Victoria Moore The budget wines that punch above their price tags

Wine snobs don’t always have deep pockets. Some of the fussiest drinkers I know are also the most exacting when it comes to price. If you read this column often then you’ll know I’m certainly not flopped on a chaise longue twirling a glass of Puligny-montrachet every night (lovely though that would be).

Sometimes I spend £20 to £30 on a bottle, but I can also enjoy wine at £7. And yes, I know more than half of that bottle is tax, but, incredibly, not only is it occasionally possible to find something worth drinking at this price, but those bottles can be more enjoyable than a mediocre £10 wine.

How to do it? Keeping a sharp eye on supermarket promotions and discounts is obviously vital. I know you do that already. Beyond that, here are three of the current top places to look for good wine when you don’t have a lot to spend.

South Africa (for chenin blanc)

Back in the early noughties, most South African chenin blanc was decent, but it was very much in the fruit salad – orange segments, starfruit, mango, physalis – area of play. Now when I try Cape chenin I still find those warm citrus and faintly tropical flavours, but there’s also a tantalising quality – more nuance and more of a sense of place. I absolutely loved A Fistful of Schist Chenin Blanc 2023, Swartland (12.5%, The Wine Society, £6.95), which is made for The Wine Society in Riebeek Cellars, a big co-operative in the wilds of Swartland, to the north of Cape Town. It is fruity but it’s refreshing too. Bring it on with ginger and spring onion noodles or just roast chicken. I also enjoyed Boumvine The White 2023 (12.5%, Majestic, £9.99 or £8.99 in a mixed six), a blend of two thirds chenin blanc with Rhône grapes marsanne, grenache blanc and viognier.

Tesco

One of the school-gates mums recently said to me that she normally shops at Tesco but ‘of course’ when she wants a bottle of wine she goes to Waitrose. Don’t make the mistake of thinking the Tesco wine range is second-rate. The supermarket has brilliant (and brilliantvalue) wines at all levels. At the cheaper end, check out Marqués de los Zancos Rioja Blanco 2022, Spain (12%, £6), which is a refreshing unoaked white, made from the viura grape, that tastes of preserved lemon and lemon cordial. I also rate the Finest Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2022, South Africa (13.5%, £8.75), and the Finest Montepulciano d’abruzzo 2020, Italy (13.5%, £7.75). The latter is a red from central Italy that tastes of cherries, with a dusting of spice and earth that would be good with garlicky lamb chops or a pizza with caramelised red onions and salami.

Spain

Steer away from well-known regions and there are lots of good-value wines. M&S Expressions Garnacha 2022, Castile-la Mancha (14%, M&S, £8), is a light, fairly translucent and fresh garnacha made from grapes grown at high altitude. Absolutely not one of the velvety pompom garnachas, think refreshing and bright. The Society’s Spanish Monastrell 2022, Jumilla (13.5%, The Wine Society, £6.50), is a dark, richly fruity red that tastes of bramble and blueberry jelly and would be really good to drink alongside a homemade burger with blue cheese and redcurrant jelly melted on it.

Steer away from Spain’s well-known regions and there are lots of good-value bottles