I have always thought of myself as a red wine person.

Give me a good Rioja, Malbec, Montepulciano or Côtes du Rhône and I am usually very happy. There is something about red wine that feels cosy, relaxed and easy to enjoy. It suits a slow dinner, a Sunday evening, a catch-up with friends or one of those nights where you open a bottle and suddenly the conversation gets better.

For a long time, white wine never really had the same appeal to me.

I would drink it occasionally, usually in summer or if someone else had chosen it, but I rarely got excited about it. In my head, wine was mostly red. Big, smooth, warm, deep, fruity, sometimes a little spicy. That was my comfort zone.

I have also been a Virgin Wines subscriber, which has definitely helped me try more bottles than I would have picked up in a supermarket. That is one of the things I enjoy about having wine delivered. You end up trying something you might have walked straight past on a shelf. Sometimes it is a hit, sometimes it is not, but it makes wine feel a bit more fun and less predictable.

Most of the time, though, I still drift back towards red.

Recently, that started to change a little.

I went to a wine tasting event with Guestbook Events and sampled wines from Albourne Estate, a Sussex vineyard not too far from Brighton. I had already been interested in English wine, partly because Sussex is becoming such a brilliant place for it, but also because there is something lovely about drinking something that feels connected to where you live.

When you live in Brighton, the countryside is never far away. You can be by the sea one minute and looking out towards the South Downs the next. That mix of coast, countryside, food, drink and independent local experiences is one of the things I love most about living here.

The tasting was a nice reminder of that.

I tried a Sussex Chardonnay from Albourne Estate, and it genuinely surprised me. I think part of me still had an outdated idea of Chardonnay in my head. Too heavy, too buttery, too much. But this was much fresher and more interesting than I expected. It had that lovely balance of being easy to drink but still feeling like there was something to think about.

Then there was the rosé, which was also really enjoyable. I have never been anti-rosé, but I think I had often put it in the “sunshine and holidays” category rather than something I would properly pay attention to. This one felt more grown-up than that. Light, elegant and very drinkable without being boring.

It made me realise that sometimes your taste changes, but sometimes your assumptions just need updating.

That is one of the best things about wine. You can know what you like, but still be surprised. You can have your favourites, but still make space for something new. And when you taste wine in the right setting, with someone explaining the story behind it, it becomes much more than just what is in the glass.

It becomes about the place. The weather. The soil. The people. The year. The mood you are in when you drink it.

I still love red wine. That has not changed. A good red will probably always be my first instinct, especially with a proper dinner or a cosy night in. But I am definitely becoming more open-minded.

A Sussex Chardonnay on a warm evening? Yes.

A good rosé with friends? Absolutely.

English wine from a vineyard close to home? Even better.

I think that is what I enjoyed most about the tasting. It was not about pretending to be a wine expert. It was about trying things, asking questions and realising that you do not need to know everything to enjoy it.

Sometimes you just need to pour a glass, pay attention and see what you think.

And occasionally, you discover that the thing you thought was not really for you might actually be exactly what you want.