Top 12 wines under £6

White
2004 Altozano Verdejo, Castilla y Leó, £4.99, Somerfield
Spain is not overburdened with interesting white grape varieties, but Verdejo is definitely one of them. This is a fresh unoaked style with plenty of weight on the palate, zingy acidity and flavours. of apples and pears.

Sherry
Tesco Finest Manzanilla, £4.99, Tesco
Sourced from the painterly Andalusian town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, this is a good example of the lightest, most refined style of sherry.

White
2004 Friuli Sauvignon Blanc, £5.99, Marks & Spencer
Italy is not as famous as the Loire Valley or New Zealand as a producer of Sauvignon Blanc, but this minerally white is outstanding value for money. Close your eyes and you could be drinking Pouilly-Fumé at twice the price.

Rosé
2004 Les Bastions Rosé, Côtes de Saint Mont, Producteurs de Plaimont £4.99, Adnams, 01502 727200
This is one of two wines I've selected from the excellent Plaimont co-operative in Gascony. This little known wine is dry and assertive with red fruits.

White
2004 Gobelsburger Grüner Veltliner, Kamptal, £5.99, Waitrose
It's good to see Waitrose continuing to take Austrian white wines seriously. Because when they are as flavoursome as this aromatic Grüner they are very hard to beat at the price.

Rosé
2004 Torres San Medin Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, Curicó, £5.49, Waitrose; £5.99, Booths
Like the Plaimont co-op, Torres is another winery that has two wines in my selection. This is from its Chilean outpost and is a very modern style of rosado.

White
2004 Quinta de Azevedo, Vinho Verde, £4.99, Booths; £5.49, Majestic
Vinho Verde is one of Europe's forgotten wines. At least it is to most people. But if you can find a better summer aperitif than this floral, musky, bone-dry white then I'd love to hear about it.

Red
2004 Vineyard X Garnacha, Campo de Borja, £3.49, Threshers: buy two get one free
Spanish Garnacha can be one of the wine world's incomparable bargains. This juicy, almost Beaujolais style red is soft and spicy. It tastes even better lightly chilled.

White
2004 Saint Mont, Producteurs de Plaimont, £5.49, M&S
The grape varieties (Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu and Arrufiac) are not exactly household names, but the exotic flavours are thrilling. For people who are tired of Chardonnay and Sauvignon.

Red
2004 Bardolino, Azienda Agricola Cavalchina, £5.99, Booths
Wines produced on the shores of Lake Garda are often regarded as tourist fodder by lovers of serious Italian rossi. But this juicy, unoaked red is delicious. Serve from the fridge.

White
2004 Torres Viña Sol, Penedès, £5.99, Threshers: buy two get one free
Viña Sol is such a reliable brand it's easy to take it for granted. But this crisp, lemon-and-lime-like Penedès white has never tasted so good. At the three for two price (£3.99), it's a steal.

Red
2004 Co-op Explorers Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marlborough, £5.99, Co-op
Finding drinkable Pinot Noir from New Zealand for under £6 is almost impossible. So well done the Co-op. If only Burgundy could compete at the price.

Top 12 wines under £10

White
2003 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett, £7.99, Tanners, 01743 234500
Young Mosel Riesling is one of my favourite summer tipples. The alcohol is appealingly low at 9.5%.

White
2004 Mas Las Cabes Muscat, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes, Jean Gardiès, £6.49, Majestic: buy two save £1
Muscat is usually associated with sweet fortified wines rather than dry ones from the Roussillon region of southern France, but this is stylish and grapey.

White
2004 Montana Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, £6.49, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Threshers, widely available
I'm not generally a lover of widely stocked brands, but this screwcapped New Zealand white is an exception.

Rosé
2004 Rosé de Flaugergues, Coteaux du Languedoc, £6.45, Majestic
There's a revolution happening in the world of French rosés, typified by this modern fruity style. It's a wine with enough grip and intensity to partner barbecued food.

White
2004 Graham Beck Viognier, Western Cape, £6.99, Sainsbury's
South Africa is the latest New World country to enter the value for money Viognier stakes. Or at least it is if this rich, oak-aged white is anything to go by. It lingers deliciously on the palate.

Rosé
2004 Château Roubaud, Costières de Nîmes Rosé, £7.25, Yapp Brothers, 01747 860423
This pale, full-bodied rosé is as good as anything being produced in more expensive Tavel in the Rhône valley. A great picnic pink.

