To complement Seafood Week (October 4-11, more on this from Gillian Cowburn next week), I decided to check what was available locally so you could make up your own mind.

Sancerre is coaxed from the chalky French hillsides high up in the Loire and made exclusively from the sauvignon blanc grape.

When conditions are right, it produces wine with a strong but basically one-dimensional personality - invigoratingly dry and notably high in acid, with predominant gooseberry flavours.

At its tangy best, it can also have whiffs of grass, nettle, grapefruit, blackcurrant leaves and asparagus and should be clean as a whistle and deliciously, refreshingly drinkable.

Chablis is probably one of the best known wines in the world but, even in a more wine-aware Britain, many do not realise it is made exclusively from the chardonnay grape.

It comes from Burgundy's northern-most outpost of vineyards clustered around the little town of Chablis, in the Serein Valley, between Dijon and Paris.

Chardonnay grapes grown in such a northern climate give a green-edged crisp freshness to Chablis wine that is appetising, bone-dry, lean, in some years slightly tart, in others creamier and softer but still with a cutting edge that keeps it refreshing.

This straight Chablis is the region's basic wine and is less stark in taste than it used to be but still one of the driest of all wines made from the chardonnay grape.

Next up the Chablis scale are the Premier cru then Grand cru wines which are bigger, richer, more intense and much more expensive.

Of course, there will be many other wines and many other fish all looking for a partner during Seafood Week, but here are just a few mouth-watering suggestions to celebrate the event:

l Generally choose crisp, dry whites such as a Chablis, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fum, Muscadet, or new world sauvignon blanc with shellfish, seafood salads, plainly grilled and oily fish such as sardines and mackerel.

l Such crisp, dry whites are also perfect partners for traditional French dishes such as moules marinire.

One particularly delicious partnership tasted recently with mussels was Montana Sauvignon Blanc 2002 (widely available).

This New Zealand drop is full of confident tangy gooseberry aromas with a soft, perfumed, herbaceous border leading to succulent, fresh fruit and veg flavours of gooseberry and asparagus before a soft minerally dry finish.

A combination to savour!

l With fish pies or fish in rich creamy sauces, try smooth, dry whites such as unoaked new world chardonnay.

Spicier dishes suit Alsace whites and Australian whites such as semillon, riesling or new world sauvignon blanc.

l Even reds come into their own with more robustly cooked dishes such as seared or barbecued fish, roasted fish and fish with strongly flavoured tomato-based sauces.

Try new world pinot noir and merlot, Italian sangiovese, light Loire reds such as Chinon and Saumur-Champigny or a decent Beaujolais.

If you' ve cooked your fish in red wine, drink red with it.

Whatever your choice -- enjoy!