Wines £25 to £50

Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon and barrel-worked, which is white Bordeaux's formula and almost unheard of in Marlborough.

Vermouth made from wine rather than industrial spirit, infused with dozens of herbs.

Penafiel sits at Ribera's centre, and Resalte work with old vines around the town at prices well below the region's better-known names.

Riserva means longer ageing and stricter selection.

Sangiovese from Romagna rather than Tuscany, a region usually dismissed as Chianti's poor relation.

Grenache rose from northern Greece, made in a pale Provencal register but with more substance.

Made by blending red wine into the base, the standard method, giving a straightforwardly fruity style.

Lalande sits directly across the stream from Pomerol, on similar ground, at a fraction of the price its neighbour commands.

The second wine of a Third Growth, from younger vines and shorter ageing.

Bastardo is Trousseau under a Portuguese name, a grape almost nobody plants outside the Jura and the Douro, growing on old vines in Patag...

Grand Cru fruit — the top rung of Champagne's village classification, and rare at this price.

Demi-Sec carries noticeably more sugar than Brut, which makes it the one style that genuinely works with dessert rather than fighting it.

All-Chardonnay Champagne at a price the famous names can't approach.

One of the oldest houses in Champagne and one of the least talked about, which keeps prices honest.

Co-fermenting Syrah with a small proportion of white Viognier is a Cote-Rotie technique that lifts the aromatics.

Moulin-a-Vent is the Beaujolais cru that ages, and its Gamay develops in a direction that fools people into guessing Pinot Noir.

High-altitude Chardonnay from the Hautes-Côtes, where cool north-west facing slopes and a wide day-night swing keep the acidity that warm...

A second Sancerre grower with a different touch — the same limestone, more texture and weight.

Bordeaux varieties on the Tuscan coast, in the style that made the region's international reputation.

Cool-site Chardonnay with the oak used sparingly, letting the acidity carry the wine.

The regional appellation, from a grower who also makes Puligny-Montrachet and Chambertin.

A Rhone blend in a maritime climate, which keeps the alcohol in check and the pepper intact.

The hills behind the famous slope, higher and cooler, where prices have not yet followed the Cote d'Or.

Gran Selezione is the top rung of Chianti Classico, introduced in 2013, requiring estate fruit and thirty months' ageing.