Pleasure from inexpensive wines

IN light of the sombre economic situation, it seems timely to take a good look at the world of inexpensive and good wines available today. There is a wide variety from both traditional and more recent sources, wines which are not just enjoyable but able to take on almost all Asian cuisine, except perhaps for the most fiery.

I refer to them as inexpensive and enjoyable rather than the pejorative "cheap", a label often interpreted as "cheap and nasty"!

A small clarification first. The term "Second wines" refers to wines such as Carruades de Château Lafite and Les Forts de Latour ; these are wines from barrels fro…