To some consumers, the idea of spending £8 on a bottle of wine is profligate. Why waste your money on something so ephemeral? Such people are perfectly happy to drink whatever happens to be on special offer this month, reasoning that £4.99 is a sufficient outlay on wine. I'd like to persuade you otherwise. I could take an easy tack - by reminding you how much it costs to go to the cinema, have your haircut or take a train journey - but I'd rather appeal to your innate sense of taste. If you can afford to spend £8 or more on a bottle of wine, there's a good chance that you'll enjoy it more. There's also a good chance that the person who made it will still be in business next year. But what should you buy? I take the risk out of spending more on wine by tasting thousands of wine each year on your behalf. I can't guarantee that you'll like everything here - I've deliberately chosen some off-the-wall wines for those of you who want to experiment - but there should be something to suit every palate. I've majored on whites, rosés and fizzes, with a few chillable reds for good measure. Happy summer drinking.
My best buy
2006 Saint Amour, Domaine Le Carjot £8.99, Adnams, 01502 727222
At its best, Saint Amour is one of the lightest of the Beaujolais Crus with a succulence and sweetness of fruit that are utterly gluggable. This youthful, brightly coloured red is a textbook Gamay with black cherry and strawberry fruit to spare.
The best red wines (from £9.99 to £15)
2005 Dolcetto d'Alba, Elio Grasso £11.45, Lay & Wheeler, 0845 330 1855
In Italy, Dolcetto is usually drunk within a year of the harvest, although the best examples will age for longer. This is a bright, plum and black cherry-like red with firmish but well integrated tannins.
2004 Cullen Ellen Bussell Red, Margaret River £9.99, Waitrose
Vanya Cullen's reds are some of the glories of Western Australia. You 'll find it hard to believe, but this succulent, forward, lightly oaked blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot is her entry point red. Delicious stuff.
2006 Fleurie, Domaine Grille-Midi £9.99, Marks & Spencer
You tend to have to pay a little more for Fleurie than the other Beaujolais Crus - partly because it's such a famous name - but it's worth it when the wine is as good as this juicy, concentrated, lightly oaked red.
2006 Lone Range Pinot Noir, Martinborough £14.99, Marks & Spencer
Made for M&S by Rod Easthope at Craggy Range, this is a great example of how New Zealand is beginning to challenge red Burgundy under £15. It's vibrant and youthful with red fruits, elegance and sweet, vanilla oak.
2004 Rocca Guicciarda Chianti Classico Riserva £14.99, Sainsbury's
The first 2004 Chianti Classico Riservas are just arriving on the market, and what a brilliant vintage it is. This is quite an old-fashioned style with delicate, almost Pinot Noir-like fruit, balanced tannins and classic Sangiovese perfume.
2005 TMV Swartland Syrah £15, Waitrose
The wines from this brilliant estate are some of the few Cape reds that find their way into my own cellar. This is a soft, silky Syrah with sweet oak and spicy red fruits . It has more than 14.65% alcohol, but it really doesn't taste like it.
The best champagne
2000 Le Mesnil Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs £26.95, Berry Brothers & Rudd, 0870 900 4300
By way of a contrast, this is a lighter, all Chardonnay champagne that's a steal at this price. It's fresh and citrussy, with notes of hazelnut and fresh brioche and a fine, tapering finish. A really elegant vintage champagne.
Fleury Père et Fils Champagne NV £34.99, Marks & Spencer
Jean-Pierre is one of the few growers in Champagne who is both organic and bio-dynamic. Even if you don't agree with his methods, the results are a knock-out in this assertive, youthful, appealingly dry Blanc de Noirs fizz.
Taittinger Rosé Champagne NV £33.99, or £27.19 each for three, Threshers, Wine Rack
The prices of some rosé champagnes have got out of hand in the past few years, but this Pinot-based fizz is well worth the money. It's drier than many of its competitors with a delicate cushion of bubbles and subtle raspberry hints.
The best white wines under £10
2006 Hatzidakis Assyrtiko, Santorini £8.99, Waitrose
Haridimos Hatzidakis' Assyrtiko is the toast of Santorini at the moment; a crisp, refreshing, stainless-steel fermented white with white pepper and citrus fruit flavours and an unmistakeable Mediterranean tang.
