Hands up those of you who thought vins de pays (country wines) are a poor relation to appellation wine. Go to the back of the class. Who thought that vins de pays were just simple, fruity numbers that could be from anywhere? Detention for you.

The term "vin de pays" has been in use since the 1930s, although it wasn't official until 1979. It is legally defined as describing a table wine carrying a geographical indication of the sector, region or département of its origin - a bridge between basic vin de table and appellation wines.

Updated in 2000, the naming guidelines now cover everything from production methods and yields to acidity levels and permitted additives, and vins de pays now account for some 40% of French wine exports to the UK.

And vins de pays do very much have a sense of place. There are three categories, each linked to a specific region or geographical area. The first is made up of wines from a designated area (Vin de Pays de Côtes de Thongue, for example). The second is made up of wines named after their département of origin (such as Hérault). The third category, the biggest, consists of five regional zones: Jardin de la France (in the Loire), Comt Tolosan (Midi-Pyrnes), Pays d'Oc (Languedoc-Roussillon), Comtés Rhodaniens (the Rhône-Alpes), and the Portes de la Mediterranée (Corsica, the Drôme, the Ardèche and Provence).

In the Languedoc-Roussillon, for example, which accounts for more than a third of France's vins de pays production (and more than 70% of the country's total wine volume), there's great diversity within the category, with plenty of varietals from Syrah to Sauvignon Blanc, not to mention some stunning blended wines. A growing number of producers are using the looser vin de pays rules to create arguably more experimental wines, making vins de pays an important outlet for the region's many maverick winemakers.

Vins de pays, you have probably already noticed, are comparatively easy to understand, as they're pretty much the only French wines (apart from Alsace) labelled with the name of the grape, which puts the category in direct competition with many of the marketing and winemaking initiatives of the New World.

For example, many producers now make Chardonnay which has undergone malolactic fermentation, in which there's an increase in lees and barrel ageing. The category is not doing badly - exports have increased by 10% per annum, both in volume and in sales, since 2000.

At their best, vins de pays can be classily complex, but most of the time they provide easy, fruit-packed drinking. And they just go on getting better, as Sopexa's annual Top 100 Vins de Pays competition recently discovered.

Now in its second year, the Top 100 gathers together some of the UK's top tasters to wade through more than 1,000 entries before arriving at their final choice. This year, the judges unanimously agreed that the quality of the wines was an improvement on last year, while the wines' value for money was rated "good to exceptional". The varieties that impressed the most were Syrah, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc.

So, what would a Caterer panel make of a 19-strong, cherry-picked line of on-trade friendly, mostly reasonably priced whites from the Top 100 Vins de Pays? Would any of these wines make it on to their lists? Read on to find out.

What we thought
You may have noticed there are no three-star wines listed. Don't let this put you off - there are still plenty of wines here to satisfy. The panel were looking for easy-going, yet relatively economical wines - good all-rounders that were easy to quaff on their own but with enough character to stand up to food.

That's what we got, for the most part. But we were also looking for something a bit classier - maybe a wine or two made by the aforementioned maverick winemakers, something really to write home about.

The winning wine, the oaked Chardonnay from Arnaud de Villeneuve, certainly rang true on that score - and all the tasters put this wine at the top of their lists. But we were hoping for, and didn't really get, more wines at this level.

The story might have been different, however, if the courier hadn't cocked things up. Four of the sample bottles arrived broken and new ones weren't delivered until after the panel had returned to the mainland. I tasted them anyway (after all, it wasn't the wines' fault) - I just wish my fellow tasters had been there, as my notes reveal some top scores.

A Vin de Pays du Val de Montferrand, Bergerie de l'Hortus Blanc, from Domaine de l'Hortus (6.25, from Les Caves de Pyrene, 01483 554750) had gorgeous peachy aromas and luscious lemony, apple cake fruit. Then there was a voluptuous Viognier from Domaine Cazal Viel (2004 Grande Reserve, Vin de Pays d'Oc, 6, Ellis of Richmond, 020 8744 5550), and an equally rounded, melony 2004 Pays d'Oc Chardonnay from Domaine St Hilaire (5, Christopher Piper Wines, 01404 814139).

But back to the tasting proper: what did the panel think? "Apart from a couple of wines, I wasn't overly excited," admitted Nick Scade, who doesn't currently have any vins de pays on his 300-bin list (which won the 2005 AA Wine List of the Year award, incidentally).

