... it's not bad at all. Hardy's is genuinely good stuff.

If you've got a Co-Op, go for their Jacaranda. It's unbelievably cheap - you can get a 3l box for under eighteen quid - and it's surprisingly meaty (meaning complex) for cheap plonk. I mean it's real, raise-your-eyebrows, how-much? good.

Rock on, and Black Teeth to All Men.

Heritage Road is a favourite of mine along with Casillero Del Diablo. McGuigan's Estate, Nottage Hill & Wolf Blass all make regular appearances chez andielou.

Chin chin!

sells a cheeky Bordeaux (Cab Sauv/Merlot) 'Chateau David', around the six quid mark, v. nice drop of plonk.

Hardy's, Jacob's Creek etc. Try Cuvee Chasseur from Waitrose. Gorgeous French country wine made from Merlot & Grenache. For £4.26 it's a bloody bargain.

My reference to Sideways in my OP was related to the wine buff's disdain for Merlot. It's nice to know that at least one person also thinks Hardys Merlot is not half bad.

Part of the 'problem' with me is that I just don't have incredibly strong opinions about food and drink. Others apparently genuinely *hate* Chardonnay, Merlot or whatever.

I can, however, differentiate between different qualities in each respective classification, in the same way as I'm aware that Budweiser is a good, safe, mainstream lager but something like Pilsner Urquell is on a different level.

Anything "appelation" will be good. You often see a decent Cote de Rhone for under a fiver while more marketed brain busting 13% new world stuff is more expensive. Appellation = quality. "Vin de Pays" though can vary a lot.

Now, look here, I'm a bit of a smart-arse in this whole wine area and I'd suggest the following (I was banging on about Merlot before "Sideways"):
Look for European wines, esp Spain, France, Italy (they're really not that bad): the flavours tend to be less driven by the alcohol. Those Aussie wines can be up to 14% - which seems good value for money - but they can seem to bloated, too jammy (it's not necessarily done on purpose these days: it's just the climate and how it ripens the grapes). European wines can struggle to get past 13.5% with the majority being 12.5 to 13%: this 10% difference can make the difference in flavour, making European wines a little easier to drink).

Your palate is your own and what you like may be poison to others. So mix up you choices. Look for other wines at similar prices and experiment. A good start is Malbec: it begins with M, has 6 letters and costs about the same as a Merlot but, to me is shot thru' with a bit more of a lighter, less-plummy but juicier character. Best from Argentina, and with Reserva on the label: from about £6 up to £8.

To me, cheap Merlot is about as boring as it gets. It's nice dark-purply-red colour is v. enticing but it just seems to offer only a bit of vague spicy, plummy fruit and...not much else. It needs a little bit of oak-ageing (age-ing in barrels helps "file down" some of the brutal edginess) and/or the odd bucket of Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc (like they do in Bordeaux, the home of these grapes) to add some interest, often with a bit of blackcurrant-y type flavour. So a supermarket own-label Claret or red Bordeaux at about £7 is a good start.

Same goes for Tempranillo: often just about o.k. but look for one that's had a bit of oak-ageing and had some Granacha, Mazuelo, Graciano (other companion grape varieties) added. Should be about your £5 budget.

Syrah (Shiraz in Europe) is often a good bet, and Rhone Valley is o.k. but getting a bit price-y. Still worth a look.

The one thing you'll have to get used too is that £5 - unless it's an offer - will soon disappear. We currently pay £1.81 duty (tax to you and me) on a bottle before VAT at 20%.
So a £5 bottle is:
£4.17 before VAT;
£2.36 before duty;
£0.25 to £1 shipping, etc;
So £1.40 to £2.10 is the original cost of the wine and the old farmer has to make a profit to survive, before Mr Tesco makes his bit. Then Gorgeous George is gonna do us again in mid-March at the next budget.

I'll come 'round your house and do a tasting, if you want.
But really, it's not like the old Not The Nine O'Clock News hi-fi sketch
There shouldn't be too many smug, sneering clever wine people trying to make a fool of you. That'll be one of your mate's mates Who Knows Best. But doesn't.

V. nice!

Often on offer at your average supermarket.

bloody hell Johnimator,youre a knowledgeable chap! Where do you stand on the old legend that once you've had a glass or two that it could be any old piss and you can't tell the difference? Not arsing,really interested as baffled by this whole thing.

