I was presenting at a Christmas wine dinner this week (one of those events that they book you for a year in advance) and two days beforehand I get a call to say: “Oh yes, and we’d like it to be a fun, interactive tasting this time.”

Fun is fine but interactive at a sit-down dinner?

I had settled on a modified version of a ‘knockout/true or false’ game whereby a wine is tasted, the group stands up and I ask a series of either /or questions.

A wrong answer sees you sit down, whilst a correct one sees you remain standing. Those standing at the end are the winners.

Not included in the game was the night’s aperitif wine — IGT Veneto Raboso Frizzante (£7.75) that had completely split the group.

A chilled, very lightly sparkling red wine from Italy was clearly a bit of a shock to some.

I embarked on a story about tasting it with a stick of salami and somehow got myself into the sort of bother that makes me realise what a tightrope celebrities walk when talking to the press . . . I turned as red as the wine itself.

The game kicked off with a pair of stylistically similar whites with very different origins.

The first was a 2009 Xarel.lo from Spanish producers Albet I Noya (£8.25), the second a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from Emiliana Órganico.

Both were crisp, dry and unoaked. The Chilean Sauvignon Blanc had a richer texture, whilst the Xarel.lo was brighter and sharper with mouth-watering lime fruits.

I was sympathetic to the difficulty of deciding whether the wines were old world or new world, but more surprised by the number of people who thought the wines were oak-aged.

There was no creaminess, vanilla, spice or buttery flavours and both wines were pretty pale in colour.

All the clues were there that no oak had been used in either of the wines.

The room preferred the Sauvignon Blanc before the food arrived but interestingly there was a shift to the Xarel.lo when they started drinking the wines with the salmon starter.

The beef was to be served with a choice Château Couronneau’s AOC Bordeaux Supérieur 2008 (£8.95) or the Jean Bousquet Malbec Reserva 2007 (£10.99), pictured right, and I am afraid that the Malbec, with its rich, smooth fruits was the clear winner.

All praise has to go to the work of Wines of Argentina for promoting Malbec and getting it into people’s homes because the majority of the room were able to identify the wine as Malbec, long before they knew what the wine was. Impressive!

Harder to guess was the vintage, not just because it is a tricky thing to do for us ‘experts’ but also because the wine had held its youthful colour in a way that you don’t always find after three years or so.

The sweet pair was very different, sharing only the fact that both were non-vintage.

Heaven-on-Earth Muscat (£7.99 for 50cl) is made from grapes that are harvested at the usual time and then dried over the winter when they become sweet and concentrated.

The Pineau des Charentes (£14.75) is fortified with cognac to bring fermentation to an early and sweet halt, making it much more alcoholic and ‘spirity’ in taste. On balance the Muscat performed best with the warming crumble pudding.

In the end, I felt that I had done my bit.

Everyone seemed to have a good time and, with all that food and wine about, I had ensured that folk had burnt off a few calories with all that sitting up and down.

All in all, a very good night indeed.

For those that are interested, the wines were all sourced at organic wine specialists, Vintage Roots (www.vintageroots.co.uk 0800 980 4992) To read more about Sarah and to sign up for her wine e-postcards please go to www.wine-talk.co.uk