Value for money in a bottle of wine

One, VFM, isn't hard to expand: value for money. But I rarely write those three letters against the cheapest wines in the selection; more often they're for bottles in the £8-plus range, or sometimes quite a lot higher.

So how do I define value where wine is concerned? Quite simply, something that is rewarding to drink, interesting to know about and priced very sensibly for its quality.Quinta de la Rosa's vineyards overlooking the Douro River. (Image: Liz Sagues)

Let's take specific examples from three recent tastings, from suppliers whose wines are easy to access. But first, remember how much the government grabs from what you pay for any bottle. With duty on most wines (11.5% to 14.5% alcohol) at £2.67 a 75cl bottle (and set to rise by inflation next Feb)

Add VAT, and already £3+ has gone.

That's before all the non-wine extras, notably the bottles themselves, transport and profit margins. Experts on wine economics calculate that if you buy a £6.50 bottle, the 'value' of the wine in it is just 40p.

Pay £15, and the wine percentage increases tenfold.

Sums done, over to two major supermarkets, which have cannily been seeking out unfamiliar - and therefore less pricey - yet delicious grapes for the M&S Found and Waitrose Loved & Found ranges. Time and again VFM appeared in my notes as I tried them.The M&S Found range is a good source of VFM wine. (Image: Courtesy of the producer)

Whites shine specially bright at M&S. How about Found Manzoni Bianco (£8), from a crossing of riesling and pinot blanc developed by Italian oenologist Luigi Bianco and grown inland from Venice?

With a citrus zestiness alongside rounded stone fruit flavours it's different and delicious. As is Found Organic Verdil (£9), delightfully aromatic and full of complex orange-and-more flavours - where another of my shortcuts, WTDW (want to drink wine) was underlined.

And also Found Mtsvane, (£10), an ancient grape from Georgia with mineral crispness, not quite chablis but such a bargain alternative. Don't stop there - many more Found wines are definitely VFM.

At Waitrose, Loved & Found Piedirosso (£10) from southern Italy punches way above its 13.5% alcohol weight and price, with dark, spicy, brambly fruit and a perfumed finish - intriguingly different.

Treixadura (£9) in the same range is a long-flavoured and interesting white from green Galicia. There's good value to be had, as well, among the new Waitrose No.1 wines, especially the juicy yet serious No.1 Côtes du Rhône Villages (£13), from the excellent Ferraton family, and complex, layered No.1 Quinta de la Rosa Douro Branco (£14), a fine example of the remarkably stylish, fresh whites from the hot valley better known for port.Sherry can also be excellent value. (Image: Courtesy of the producer)

The VFM markings on my notes from The Wine Society's autumn tasting largely appear against bottles a little higher up the price range, so proportionally more wine for your money - which is necessary in, for example, the lovely Les Bulles d'Alain Saint-Péray Brut (£24), a very smart and so enjoyable fizz from a tiny northern Rhône area where, most unusually, the whites can be sparkling as well as still.

Looking for red? The Society spoils you for value choice, from the scented, serious, ripe-fruited Domaine des Escaravailles Côtes-du-Rhône Les Sablières (£10.95) to Weingut Knipser Blauer Spätburgunder (£16.50) that shows how very good German pinot noir can be, with spicy dry fruit, lingering elegantly.

Or among many more: El Pacto rioja (£12.95) is modern and so drinkable; Château Lanessan 2012 (£17), the Society's 'Christmas claret' is a true classic, at perfect maturity.

And remember that November is Sherry Month, showcasing wines that are among the best value for money of any category. Two stars: long-aged Barbadillo Pasada Manzanilla En Rama (£22, ocado.com, hedonism.co.uk), so much more complex that the lighter versions, and nuttily dry Romate Maribel amontillado medium dry (£11.50, thewinesociety.com), where VFM and WTDW quarrelled for prominence.

Lots of supermarket sherries are made by top producers such as Lustau - for example Waitrose Blueprint Amontillado (£10), richly scented and flavoured, and two from M&S - Solera Cream (£13), so aromatic and with a palate full of complex nut, dried fruit and chocolate, and the memorable Palo Cortado (£8, 37.5cl). "Bliss" I wrote.