2007 Lime Tree Chardonnay, South Australia, Co-op, down £1 to £3.49 until August 3. With money tight and margins minimal, genuine wine deals are scarce, but the trusty Co-op’s cheap Aussie duo works, especially this ripe, juicy, zesty, melon-scented, night-harvested chardonnay.

2006 Lime Tree Merlot, South Eastern Australia, Co-op, down £1 to £3.49 until August 3. An ideal barbecue red made from the ever modish, plump, raisiny merlot grape and oozing with the sort of spicy, creosote-spiked, oak-chipped fruit that will have wide appeal.

2007 Finest Grüner Veltliner, Niederösterreich, Austria, Tesco, £6.49. If you have been put off purchasing top Austrian white wines because they are expensive, then check out this fine, nutty, grapey, keenly priced grüner with a long, punchy, white-pepper finish from the Lenz Moser stable.

2005 Finest Ribera del Duero, Barceló, Spain, Tesco, £7.19. Kiwi Master of Wine Sam Harrop is the man behind this 100 per cent tempranillo grape red, aged in small French and American oak barrels and bursting with delicious, fat, spicy, plummy pizzazz.

2007 Château Grand Village Bordeaux Blanc, France, Armit (020-7908 0600), £7.95. The best dry white 2007 bordeaux are brilliant, and this mouthwatering, lively, verdant, citrussy edition, made from equal amounts of sauvignon blanc and semillon grapes, is a wonderful example.

2001 Quinta da Falorca Reserva, Dão, Portugal, Armit, £12.60. Smashing summer red, with lots of gorgeous, herby, briary, violet-scented, French oak-aged fruit. Shows that the Dão region of Portugal can and does produce wines every bit as impressive as those of the in-vogue Douro.

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