The question I dread the most is: “what’s your favourite wine?”. It is, unanswerable and, whilst I am wriggling my way out of giving an answer, I can guarantee what will come next: “Well, what’s your favourite country then?”

How am I supposed to answer that? To do so would mean picking a clear favourite between French Burgundy; Austrian Grüner Veltliner; Spanish Prioriat; Italian Barolo; German Riesling; Australian Shiraz . . . you get my drift.

However, if I am really pushed I would go for Italy. As a wine-producing country it meets all of my needs. It offers great sparklers; wonderful, complex, long-lived reds; delicious whites; breathtaking sweet wines; and a host of intriguing and indigenous grape varieties.

Disappointingly, the quality and diversity that Italy has to offer is woefully underrepresented in many of the high street off-licences, so to get a real flavour of what is available you need to hunt down a specialist.

Winetraders — one of the UK’s best Italian importers — is based right here in Oxfordshire.

I do not say “one of the best” glibly; the list warrants that description because it includes a host of wines that set standards and which show the potential of often overlooked grape varieties or regions.

Take, for instance, Giovanna Tantini’s Bardolino Chiaretto 2008 (£12.50). First it is a rosato (rosé), second it is made from the unfashionable, high-yielding (and consequently oft-dull) Corvina grape, and third it is made in the district of Bardolino which in wine terms is more ‘bucket and spade’ than boutique villa.

And yet, it is liquid magic. Giovanna is a fastidious winemaker whose attention to detail in the vineyard and winery has been consolidated by taking advice from two of Italy’s leading consultants. The result is a top-quality wine with beautifully-defined summer berry fruit and a structure rarely found in rosato wines.

The Mascarello wines of Piemonte (north west Italy) are amongst the most outlandish I know and I just adore them.

They are macerated for extended periods in large oak casks and there is no modern meddling in a bid to deliver more ‘standard’ tasting wines. Both the Dolcetto 2007 (£15.00) and the Langhe Nebbiolo (£23.00) share a slightly nervy, vivid palate of flavours with lovely fresh tannins and acidity that make them so good with food. As you might expect, the Nebbiolo has that much more concentration and a more intense, herbal edge.

Coming into summer there is a move to drink more white wine and if you were to deny yourselves any Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio for a week or two, I can guarantee you would find some lovely alternatives at Winetraders.

My top choice would be the Verdicchio di Matelica 2008 from La Monacesca (£12.00) which is the perfect balance of zippy freshness and has a lovely weight of delicately spiced fruits on the palate.

Wines can be ordered from Winetraders, 3 TBAC Business Centre, Avenue Four, Station Lane, Witney, OX28 4BN. Tel: 01993 848 777 or email: michael@winetraders.org.uk You can sign up for Sarah’s wine postcards at www.wine-talk.co.uk