Under £10 case

1. The Fizz is the Biz

2004 Bulle de Blanquette 1531, £9.99, Tesco.

From the Sieur d’Arques Co-op in Limoux near Carcassonne, this typical southern French blend of the mauzac grape with a dollops of chardonnay and chenin blanc for good measure, is richly flavoured, a creamy mousse of bubbles adding luxurious texture to a crisp dry finish. A handy alternative to champagne.

2. Aroma Therapy

2007 Castillo de Molina Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, Elqui Valley, £7.49, buy 2 = £5.99, Majestic Wine Warehouses.

From the cool, oceanic-influenced Elqui Valley in northern Chile’s Pisco country, this fresh aromatic sauvignon blanc is more reminiscent of New Zealand than the Loire Valley with its aroma of mangetout and opulent yet crisp, green-pepper scented fruit characters. A very pure expression of the grape variety.

3. Full as a Goog

2006 St.Romain Les Senteurs, £9.99, Marks & Spencer.

From Nicolas Potel and Fabrice Lesne, this pure chardonnay from the underrated village of Saint Romain in the Côtes de Beaune is subtle and complex with mealy hints of the stirring of the lees in barrel and a delicious rich fruitiness whose savoury acidity and delicate touch of oak add further complexity and balance to a stylish white burgundy.

4. Light and Bright

2005 Asda Extra Special Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, £6.98.

From Katnook Estate in Coonawarra whose vineyards sit a few miles inland from the Southern ocean, this classic, rich blackcurrant-rich cabernet, tinged with a light mintiness derived from its relatively cool climate location, has developed the ideal mature mellow smoothness of age. A better value alternative to claret.

5. Spice is Nice

2006 Marques de Casa Concha Merlot, £9.99, Sainsbury’s

This pure vanilla-scented merlot from Concha y Toro vineyards at Peumo in Chile’s Maipo valley, displays an opulent richness of blackberry and cassis fruitiness, whose spicy undertones are perfectly framed by a textured, rounded quality thanks to the balance provided by its supple, juicy qualities.

6. Sweet Somethings

2005 Château La Rame Sainte Croix du Mont, £9.99, Majestic

Known as poor person’s sauternes for the luscious but affordable quality of its rich sweet blends of sémillon and sauvignon blanc, Sainte Croix du Mont is a stalwart producer of affordable pudding wines like this one, whose scent of grilled almonds and a peachy fruit richness are leavened by the honeyed quality brought by the beneficial, natural mould known as ‘noble rot’.

7. Anyone for Sherry?

Taste the Difference 12 Year Old Oloroso, 50 cl, £6.99, Sainsbury’s.

Made entirely from the palomino grape of Jerez, which thrives in the white chalky soils of the region, and aged for 12 years in the traditional, trickle-down solera system, this sherry from the blending house of Lustau is smoky and richly scented with classic aromas of caramel and toffee, while the long, nutty, dry palate cries out for salted almonds and olives.

8. Port in a Storm

10 Year Old Tawny Port, £9.99, reduced from £12.99, to 23 November, Marks & Spencer.

Tawny in colour thanks to evolution of the major port grapes for 10 years in big old casks, evaporation over time has concentrated this sweetly raisined liquid into a mature, richly fruity, sweet port that’s gained in intensity of flavour, now showing a touch of the nuttiness of age. Rare to find a quality 10 Year Old for under a tenner, so make hay.

9. Green Chile

2006 Coyam, £9.95, The Wine Society (01438 741177; www.the winesociety.com)

Alvaro Espinoza, one of Chile’s top winemakers, has made an astonishingly rich, blackcurranty blend of syrah, merlot, carmenère, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and mourvèdre, all infused with green pepper and spicy oak: remarkable not just for the fact that it’s made from organic grapes but for its knockdown price. A keeper – if you can.

10. Cheap and Cheerful

2007 Champteloup Chardonnay, £3.99 to 2 December, reduced from £4.99, Waitrose.

This well-crafted, fresh chardonnay from the Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France, otherwise known as the Loire Valley, displays especially good crisp appley flavours and limey acidity for its discounted price, making it a serious candidate for either party dry white to be drunk on its own or for finger food lingering.

11. Pink is the Colour

2007 Pleyades Garnacha Rosé, £4.98, Asda.

From the region of Cariñena in north-eastern Spain, this a pure garnacha rosé, which, with its vivid pink colour and intense red berry fruitiness of aroma, is full-bodied, ripe and full of strawberryish fruit flavours as well as the body and dry finish to stand up to salads and pink-fleshed fish of the trout and salmon variety.

12. Off the Wall

2007 Terra Vecchia Reserve Merlot Niellucio, Skalli, £5.99, Somerfield.

When blended with a softening agent like merlot, as here, nielluccio, one of Corsica’s hidden native red grape treasures, produces an intriguing red with an aromatic smoky nose of red cherries and a vibrant pure cherry fruitiness on the palate, framed by the sort of smokiness and rustic tannins that will suit robust autumnal dishes.

Over £10 case

1. Sparkling Sophistication

Larmandier Bernier Terre de Vertus Extra Brut Premier Cru Champagne, £29.95 bottle/ £27.50 case (mixed or not), magnums £59.85/£54.95, Lea & Sandeman, Fulham Road, Kensington Church St. and Barnes (020 7244 0522 ; www.londonfinewine.co.uk)

From ace grower Pierre Larmandier, and made from pure chardonnay in a teasingly dry style, this taut, elegant blanc de blancs champagne displays the biscuity flavours derived from yeast maturation in bottle with a creamy, long-lasting mousse of bubbles and a stylish dry, tangy aftertaste that makes it not just an aperitif but a wine for shellfish too.