2006 Pecorino, Rocco Pasetti £8.99, Marks & Spencer
I did a double take when I first encountered this wine. What was a cheese-maker doing bottling his own white? But this Abruzzo curiosity is rich and complex with notes of banana and crème brûlée.
2005 Oberemmeler Hütte Riesling Kabinett, Von Hovel £8.50, Tanners, 01743 234500
This is one of those old-fashioned German labels that almost challenge you to like the wine behind it. But what a wine it is: off-dry, feather-light and crisp with pure Cox's apple fruit underpinned by zingy acidity.
2006 Chablis, La Maladière, William Fèvre £9.99, or £8.99 each for two, Majestic
Since the champagne producer Joseph Henriot took over William Fèvre a few years ago, the wines have been on a steep upward curve. This is a classic unoaked Chablis with crisp minerality, lovely fruit and a chalky undertone.
2001 McWilliams Elizabeth Semillon, Hunter Valley £9.99, Morrisons
It's great to see Morrisons, never the most adventurous of supermarkets, listing a wine like this mature Australian gem from the Hunter Valley, with its low alcohol, waxy, lanolin-like aromas and toasty complexity.
2005 Pouilly-Fumé, Fournier Père et Fils £9.99, Tesco
I often prefer the intensity of Pouilly-Fumé to the comparative blandness of a lot of commercial Sancerres. This is Loire Sauvignon at its tight, focused, citrus-edged best with remarkable freshness and zip.
2006 Clocktower Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough £9.99, Marks & Spencer
One sniff of this wine and you could only be in New Zealand's South Island. It's a modern, gooseberryish Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with crunchy acidity, nice mid-palate creaminess and a hint of tropical fruit.
2006 Fiano di Avellino, Feudi di San Gregorio £9.99, Waitrose
Is Fiano the next Pinot Grigio? I certainly hope so, because it's a miles more interesting grape variety. This is a rich, ginger-spicy number with good weight and the depth of flavour that's typical of this Campania speciality.
2005 Domaine Préceptoire, Côtes du Roussillon £9.99, Oddbin
The white wines from the Roussillon area of southern France just keep getting better. This sensitively oaked blend of Grenache Gris and 30% Macabeo is a stunner, with notes of fennel and citrus fruit and a mealy texture.
The best white wines & rosés over £10
2005 Laurent Miquel Verité Viognier, Vin de Pays d'Oc £11.99, Waitrose
Great Viognier is never cheap, but why spend £20 or more on a bottle of Condrieu when you can buy something like this intense, hedonistic, apricot-scented, beautifully crafted Viognier, for a little over half the price?
2005 Jasmine, Colli Orientali del Friuli, Canus £12.50, Berry Brothers, 0870 900 4300
Sourced from high-altitude vineyards in the north-east of Italy, this is the sort of thing that could give Italian wines a good name. It's a tangy, bone-dry blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio with notes of fresh herbs.
2006 Langhe Arneis Bricco Capellina, Gianni Voerzio £13.25, Lay & Wheeler, 0845 330 1855
Piedmont is far better known for red grapes such as Nebbiolo and Dolcetto than for its local white speciality, Arneis, but I love the edgy, green olive-like crispness of this refreshing, slightly spritzy white.
2005 Mâcon Verzé, Domaines Leflaive £13.49, Corney & Barrow, 020 7265 2400
If you can't afford the Puligny-Montrachets from Domaines Leflaive, arguably Burgundy's best white wine producer, you can get some idea of what the fuss is about with a bottle of this nuanced Mâconnais Chardonnay.
Rosé 2006 Domaine Saparale, Corse Sartène £8.95, Yapp Brothers, 01747 860423
This may well be the first blend of Sciacarello, Nielluccio and Vermentino you've ever tasted, but it's a deliciously pale Corsican rosé with subtle cherry fruit and a nip of food-friendly tannin on the finish.
Rosé 2006 Château d'Aquéria Tavel Rosé £9.99, or £7.99 each for two, Majestic
Tavel is one of those wines that usually tastes better in situ than it does back in the UK, but this one is just as good in SW18. It's a dry, full-bodied, Grenache-based style with plenty of colour and flavours of raspberry and rosehip.
