WHITE or red first, that is the question. I don’t know if you have ever been to a wine tasting.

Chances are, if you are reading this, that you have been and it’s likely that you tasted the wines in the traditional manner, starting with whites and moving on to the reds.

I favour the alternative approach, drinking reds first and then the whites. I’ve tried doing the whites first, but then I struggle to taste the reds. Not so the other way round. I conform in some ways, of course. Any pudding wines at a tasting have to come last, for these wines really knock your dry wine tasting capabilities out of kilter. And I always cleanse my palate between reds and whites with crusty bread and sparkling wine or still white with lively acidity, such as a good riesling.

Next time you are at a tasting, give it a go and see if it suits you better. In the meantime, I can heartily recommend the following tastebud ticklers.

The cooler climate of Australia’s Clare Valley is best known for terrific rieslings and Semillon, but the reds from the region can be good too. Aged for a year in American oak, Wakefield Estate Clare Valley Shiraz 2007 is a decent example, with ripe berry aromas, plum and cassis fruit, dark roasted coffee notes, vanilla and hot peppery spice.

Or make the most of the current offer on Bonterra Merlot 2006, made from organically grown grapes in Mendocino County, California. Californian merlot can often taste like a jar of strawberry preserve, but this example manages to be respectably dry. Soft but spicy, it has juicy cherry and plum flavours with dark chocolate, vanilla and a hint of toasty oak.

I was at a very enjoyable tasting last month held at Kings Manor in York, a collaboration between Visit York and the drinks supply company Matthew Clark. Most of the wines were for the on trade but I was delighted to find that one of my favourites of the evening is available at Waitrose.

Vidal Hawkes Bay Syrah 2007 is one of the best reds you will find for less than ten of your English pounds. In the Rhône style, this Kiwi oozes black cherry flavours without being jammy, spiced with crushed black peppercorns, vanilla, toasted oak and all held together by supple tannins.

•Wakefield Estate Clare Valley Shiraz 2007, £8.49 at Majestic 17/20

•Bonterra Merlot 2006, £7.32 at Waitrose until April 21 17/20

•Vidal Hawkes Bay Syrah 2007, £9.99 at Waitrose 19/20