HURRAY for the improving weather. Let’s sit outside with a salad and a big glass of Rioja.

That might not be the first thought after spring finally springs, with a big oaky red wine not necessarily the tipple of choice on a light evening with the sun shining.

But that’s not what we mean. Rioja, you see, has been enjoying an improving reputation for producing quality white wine, not just its much-loved Tempranillo red, and these are probably worth checking out now we have warmer days upon us with the associated craving for brighter, lighter drinks.

White wine still only makes up for about five to 10 per cent of total wine production in the famed Spanish zone, but sales are on the up as wine lovers begin to credit the flavours available.

The one we tried this week - Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres’ Rioja Blanco, available from drinksupermarket.com for £8.49 - was a good starting point.

The indigenous Viura grape, the region’s most extensively planted white variety, which is also known as Macabeo, is the predominant grape in Rioja whites. (It is also found in Cava.)

This particular drink is fresh and aromatic with flavours of apples, grapefruit and pears, in front of a light floral background. There is vivacity and crispness on the palate, good minerality and some more lavish fruit.

It’s a good one to sip on its own as an apéritif and, like many whites, is a good accompaniment to salads, fish and seafood.

Staying with Bodegas Marqués de Cáceres, this winery, situated in Cenicero, has a huge cellar holding about 10 million bottles or something daft like that, and this allows them to refrain from selling wines from poor vintages if quality levels are not reached. It makes them a very reliable producer especially at these prices.

Among its other produce, and one we really enjoyed this week, was its Marques de Caceres Verdejo White, priced £8.99 at drinksupermarket.com.

Lovely and lively, it is an aromatic, vibrant white wine from the Rueda region which bristles in the mouth. Full of character and balanced acidity, it also comprises some nuttiness to go with floral, citrus and mineral notes. Its structure and complexity also keeps alive the freshness of the fruit.