RIGHT, class. Hands up who can tell us the country from which wine retailer Majestic’s best-selling red wine hails.

France! Nope. Italy? Nope. Australia then. No, sorry.

Erm, Spain? South Africa? US of A? Nope, nein, non. You’re all in detention.

The answer, in fact, is Portugal, where a bounce in sales has seen a tipple from Lisboa beating off competition from more illustrious European neighbours and the ever-expanding New World.

The retailer puts this rise at least partly down to price shifts caused by Brexit, and the need therefore to seek good offerings from outside the more well-known and pricier EU heartlands.

Indeed this column reported a few weeks ago the rise in popularity of good value wines from the old Eastern Bloc.

Portugal is in the EU, of course, so sales of their produce on these shores will still be affected by currency fluctuations between the euro and the pound. However, aside from port, it is not renowned for its wine when compared to the likes of France, Italy and Spain, hence it generally comes in at a lower price. And when you find a good one, it ergo offers comparative value for money.

The best-selling wine in question, called Porta 6, is certainly that.

A blend of Tinta Roriz (50 per cent), Castelão (40 per cent) and Touriga Nacional (10 per cent) from the mountains just north of Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, this wine, frankly, is hard not to drink too quickly.

Another reason it has become popular, mind you, is a big plug it got on TV a couple of years ago from Yorkshire’s most famous chef, James Martin, who declared it one of the nicest reds he’d tasted in 10 years of BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen.

Immediately, Majestic’s website crashed due to demand, stores sold out of the stuff within three hours and they then got hit with reservations for 30,000 bottles over that one weekend.

It’s still selling well now. Full of light, warm, ripe fruit and a touch of spice, it has a pleasing texture.

Good all year round - it works in summer with barbecues and in the autumn or winter with minted lamb chops, indoor grilled meat or even griddled steak. It’s not a bad one to sip while doing the cooking too.

It’s available from Majestic for £8.99 or £7.99 in the Mix Six promotion.

Majestic’s buying director, Richard Weaver, said: “If you’d have told me 10 years ago that Majestic’s best-selling red wine was Portuguese I’d have laughed you out the building.

“But the economics post-2016 has changed people’s willingness to test their taste buds beyond our traditional markets.”

Arguably the biggest stumbling block for Portuguese wine, like Eastern European ones, used to be one of perception.

But James Reed, buyer at Majestic, pointed out: “It’s the quality at different price points of these wines which has really impressed. They’re styles that are recognisable to the British public but very keenly priced for the level of expertise involved.”