Aldi loves you, Aldi wants you to be happy. I have tried a whole bunch of their four quid reds and never found a duffer (OK, last night's shiraz was £4.29). They wont stun your more knowlegable friends, but for big, flavoursome, cheap red they are hard to beat.

but Co-op are doing a Chilean at £4.29. Also a cab sauv at the same price. Very quaffable.

as is their Cabernet Sauvignon. We found a real gem in Sainsburys before Christmas, "The Little Penguin" Ridiculous name but really good at six quid a bottle. It seems to have disappeared but was so good I am thinking of tracking it down and getting a couple of cases.

Johnimator,for your considered comments.And Gatz---I'm off to Aldi now!

Better still, do a double-blind tasting.

The vast majority of people can't — given two wines of the same grape — distinguish expensive wine from cheap plonk. And many wine experts can't either.

And an awful lot of people can't tell the difference between red wine and white wine plus food colouring, when served at the same temperature.

Blind tasting:
* great for showing the holes in people's knowledge;
* better when you get it (nearly) right.
I'd be hard-pushed to identify correctly 2 wines made from same grape, esp if they were chosen by the Massive or "friends" to provoke humiliation.
One really needs to know a little about what you're tasting:e.g.
* region - you can narrow down the grape choices;
* other theme such as grapes.
You've then got a staring poit.
Otherwise, it's pantomime event.
Or you're doing your Master of Wine exam.

I'm partial to a drop of Lost Sheep Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon available at Marks & Spencer's. Lovely rich taste, around £6.49 I think, although you get 25% discount if you buy 6 bottles ( just enough to last the weekend).

to consult Eric Idle and his views on Aussie plonk and of course Welsh claret.

Current favourite: Sainsburys do a reliable Croze Hermitage for a tenner.

Fantastic sun-drenched Grenache-heavy stuff from the south of France. It appears in my corner shop every now and then and sells out in hours. The white is also very, very good. One a couple of years back tasted just like a good Condrieu for a fifth of the price.

.. by this I mean that sometimes when a wine is first introduced, it will be a lot better, fresher, more "genuine". And when it's been on the shelves a few years, while it has the same characteristics, won't be anywhere near as good. Why this is the case I've no idea, but theories such as differences in grapes and methods of production must of course have an influence on quality. I guess the processes of commercial mass production must influence all of the wines we are talking about. And from the point of view of quality control, changes in these methods and sources must be difficult.

So finding a wine that you think you like, and sticking by it is generally a bad idea. Whilst I accept completely the truth of the Psychological and environmental issues mentioned above, I still think that wines are variable.

Makes it more interesting and fun when you realise this is the case though.

About £6 and hugely agreeable!

I must admit I am bored with Oz. if you want to get away from the usual Merlot (which too often tastes like blotting paper)and Cab Sauv, I'd recommend Concho y Toro's Chilean Sangiovese and Pinot Noir. I also think Argentinan Malbec is pretty good all the time. Haven't had an awful bottle yet.

You can guess what kind of morning I had.

Such an amateur!

Californian Ruby Cabernet, goes down a treat.

"Juicy cherry flavours abound in this delightfully refreshing and moreish red" says the bottle.

"A bit like Ribena" says me.

Someone mentioned not understanding wine or the differences between different types. I don't really either, although I've gotten to where I know what I like.
When I was first starting to drink wine, I came across this simple helpful wine analogy that will likely play exceedingly well with the Massive from Jay McInerney:

"Cabernet is John Lennon, Merlot is Paul McCartney."

A lot of australain wines are sold cheaperoverseas than locally so you can get some excellent wines quirte cheaply in the northrn hemisphere

Some favourites are sth australian red - bowens, pewsey vale reisling , not sure region.

Taylors is an underrated Aussie red. Peter lehmann pretty reliable.

was Hirondelle... one litre bottle served at room temperature in my mates Angus The Poets' bedroom, circa 1970... so it could be drunk both cold (winter) or warm (summer)... listening to Cream or Fleetwood Mac or LZep and smoking a few jazzfags was optional, sometimes.
Now this wine turned me on to a lifelove of red wine, but how good was it? Anybody (anybody?) remember Hirondelle? Was it as good as I remember it, or was it just a thick vinegar? I enjoyed it anyway... don't suppose it is produced now.
The red wine of my choice just now is Barefoot Merlot, not dear but goes down very easy with a curry or chicken or a packet of beef hula hoops.
Two weeks ago I was at Angus's retirement do... he is now 60... where does the time go?

I'm rather partial to a good Gewürztraminer (off-dry, spicy, lychee aroma), but it's really hard to get a good one cheap, so a big thumbs up for Cono Sur Gewürztraminer, which you can get for around £6-7 at Sainsbury's, which is frankly a steal.