The annual winter wine tasting hosted by Amps Fine Wines on November the 16th was a fantastic learning experience, as well as a lot of fun. The hall was filled with fifteen tables, each manned by an expert, and laid out with five to ten different drinks and a plate of crackers, offering a choice of over a hundred delicious wines and liquors to try.

My evening kicked off with New World wines; a South African white wine, the Chenin Blanc Groote Post 2006 at £6.99, which was an excellent wine to start with. Light and crisp, it is “the best white wine in its price bracket”, according to Rachel Longstaff from Louis Latour Agencies. The South African Chenin Blanc False Bay 2007 was a beautifully fresh and spicy white wine and certainly deserving of the Amps award for New World Wine of the Year for Under £6. If you’ve heard of or enjoyed the very popular Cloudy Bay wines then you would enjoy the Three Amigos White McHenry Hohnen 2005 which is made by the same owner. It’s an Australian wine made with an unusual blend of three French grapes and although slightly more expensive at £11.50, it’s definitely worth it.

The most popular wine from New Zealand was the Pinot Noir ‘Te Muna Road’ Craggy Range 2005, which Rachel Longstaff considers a good party wine. If you’re not accustomed to red wines then the Fleurie Domaine de la Grand Cour 2006 is the one for you says Simon Hoe from Thorman Hunt & Co Ltd: “It’s fruity and light enough to drink on its own”. However my favourite red wine was the Australian Hooley Dooley Mclaren Cale 2004 at £8.50, which Nick Adams MW said, “Has the taste of an Australian man looking at an Australian woman”.

Jonathon Kinns of Winegrowers believes that the best introduction to white Burgundies is the Macon Bussieres Domaine du Vieux Puits Drouin 2006, bursting with flavours. Graham Wharmby from Meridian Wines was adamant that Germany’s bad reputation for white wines being too sweet was unfair. He believed that the tense acidity in the Niedermenniger Herrunberh Kabinett Ries. Molitor 2002 and the Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Markus Molitor 2001 balances the sweetness, creating a more delicate and palatable taste.

Moving on to French white wines, Deborah Brooks from Paul Boutinot Agencies was confident that the vineyard that produces the Pouilly Fume Domaine de Maltaverne 2005, “is the best in France, if not the world, for a traditional Sauvignon Blanc”. On the question of whether France really does make the best wines or not, Hamish Wales Miller of Bella Wines admitted that “quality controls have tied up the French wines too much”. However Deborah Brooks believes that “France makes the best wine at every price level and that you will find little homogeneity between wines from France”.

Helen Wainright from Eaux de Vie took the balanced viewpoint that “each country seems to be developing its own style. France is famous for subtlety, whereas Australian wines are fruity and appealing. A good English wine should be like a crisp fresh apple”.

If you’re looking for a good pudding wine to eat with rich Christmas pudding, then everyone I spoke to agreed that the luscious Edelspatz Noble Late Harvest Delheim 2005 was the best. The best champagne was the Taittinger Brut NV Champagne. Denise Taylor decided the Gosset Brut Ecellence NV Champagne “was too creamy –like cream soda”. Graham Wharmby thought that the Classic Dry Fino Sherry Fernando Castillo was “the sexiest drink in the building”.

For the best gin and tonic, use Citadelle Gin, which Helen Wainright told me, “Is made with 19 botanicals, which is 10 more than most other gins, giving it a spectrum of fresh herby flavours”.

It wasn’t only drinks that you could try as you wandered around the hall. There was also a wide selection of unusual and classic cheeses, plates of sausages, smoked salmon and smoked venison and a table of exotic chocolates from Palmer’s Chocolate Shop. The most popular chocolate of the evening was the unusual tequila, chilli and lime dark chocolates by Montezuma.

Philip Amps, the host of the evening, told me, “It’s good to have this sort of event, because it gives you a chance to try every wine through the price spectrum, allowing you to make up your mind, with the benefit of the opinion of other people, experts and comparison to other wines”. Rob Boyle said, voicing the opinion of many I spoke to, “This has been an outstanding event and perfect in the run-up to Christmas”.