"Why? I think people are rather confused by the category," he said, "and I think there's just too much competition from the New World. If I was dining in a restaurant, I would steer clear - I think, in general, the quality varies hugely. If the quality level was always like we had it today, then I would be much happier selling vins de pays."

Jake Watkins said: "Five of the wines I tasted scored 14/20 - they were good, honest wines. But there are too many other good wines around. I just don't think they would sell that well in a restaurant - and certainly not in my little 22-seater. I know people say that you should have them on your list because they're such good value but, for me, they just don't stand out enough to make me list them."

Jeremy Willcock echoed this. "I thought they were pretty bland, to be honest," he said. "There was nothing I'd rush to put on my list" - except the sweet Muscat, which Willcock later admitted would make a great glugger on a hot summer's day.

"Well, I thought they were all good scores, considering most of these wines were under 5," said Johnny Walker, more cheerfully. "The wines that stood out for me were the Arnaud de Villeneuve Chardonnay and the white blend from Domaine de Pellehaut. I will definitely look at putting these on the Malmaison list. In fact, I've just put half-a-dozen more vins de pays on, taking the wine list up to 159 bins."

And while Alan Holmes thought the line-up was "pretty decent", he reckoned there should be more clarity on the labels for vins de pays. "You just never know what you're going to get, quality-wise," he said.

Holmes also waved a lone flag for Domaine Magellan's Les Collines (5.85, Villeneuve Wines), which divided the panel - that is, Holmes versus everyone else. "I loved the big anise and fennel flavours - very Rhne-esque," Holmes declared. "I'm constantly looking around for more unusual wines, especially ones that are food-friendly, as I predict this one will be." But then, one person's tinned peaches is another person's almond pastry. That's the beauty of blind wine tastings.

The tasters

A grand day out... the tasting panel sample the vins de pays. Jacki Everest, general manager of the George hotel. Panel members are:

• Jeremy Willcock, co-proprietor, the George, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight (JeW).
• Nick Scade, proprietor, the New Mill, Eversley, Hampshire (NS).
• Fiona Sims, freelance food and wine writer (FS).
• Johnny Walker, wine director, Malmaison Hotels (JoW).
• Jake Watkin, chef-proprietor, JSW, Petersfield, Hampshire (JW).
• Alan Holmes, head sommelier and wine buyer at Chewton Glen, New Milton, Hampshire (AH).
  
  Special thanks to the George, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, for hosting the event.
  
  The wines

Caterer rating
3 stars: Knockout
2 stars: Must-have
1 star: Good glugger

Two stars

• 2003 Oak-aged Chardonnay Arnaud de Villeneuve, Vin de Pays d'Oc, £5.99 (Affordable Wines, 01905 424789)
  "Lovely aromatic nose, lots of ripe peachy fruit and a rounded deep palate" - AH

One star

• 2004 Domaine de Pellehaut, Vins de Pays des C(tm)tes de Gascogne, £3.50 (Cheviot Wines, 0141-649 9881)
  "Gooseberry and nettle aromas, dry citrus lift and faintly tropical exit" - JoW
• 2003 Chardonnay de Pennautier, Vignobles Lorgeril, Vin de Pays d'Oc, £4.33 (Lane & Tatham, 01380 720123)
  "Fat and fruity, well-balanced acidity" - JeW
• 2004 Domaine des Hospices de Canet, Muscat Sec, Vin de Pays des C(tm)tes Catalanes, £4.50 (Waverley TBS, 01442 206800)
  "Crushed rose petals on the nose, refreshing, zingy fruit on the palate - very quaffable summer wine" - NS
• 2004 Domaine de Coussergues, Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays d'Oc, £4.10 (Raffles Wines, 01453 833133)
  "Clean, zesty citrus kick with an underlying elegant minerality" - FS
• 2004 Les Vignerons de Calvisson Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays d'Oc, £3.50 (AC Wines, 020 8695 5959)
  "Nice, clean limeflower-and-peel nose, with a vibrant acidity and good minerals on the finish." - AH
• 2004 Domaine Bassac, Petit Grain de Bassac, Mo‰lleux, Vin de Pays des C(tm)tes de Thongue, £5.10 (Vintage Roots, 0118 976 1999)
  "Musky, almond pastry nose with good, clean acidity" - JW

All prices quoted are per bottle excluding VAT, and all the wines were tasted blind.