If you’ve been lucky enough to go to a vineyard wine tasting, you’ll know how hard it is to recreate that experience at home. At a winery you’re granted access to a captivating and charming world where you can see how wine is produced, discover the secrets of winemakers and taste crisp wine that hasn’t traveled hundreds of miles to your favourite wine bar.

Afterwards, filled with enthusiasm and savoir faire, you feel as though the doors to the world of wine art have been opened for you. With an expert eye you visit the supermarket, and then you hit a problem. Looking at shelf after shelf of wine bottles, it quickly becomes apparent that wine choosing is like solving a puzzle. There are so many names, terms and figures that it’s incredibly difficult to pick the right wine for your mood, occasion and wallet. All you know is wine falls under two headings: red wine and white wine. Well, sit tight and I’ll walk you through the basics of buying affordable white wine.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the colour of white wine is not white. It has different shades of yellow colour, pale yellow, platinum and green hues, golden, dim yellow and copper-golden. Based on the colour, wine experts can offer a few comments about the flavour before drinking it. White-berried grape variety often determines the future hue of wine, so how they age and mature definitely has a bearing on its eventual colour. Red grapes are also sometimes used as raw material for white wine production affecting its colouring.

White wine is very popular in spring and summer as the majority of varieties are drank chilled. The titans of white winemaking are Chardonnay, Riesling, Semillon, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Viognier. Each of them has its best food pairing. Generally saying, chicken, fish and turkey will be a great duet with the whites.

In order to choose good and affordable white wine, some basic recommendations are as follows.

• By saying affordable, I really mean quality white wine that won’t break the bank. I’d recommend studying the prices of white wine on offer and excluding those under £6. I’m not being a snob, you can occasionally get a good bottle for that price, but experience shows that setting a price limit goes a long way in separating ‘cheap and nasty’ from ‘affordable and good’.

• Don’t judge a wine just because it has a screw top. Some people look down on wine because it doesn’t have a cork, but adding a screw cap actually saves cost without impacting on taste. It’s also more environmentally friendly, and helps stop a wine from becoming ‘corked’.

• The country of origin matters. Italy, Greece, Argentina, Chile and Brazil often produce decent whites for great prices.

• Knowledge is power! Some white grape varieties give their best flavor and taste under certain climate conditions. A cool climate is very favorable for Chardonnay for example.

So it is possible to find accessible white wine that won’t only tantalise your taste buds, but also will save you spending a fortune. In fact, learning about wine will often give you a taste for it. As with anything, the more you study, the more there is to learn! At least next time you host a party you’ll know how to serve your whites and what to pair it with food-wise - making it a great opportunity to show off if nothing else!