£4.49! It's gotta be a bargain...doesn't it?

English summer... wine; picnics... wine; festivals... wine; holidays....I could go on.

With the summer in full swing and our social lives hitting their peak, it goes hand- in-hand that our friends - the big supermarkets - are bombarding us with offers of exceptionally cheap booze. This all sounds good to me. However, are these unbelievably cheap offers of wine really all that?

Well they are cheap but are they good value?

Now value is very subjective. My definition of what constitutes value may be completely different to yours. I define value in a wine as something that tastes good, has a bit of personality (i.e doesn't taste like watered down chardonnay or a liquid resembling something so acidic I can feel a layer of stomach lining shrinking away with each sip) and is very appealing price wise which for this article will be around £4 to £6.

With my budget and broad definition declared, I am off to pick myself up a bargain.

My first stop is Sainsburys. Here I am greeted with an amazing deal, £3.99 for a drop of Vina Maipo sauvignon blanc from Chile. This is on promotion from £7.99. Chile produces some fantastic wines at relatively inexpensive price points and for £3.99, this wine is good value. It still has noticeable citrus fruits and is relatively light, crisp and refreshing. There is a touch too much acidity so is best enjoyed quite chilled. Would I pay £7.99 for this wine? Probably not, especially when you can purchase some outstanding sauvignon blancs from producers such as Villa Maria (New Zealand) and Errazuriz (Chile) for around £8.

Next I'm off to Tesco. Being summer, I'm in the mood for a rose, so I select the Kumala shiraz rose from South Africa, which at half price is setting me back only £4.49. The wine has a very appealing and vibrant pink colour. If only the appeal carried through to the taste. I found this wine rather unbalanced. First my mouth was assaulted by the high acidity in the wine, which was followed by a smack of sugar, and after all this, in the depths, I discovered some exceptionally light strawberry and raspberry flavours.

I think it's criminal that Tesco believes they can charge consumers £8.99 (the full retail price of the wine) for this rose. Of course this wine is worth no where near £9 and even at £4.49 I'm sure Tesco are still making a small profit, so selling it at £8.99 is basically ripping consumers off.

In Kumala's defence, I did sample their Zenith chenin chardonnay which was on promotion at Sainsburys a while back for £4.49. This wine was not too bad - in fact it's relatively enjoyable. Soft tropical flavours, light acidity and a rounded body, the main issue was that the neutrality of the wine made it very easy to drink. Whether this is a problem or not - I'll let you decide. This wine is currently back to £8.99 at Sainsburys and other Kumala wines have been discounted to half price. So wait till it's back to £4.49 before you give it a whirl.

Enjoy the promotions as there are some bargains to be had. However, there are many inexpensive wines not on promotion that I believe are great value. Odd Bins currently have a Nero d'Avola, from Italy, for around £6. Basically it's a cheeky little red with vibrant red fruits, excellent depth and a touch of spice. A great wine to enjoy as the summer winds down.

Happy drinking!