchen by Frederick Foster - paupiette of sole with wild mushrooms and herb sauce. We found that a good Chablis also works...

Breamy white – Saint Mont 2014

Saint Mont 2014, France (£8.50, Marks & Spencer) South-west France really is a treasure trove for us wine hunters - and this Saint Mont from M&S is a brilliant example of why. It's great value. I recommended it on Saturday Kitchen to go with a delicious but tricky-to-match dish...

Waimea Estate Pinot Gris 2015

Waimea Estate Pinot Gris 2015, New Zealand (from £9.99, Majestic) I picked this juicy, succulent Waimea Estate Pinot Gris to go with tandoori lamb by Atkar Islam on Saturday Kitchen. Generally, we find white wine goes well with lamb and is often an over-looked pairing. But the matching makes total...

Finest Soave Superiore 2014

Finest Soave Superiore 2014, Italy, 13% (£7, Tesco) Some Soave is so mass produced and irredeemably characterless, it isn’t much better than dish water. But the good stuff is wonderful (see this Pieropan La Rocca tip). And this cheeky little number is amazing value. Because of the way...

Hardys Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2010

Hardys Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2010, Australia, 12.9% (£30, Drinks Direct or use Wine Searcher) Australian brand Hardys is a familiar name in wine. For one, it’s the biggest selling brand in the UK, shifting more than £315m-worth of wine last year. As sponsors of the England cricket...

Great value supermarket white Burgundy

Extra Special Bourgogne Chardonnay 2014, France (£9, Asda) On Saturday Kitchen this weekend, culinary maestro Daniel Galmiche was cooking some delicious chicken, leek and wild mushroom parcels with a chicory and radish salad. We tried out quite a few things with it but it was definitely an elegant, classic...

Supremely age-worthy Soave

Pieropan La Rocca Soave 2013, Italy, 13% (£21-22, Laithwaites, The Wine Society, Jeroboams, AG Wines, Nickolls & Perks, Four Walls, Hedonism, Hennings or use Wine Searcher) The Pieropan family has been making Soave since the 1860s - and they make Soave like few others. Their two famous...

Lush Loire White

La Taille aux Loups, Montlouis Remus Plus 2014, France (£21.50, Justerini & Brooks) A superb bottle of Chenin Blanc from a little-known region in a terrific recent vintage. If you’re looking for something impressive to grace your dinner table the next time you slow cook a slab...