2006 Dios del Sol, Argentine Chardonnay, Somerfield, down 50p to £3.49 until July 17. Bring along this cracking, screwcapped, easygoing summer chardonnay to the beach or a picnic, and its juicy, elegant melon and apple-charged fruit will do just what it is supposed to do: quench everyone's thirst.

2006 Dios del Sol, Argentine Bonarda, Somerfield, down 50p to £3.49 until July 17. Let's hope this new, own-label Somerfield duo will rekindle our taste for Argentine wines, as this impressive big, bold, plummy, inky bonarda, with lots of ripe, spicy fruit, is tailor-made for barbecued meats.

2004 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine des Sénéchaux, France, Berry, Bros & Rudd, £16.95, or £15.35 by the unmixed case. Châteauneuf is the big-name southern rhône red, and with reason, because its bold, spicy, herby, savoury, faintly leathery style, in this case plumped up by lots of sweet, perfumed plummy fruit, is a whiz with barbecued food.

2005 Pazo de Seoane Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain, Waitrose, £8.49. The albarino grape, from Galicia in Spain's far northwest corner, is never going to make the country's best-value bottle, but there are lots of summery menus where this gorgeous, ripe, floral, grapey, zesty white will shine.

2005 Moulin à Vent, Château de Chenas, France, Waitrose, £9.99. Moulin à Vent, the most robust of beaujolais' crus, does not come cheap either, but if you want a lively summery wine, capable of surviving the flavour blasts of barbecued food, this rich, chunky yet velvety, plummy red is for you.

2004 Saint-Aubin, 1er Cru Les Castets, Hubert Lamy, Burgundy, France, Berry, Bros & Rudd (01256 323566), £16.95, or £15.35 by the unmixed case. The product of a fine red burgundy vintage, this joyous wine has lots of elegant, restrained, leafy, gamey spice and a fine savoury, beefy finish.

Times Recommends

• Thomasina Miers’s cabbage and bitter leaves on garlic toast
• Food that's good for body and soul
• Carrot, date and goat's cheese salad