Not far from me there is a fairly smart gastropub with rooms that serves good food. It is sensibly priced and the views on a sunny day are smashing.

I would love to go more but the reason I do not is that it has an altogether shocking wine list. It is very poor not because of its brevity or price but because what is on it is really not very nice and poorly managed.

I hate being so negative but I am especially incensed because when we went there to celebrate a friend’s birthday this week, we were unanimous in our decision to eat fish.

Splendid, thought I, what we need is a nice, crisp Sauvignon or — my preference — a lively little Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie. There was one on the list but it was from 2007.

For those not in the know, Muscadet is a wine that is made to be drunk young; ideally within the year that it is bottled.

There are notable exceptions: Guy Bossard from Domaine de l’Ecu makes single-vineyard Muscadet wines that are akin to top Rieslings and have the structure and potential to age magnificently. But this is rare.

For a restaurant selling quality food to be serving three-year-old everyday drinking Muscadet for over £20 is just rubbish.

I am not sure who is more to blame — the merchant that is supplying them or the proprietors. I am tempted to have serious words with both.

The wine we eventually ended up with was perfectly okay but I silently mourned the opportunity to show what a cracking drink Muscadet (made from Melon de Bourgogne) can be.

It is often dismissed for grander, better known names and yet it is the sort of white wine that meets many wine drinkers demands.

I have never known it to exceed 13 per cent alcohol — and it is generally lower; the wines are bright and invigorating — the best ones with lots of fruit and in 90 per cent of those I have tasted, uninhibited by oak ageing. Hurrah! There is a discernible difference between a ‘straight’ Muscadet and those that are labelled as Muscadet Sur Lie; the latter means ‘Muscadet on the lees’ which tells us that during fermentation the wine spends time with the grape skins and other deposits.

It might sound a bit grim, but it is important because it is this process that gives the wine more flavour and breadth.

Of all the Loire Valley’s vineyards, those of Muscadet are amongst the closest to the Atlantic and, given this and the amazing river fishing, it is no surprise that these wines make sterling partners to all sorts of seafood dishes and are, in short, a refreshing change to Sauvignon Blanc.

So, I am staying in this weekend and have pre-selected the Muscadet Sür Lie that I will be enjoying with my sole (Friday) and then trout fillets (Sunday lunch).

If you wish to share in the joy of all that is good about Muscadet here are three excellent examples. Domaine de la Mortaine 2009 (£8.25 www.yapp.co.uk), Domaine Guindon 2009 (£7.50 www.divinefinewines.co.uk), Domaine de la Tourmaline 2009 (www.majestic.com).