Are you sick of hearing about the credit crunch? There are plenty of great wines for about £5

Yes the corporate fat cats get paid too much. And yes the banks should not have loaned that money to the African farmer so he could trade in his donkey for a Toyota. The farmer then could not afford his petrol and house payments, defaulted on payments, and therefore send the rest of us into economic ruin. But more than anyone, I blame the Press. Yes those nosey bastards who only think about a headline and how many papers they may sell, and don't look at the bigger picture and the damage they can cause through their scare mongering. ' The paper said we are fucked so we better not spend any money this month love.' If the an entire country holds onto its dosh what happens...... we all suffer, because at the end of the day we all work for companies offering goods and services.

Sorry if that seems a bit harsh, and I was not having a go at the poor farmer who deserves a better quality of life, but at the end of the day if I have less money, should the quality of wine I drink also suffer.... not necessarily.

Due to the global market we live in today, especially in the wine world there are plenty of great budget wines on the market. It may mean a change of brand or country, but cheaper versions of wines with similar qualities are easy to find. Anyone who loves cheap Bordeaux, (you know who you are; herringbone cap, brown cardigan,) can find a similar offering from Chile to get their tannic Cab/Merlot blend. If Rioja is your weakness than try some Australian Grenache, Tempranillo, or even an Argentinian Malbec.

For the white wine drinkers it is even easier. Due to modern wine making techniques most countries are producing clean crisp varietal wines for under £5, Sauvignon from Chile, Australian Riesling, Argentinian Torrontes, and even Californian Chardonnay (the un-oaked stuff) all offer the punter a great wine for all occasions.

Supermarket own brand wines are are great starting point. A lot of them are from good producers and regularly wine awards. So in these times where we all probably drink a bit more often at home, use it as a chance to experiment with some wines you would not usually buy... you wont be disappointed.