Alsace Vieilles Vignes Riesling 2007, £8.99, Sainsbury's

France's Alsace region alongside the river Rhine and the German border is the home of Riesling in its traditional tall, slender bottles, writes Nicholas Nunn.

This one from the Cave De Turckheim collective is just what you'd expect too – a clean, fresh white ideal for eating with seafood.

The old vines give a slightly sweeter taste but it is nice stuff, just 12.5% alcohol and very reasonably priced considering recent rises.

Montes Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2008, £7.99

Chilean wines bearing the familiar monochrome mountain landscape label of Montes are always worth a try because of their sumptuous flavours and great value for money.

This blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% of Chile's own Carmenere grape from their Apalta vineyard in the Colchagua Valley is a lovely mix of butterscotch, blackcurrant and plums with hints of chocolate and coffee.

Great.