2. Spice Garden White

2006 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese, Mosel, £22, Jeroboams shops, London (020 7730 8108; www.jeroboams.co.uk)

How can a wine with only 7.5 per cent alcohol have this much aroma and flavour? It’s heavenly-scented with a richness of concentration of delectable peachy fruit and its undertones of lime marmalade and honey with an intense tangy zestiness have the tongue tingling and the throat crying out for more. Only the doctor knows how he does it.

3. Rich and Powerful

2005 Craiglee Vineyard Chardonnay, £17.50, Victoria, Berry Bros. & Rudd, 3 St. James’s, London (0870 900 4300; www.bbr.com)

From cool climate Victoria, this stylish rich chardonnay made in the mould of white burgundy delivers an exceptional purity of fruitiness, with opulent citrusy flavours of grapefruit and pineapple and added complexing notes derived from the oatmealy, nutty characters that fermentation and lees-stirring in the barrel bring.

4. Of a Certain Age

2001 Château Domeyne, Saint-Estèphe, £16.00, Marks & Spencer

Made by chips off the dynastic Lurton block, Claire Villars Lurton and Gonzague Lurton, this blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc from Saint-Estèphe is a mature yet modern style of claret that owes its stylish mocha and cedar aromas to oak maturation and its vivid richness and classic structure to a satisfying degree of cassis fruit.

5. Posh Spice

2005 Majella Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, £15.99, Oddbins.

Sweet and smoky on the nose with undertones of liquorice and cedar spice, this is an opulent, classic blackberryish cabernet sauvignon from South Australia’s famous Coonawarra district with plenty of old vine chocolatey richness and concentration, albeit tempered by succulent tannins, a dusting of oak spice and perky acidity. Claret it ain’t.

6. Midas Touch

2003 Királyudvar Tokaji Cuvée Ilona, 50 cl, £33, John Lewis Food Hall, Waitrose Canary Wharf, waitrosewine.com

I’m not normally prone to the hyperbole of the stonking word but there’s really no other descriptor for this modern take on traditional Tokaji: a glorious rich Hungarian Furmint / Hárslevelü confection of sweet dried apricot and peach jam whose sweetness and intense fruit flavour is tempered by a tangy citrusy mouthwatering tang and rounded out by the smoothness of barrel fermentation.

7. My Sherry Amour

Williams & Humbert Jalifa Amontillado 30 Year Old, half-bottle, £12.50 - £18.75, Planet of the Grapes (020 7405 4912; www.planetofthegrapes.co.uk, Nickolls and Perks, Stourbridge (01384 394518; www.nickollsandperks.co.uk), Fortnum and Mason

Great value for a mature 30 Year Old Amontillado, even in half-bottle, this rare bronze-coloured sherry has a beguiling aroma of smoky coffee and citrus zest with a salted caramel richness on the palate and the classic bone dry, nutty finish of true amontillado, the style that starts out as a fino and ends up heading towards an oloroso sherry.

8. Vintage Stuff

1994 Tesco Finest Vintage Port, £15.99, Tesco.

From the Symington family of Dow’s, Graham’s and Warre’s fame, this is a classic blend of the port varieties from a great vintage, rich, spicy and warming on the nose, full of sweet raisin and plum fruitcake intensity and now sufficiently mature to make it the perfect Christmas port treat at a relative bargain price for a vintage port of this age. Stand up and decant (the port that is).

9. Planet Organic

2007 Jurtschitsch Sonnhof, Loiserberg, Grüner Veltliner, Austria , £14.49, Corney & Barrow, Newmarket (01638 600 000 / 0207 265 2430; www.corneyandbarrow.com)

From the Jurtschitsch family of growers in Langenlois in the Kamptal region, this organic dry white made from Austria’s signature grape, the grüner veltliner, is a classic of its kind, with its telltale whiff of white pepper, its rich and spicy pure fruit concentration and distinctively spicy dry aftertaste pepped up by a mineral, dry undertone.

10. Oh to Be in England

2006 Ridgeview Cuvée Merret Bloomsbury, West Sussex, £19.99, Waitrose

Ridgeview has become a byword for world-class English sparkling wine and this vintage blend of the champagne grapes chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier is no exception, with its superb aromatic intensity, its lively richly textured mousse of foaming bubbles and appetisingly crisp dry finish. And good value at under £20 too.

11. In The Pink

2007 André Dezat Sancerre, Loire, France, £12.95, Berry Bros & Rudd (0870 900 4300; bbr.com)

From a high quality Loire Valley producer whose sauvignon blanc-based Sancerre is a delight of subtle minerality, this full-bodied salmon pinot rosé made from the pinot noir grape is perfumed and rich with an excellent berry-fruity winey vinosity, finishing elegantly dry on the aftertaste. Just the ticket as an apéritif or shellfish partner.

12. Bling’s the Thing

1998 Krug Vintage Champagne, around £230, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Berry Bros & Rudd (0870 900 4300; bbr.com), Bibendum (020 7722 5577; www.bibendum-wine.co.uk), Goedhuis (020 7793 7900).

1998 Krug Vintage Champagne, around £230, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Selfridges, Berry Bros & Rudd (0870 900 4300; bbr.com), Rodney Densem, Nantwich (www.rodneydensemwines.com), Robersons, London W14 (020 7371 2121).

Maidenhead Wine Co. (01628 411 273).

With its subtle complex aromas, biscuity evolved character of its sojourn on the lees for six years and longer, this new vintage Krug is explosively full-flavoured with a beguiling intense and creamy mousse, underlying citrusy fruit quality, a nutty finish all underlined by an incredible length and persistence of bubbly character. Affordable no, but next to the 1998 Clos du Mesnil at £720 (BBR), it almost looks that way.