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 from the same vineyards as those which were bottled as First Wine, such as Château Lafite, but which are not considered good enough to go into the blend for the Grand Vin. In other words, they are not as good as other better barrels of the same wine.