Ten Great Whites under €20

Intense, lemony Touraine with lip-smacking freshness and oodles of grapefruit, gooseberry, and nettle flavours. Clean and bright, with nice weight for this style.
Drink as an aperitif or with salads, tangy cheeses (e.g. goat's), fish, chicken, or curry.

The 2018 vintage was awarded a gold medal at the 2019 Concours Mondial du Sauvignon.

Christophe Godet and his wife Nathalie manage the day-to-day running of the vineyards and cellar.

‘…elegant, moderately pungent, with a lovely mineral streak’
Tom Doorley, Irish Mail on Sunday, May 2020

‘This Touraine Sauvignon is slightly softer than others, making it a bit easier to drink without food. It has flavours of apple, citrus and peppery spice with a lovely mineral acidity. A good alternative to pricier Sancerre.’
[2016 vintage] 88/100 James Button, Decanter, March 2017

There is no mistaking the commitment of the Purato range—certified carbon neutral— to minimizing the environmental impact of its excellent everyday wines.

Not only are the wines themselves made from organically grown grapes, but the bottles, labels and cartons for the range are as far as possible made from recycled materials, with pure vegetable inks used in printing.

The blending of the two grapes: indigenous Catarratto with Pinot Grigio creates an enjoyable, everyday drinking wine that delivers intense aromas of citrus and tropical fruits, with a crisp, lively fruit character on the palate too. This is a perfect wine for seafood or as an appetizer—or why not get into the spirit of the Purato project and try it with some locally produced organic fare?

‘…this Sicilian white is all about freshness’
Tom Doorley, Irish Mail on Sunday, May 2020

You'd have to have a heart of stone not to like this delicious, vibrant Verdejo. It has irresistible lime and peach aromas, lively freshness and supple body. It's a fantastic white wine as an appetizer, and has enough character to accompany any light meal with its fragrant, confident charm.

This expressive white blend comes from the tiny Catalonian DO of Pla de Bages, and the wild herbs and woodland character of the landscape certainly seem to contribute to its delicious complexity.

It's fresh and inviting, with a zesty mix of tropical, citrus and floral scents, and was awarded gold in 2017 as the best wine of the entire Pla de Bages region in the annual Vinari awards.

Clear, pale yellow with green highlights, and attractive spice and crisp apple fragrance. From the first sip you'll find the classic pepper character working with citrus and herb notes to frame the rounded, zesty fruit before an elegant and appetizing finish. This breezy wine is a perfect match with light, fresh salads and classic Viennese cuisine, but it also has what it takes to stand up to spicy and Asian-inspired dishes.

Niederösterreich is the region around the capital, Vienna, and is Austria's largest wine-growing area. Loess soils, hot days and cool nights make it the true homeland of the Grüner Veltliner grape.

A thrilling white wine from the north of Portugal, made from a single grape variety—Loureiro—to give a distinct character.

Fresh nose of ripe limes, with honeyish aromas in there too. There's a typical hint of vinho verde spritz—just a tingle— and for a light-bodied wine, there's real depth of flavour, with balanced acidity and minerality contributing to a clean, persistent finish.

Clairette, Rolle and Sémillon—sounds like Provence. And that's indeed the case in this fresh, direct and tangy white from Domaine Houchart that shares a stable with the Quiot family's sublime rosé.

The youthful vibrancy of the three grapes is the main attraction here, with aromas of citrus and nectarine leading to a mouth-watering assembly of lively flavours from lemon to peach and greengage, with marmaladey hints just below the surface.

There's a hint of fullness about each mouthful that means this is a wine that won't get lost when the snacks come out—but its appeal is so bright and immediate that you may well decide it's complete in itself.