White
2004 Concha y Toro Riesling, Winemaker's Lot 20, Bio Bio, £7.49, Oddbins
Chile is beginning to make a bit of a noise with Riesling, especially in southerly, cool climate areas like Bio Bio. This screwcapped white is crisp and elegant.

Red
2003 Scotchman's Hill Swan Bay Shiraz, Victoria, £7.99, Oddbins
At times, Victorian Shiraz can taste a little bit like Syrah from the northern Rhône. This wonderful wine is a classic example.

White
2004 Radcliffe's Gewurztraminer d'Alsace, Cave de Turckheim, £9.99, Threshers: buy two get one free
Gewurztraminer can be a bit of a one-glass wine at times, but when it's as well balanced as this one, it's truly delicious.

Red
2003 Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny, £9.20, Haynes, Hanson & Clark, 020 7259 0102
Loire Cabernet Francs are at their best in hot vintages like 2003, when their potentially stalky flavours are transformed by sunshine.

White
2004 Banwell Farm Riesling, Eden Valley, £7.99, M&S
Made at the Barossa Valley's St Hallett winery, this Eden Valley Riesling is a classic example of undervalued Aussie-wine style. Great now, it will develop in the bottle.

Red
2003 Fleurie, Domaine André Colonge, £9.95, Berry Brothers, 0870 900 4300
Beaujolais was another French region that excelled itself in 2003. This Fleurie estate has made a concentrated, almost Burgundian-style Gamay.

Top 12 wines over £10

Red
2003 Le Volte, Tenuta dell' Ornellaia, Toscana, £10.04, John Armit
What more can you ask for from a Tuscan red at just over £10? This is a judicious blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

White
2000 Vouvray Le Mont Sec, Huet, £11.25, Waitrose
Dry Loire Chenin Blanc can be a little too austere for some palates, but I love the restrained elegance of Huet's biodynamic wines. One to keep.

White
2002 Veigadares Rías Baixas, Adegas Galegas, £12.98, Corney & Barrow, 020 7265 2453
Rías Baixas in Spain's north west corner has emerged as Spain's best white wine area in the last decade.

Red
2003 Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Heresztyn, £19.99, Waitrose
You can taste the old vine concentration in this first rate Côte de Nuits Pinot Noir. Good now, but will develop for three to eight years.

White
2002 Chablis, Domaine de la Boissonneuse, Julien Brocard, £12.99, Adnams
Made in a fantastic year for white Burgundy, this organically-farmed Chardonnay is what great unoaked Chablis should be all about.

Red
2000 Château Corbin, Saint Emilion, Grand Cru, £25, Majestic
OK, I know that Saint Emilion isn't exactly a summer red, but this is so good that I'd take it indoors and serve it with dinner.

White
2002 Riesling d'Alsace, Belzbrunnen, Domaine Dirler-Cadé, £14.25, Berry Brothers, 0870 900 4300
Alsace Riesling is sometimes overlooked by wine lovers in their rush to buy German, Austrian and Australian examples. But this is one of the best Rieslings I've had.

Fizz
Tesco Blanc de Noirs Champagne, £13.99, Tesco
Hard to beat in the value for money stakes, this inexpensive bubbly is a blend of Pinot Noir and 40% Pinot Meunier. It's a fruity, easy-drinking style.

White
2004 Roero Arneis, Bricco Cappellina, Bruno Giacosa, £14.29, John Armit, 020 7908 0600
In Piedmont, white Arneis is a bit of an afterthought for red winemakers focused on Nebbiolo, but this is a concentrated wine of rare complexity.

Fizz
2000 St Gall Grand Cru Champagne, £18.04, M&S
I'm not sure how M&S manages to source a Grand Cru vintage champagne from the Côte des Blanc for under £20, but let's be grateful that it does. This is a mature, classy fizz.

White
2004 Pouilly-Fuissé, Terroirs Rares, Christophe Cordier, £15.99, Majestic: buy two save £2
Christophe Cordier hasn't stinted on the oak-fermentation here, but this powerful Mâconnais Chardonnay can more than cope with the barrels.

Fizz
1998 H Blin Brut Champagne, £23.99, Oddbins
This is a total contrast to the St Gall, with much more weight. It's a big wine, almost in a Bollinger style, with lots of yeasty flavours and a big, bold finish.