AS APRIL approaches and we go cuckoo over some welcome daylight, it’s time to reacquaint ourselves with the allure of fresh white wines.

To develop a strategy and capture the spring fervour in a glass, busy bees need to start stacking the shelves with the fruits of green grapes - some of which may even unveil a taste of summer with their youth and brightness.

The fusion of a southern French marsanne and viognier will wake up the palate with its fragrant honeysuckle and apricot notes and Les Pierres Bordes Marsanne Viognier 2012, IGP Pays D’Oc, France (£5.50, www.thewinesociety.com) is a lovely example.

This pretty blend marries richness of fruit with white flower aromatics and shows just enough liveliness to drink in the great outdoors.

Light and frivolous, trebbiano is Italy’s workhorse white grape, but in the right hands this neutral style can start to excite the tastebuds with its orchard fruit flavours and crisp acidity.

Produced by the Farnese winery, which has exploited this Italian staple with great results, try Vila Farnia di Farnese Trebbiano 2011, Italy (£7.99, www.laithwaites.co.uk) for a delightfully zippy glass to put some wind in your sails.

With its picture-postcard label, Le Citronnier 2011, Gascony, France (£7.99, www.laithwaites.co.uk) offers tipplers double the pleasure with its pretty notes of orchard blossom, citrusy-limey fruits and a grassy essence. A blend of colombard and sauvignon blanc, Le Citronnier offers a bright, juicy finish with thoughts of lemon groves and picnic baskets.

For sauvignon blanc lovers who prefer to pierce the gooseberry flavours with a splash of chenin blanc, try Spring Valley Chenin/Sauvignon, Old Vines, Coastal Region 2011, South Africa (£7.95, www.tanners-wines.co.uk).

Distinctive, with an array of ripe appley fruits and a nettly sting on its tail, it’s a wine to pair with native oysters while there’s still an ’r’ in the month.

Up there with a good claret, a white Bordeaux from Graves signals an elegant wine with rich, dry citrus fruit and a flinty edge.

An equal blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, Vieux Chateaux Gaubert 2010, Graves, Bordeaux, France (£11.96, www.thewinesociety.com) is fermented in oak barrels to give extra richness and weight, with green and yellow fruit backed by classic mineral notes and a tangy grapefruit finish.

Organic wines tend to come at a higher price point and a rich, lightly oaked chardonnay such as Domaine de Brau Chardonnay Finemont Boise 2010, Pays d’Oc IGP, France (£9.75, www.vintageroots.co.uk) is worth the outlay. Generous and fruity with pineapple, soft pear and cream lingering on the sumptuous finish, it’s seriously refreshing and dangerously easy to drink.