Aussie and New Zealand white wines are on offer in Shropshire this January.

A ding dong is raging Down Under over who produces the best white wines. Australian and New Zealand wine producers are pitched in battle, with New Zealand producers taking a 30 per cent slice of the lucrative Aussie market. In the UK, both countries are enjoying a boom in popularity as sale continue to surge.

New Zealand sauvignon blancs have become the most popular Antipodean wines and are enjoying a phenomenal success story. In 2004, New Zealand sold just 5.7 million litres of wine to Australia. This year it’s 36.6 million; with exports doubling over the past two years and increasing by more than six-fold over the past five.

Last year sauvignon blanc surged ahead to overtake chardonnay as Australia’s most popular grape variety, with New Zealand examples accounting for an impressive 70 per cent of its total sales.

Two great examples of New Zealand sauvignon blancs are Sam’s Creek Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Marlborough, New Zealand. It’s on offer at Waitrose, in Newport, at £4.99, from £6.99 from January 6 to 26.

The wine is a fresh New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with juicy gooseberry and kiwi fruit flavours.

It is clean, zesty, aromatic and dry with a satisfyingly fresh finish that hints of an underlying minerality. Sam’s Creek is ideal as an aperitif and is also delicious teamed with seafood, fish or chicken.

A similarly crisp and zesty variety is Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc 2008 Marlborough, which is on offer at Waitrose through January at £6.99 from £8.99.

Fresh, zesty and deliciously mouth-watering, it captures the essence of Marlborough.

The vintage shows intense passion fruit, lime and gooseberry flavours, a succulent texture and a flinty finish.

It can be enjoyed as an apéritif or served with shellfish, white fish or chicken dishes.

Australians, however, produce corking sauvignons of their own. The Decanter-Magazine-bronze-award-winning Oxford Landing Sauvignon Blanc 2007/08 S Australia is a case in point, and is available at Waitrose in January for £4.83, down from £6.49.

The smooth satisfying apéritif is a good match for seafood, fish or chicken.

It is named after a local site which was a sheep drovers’ riverside resting station. It will match many foods, particularly those with an eastern flavour.

When it comes to Chardonnays, however, Australia still dominates and there are plenty of top quality Aussie varieties available in the UK.

Hardys Stamp Semillon/Chardonnay 2007/08 SE Australia is available at Waitrose in January for £4.32 from £6.49.

Australia was the first to add Semillon to Chardonnay and has made the blend world famous. This variety has won numerous awards, including a Decanter Magazine bronze and an IWC bronze.

Toasty Semillon adds complexity and a creamy texture to the zesty fruit flavours of Chardonnay.

The Hardys blend is a smoothly dry but fruity white which is an excellent apéritif and goes beautifully with stir-fried fish or chicken in yellow bean sauce.

The Lindemans Winemakers Release Chardonnay 2008 SE Australia is another great value drink and, in January, will cost £4.99, down from £7.99, at Waitrose in Newport.

It is a smooth and creamy drink that provides excellent value.

It shows a smooth and round palate with flavours of tropical fruit, melon and pineapple and can be enjoyed with fish, white meats or pasta.

At £4.99, it’s exceptional value for money.

A conoisseurs’ choice is Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay 2008 S Australia, which will be available in January at Waitrose for £5.99, down from £8.99. It is a rich, honeyed, vanilla-flavoured Chardonnay, showing smooth, tropical fruit flavours on the creamy palate.

Coming from a reputable producer, the Wolf Blass also has vibrant fruit flavours of peach, melon and figs, which are given the red carpet treatment of being vinified in new French and American oak hogsheads. The process gives the wine a buttery texture making it a good white for meaty dinners.

As our Antiopdean cousins enjoy the warmth of their summer, it’s encouraging to know that we can raise a glass with them to toast some of their finest wines.