Best buys in festive whites

Look for these bargain bottles for your holiday entertaining and personal pleasure

Good, cheap wines are always in demand. But the appetite for bargain bottles grows exponentially as the date gets closer to a major holiday.

Please forgive me as the valuefor-money theme becomes evergreen for the next few weeks to aid your holiday wine shopping. I’ll be looking to share suggestions on seriously impressive bottles, starting with two stunning whites for less than $15.

Red wines from the Argento winery in Argentina have been frequently featured in this column over the years. The Malbec in particular has been celebrated for “over-delivering” — to use the awkward phrase marketers love to abuse — on the value for money scale. The must-taste in the current lineup is actually the Pinot Grigio, a grape that isn’t commonly associated with Argentina.

It’s crisp and refreshing, but with pleasing flavour and texture that makes it more interesting and enjoyable than most Pinot Grigios. This is a solid yearround house wine option.

Even more exciting is the new addition of the Wolftrap white, an innovative blend from one of South Africa’s best wineries. A winning mix of exotic and expressive white grape varieties, Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc, ensures the finished wine is packed with charm and style.

Each variety is harvested and fermented separately; the Viognier and Chenin Blanc are aged in French oak to enhance the flavour and texture. The Grenache Blanc is fermented in egg-shaped concrete tanks that are the rage with quality-minded winemakers around the world. The special vats produce wines that are softer in texture and have more structure than ones fermented in conventional stainless steel tanks.

The components are then blended to create a white whose sum adds up to more than its parts — and price tag. The 2016 Wolftrap White manages to be concentrated, juicy and mouthwatering in turns. It’s truly delicious.