Value is often, erroneously, equated solely with low cost, especially when it comes to wine. I'm currently reading Benjamin Wallace's The Billionaire's Vinegar (a jaw-dropping, fascinating story centred on German wine collector, Hardy Rodenstock and the mysterious cache of Thomas Jefferson wines he is said to have unearthed in Paris in the mid 1980's. Well-known British wine lover and auctioneer, Michael Broadbent is in the process of suing the publishers for defamation of character … but I digress. This story lives up to the idiom that 'truth is stranger than fiction' - also a whole lot more interesting. It's a great read, whether or not one is interested in wine.), which reveals some people find value in wines costing tens, even hundreds of thousands of US Dollars!

Back to the reality that applies to most of us when it comes to buying wine. Affordable but satisfying, in other words wine punting above its price. Tim James, Cathy van Zyl, guest Ingrid Motteux and I tasted some relatively new releases last week; most of those I drew the straw to review fall at the moderate end of the price spectrum.

The Kumala (www.kumala.com) duo, Zenith Chenin Blanc - Chardonnay 2008 (13/20) and Zenith Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon -Shiraz 2008 (12/20) retail for around R27.99. This brand, now in the capable winemaking hands of Bruce Jack (also of Flagstone) is part of that omnipresent company, Constellation wines. As the prices suggest, these make for unpretentious drinking. The varieties are well paired in the white; the chardonnay lending some creamy weight as well as fruit, the chenin bringing freshness, so the wine has presence without being heavy. The one criticism is that is finishes a bit short, but although straightforward, it does have some interest and isn't bad value. We found the red less satisfying; it seems to be aiming for the soft, sweet fruity style but the aromas are more caramel (from oak?) than fruit and a high finishing acid jars with the otherwise smooth texture. There are much better reds around for this price.

Kleine Zalze's image has been done no harm through several international awards the cellar has picked up this year (www.kleinezalze.co.za). Those successes are part of ranges up the ladder from the entry level Cellar Selection Chardonnay 2009 R43.32, and Gamay Noir Rosé 2009 R42.20 we reviewed; prices ex-cellar. The unoaked chardonnay deserves the benefit of its youthful doubt; Tim picked out noticeable ferment character, while I felt the aromas suggest more than the palate delivers. This, our 13.5/20 score and value rating, could improve with a further month or two, as the 60/40 Stellenbsoch/Robertson fruit source was given enrichment time on the lees. Otherwise it's firm, fresh, dry and, as Ingrid noted, versatile.

The rosé is a decent commercial style showing peppery, wild strawberry varietal notes and moderate alcohol but even 3 grams of residual sugar dims its distinctive edge (13/20); not great value, taking into consideration all the other smart rosés around.

Riesling is enjoying a steady come-back, both with consumers and producers. Prices have risen in tandem with increasing demand, but we'd all baulk at paying R88 retail for the maiden Groote Post (www.grootepost.com) Weisser Riesling 2008 (13/20). Honey, terpene, spice and florals are anticipated aromatic qualities, but they and a sweet 'n sour character don't hang together; riesling, of all varieties, needs focus and precision, regrettably this doesn't achieve such attributes. I noticed a slightly bitter finish, which might derive from the untoasted oak shavings introduced whilst the wine was on the lees.

I make no apologies for my strong disapproval of the coffee-flavoured pinotages that are springing up all over the place. To me they are cynical and not honest wine. In fact, I find it quite ironic that the KWV Café Culture Pinotage 2009, which is nothing more than espresso-tasting oak staves soaked in alcohol, is legal, while their green-pepper flavoured sauvignon blanc, the subject of the 2004 additives scandal, isn't. Oh, if you must, 12/20 (I gave it 11) and, from our point of view, certainly not good value at R49.95.

But now I have an admission, I do like Bertus 'Starbucks' Fourie's new, and apparently hugely popular Barista 2009. Having noted Tim James's comments on it here, but taking care that he wasn't anywhere in sight, I decided to try the wine for myself at the Vinimark/Wineworx trade tasting yesterday. 'But Bertus, this tastes like pinotage!' was my first reaction. He found this most amusing, even more so when I enthused about the lack of coffee, the positive fresh pinotage flavours and dry finish. Between R55-R60 that's not bad value. To appreciate the Fourie brothers' real skils, you need to turn to Bertus and Martin's Val de Vie wines. I thoroughly enjoy the GVC 2007 (grenache blanc, viognier, clairette blanche and +- R119), which is on a par wiith all today's top white blends, but the Shiraz 2007 (+-R158) and flagship Rhône-style blend 2006 (+-R514) suggest the depth of South Africa's top quality wines is increasing.