THE June holiday weekend, yippee! - the official opening date of summer - and to celebrate, this column is reaching a new low. Under £6, that's how low. Despite my unshaken belief that, with punitive, Irish, excise duty and VAT, it's generally advisable to pay a few pounds more for wine worth drinking, there are times, dammit, when we all crave a bargain bottle or two - especially in summer.
As patio doors up and down the land are thrown open to informal entertaining, cool, refreshing wine is suddenly required in alarming quantities. Ore maybe it's just a sunny Tuesday evening and something is called for to ignite domestic bliss while the steak chars on the barbecue. Either way, you want unpretentious plonk that promises not to be poisonous.
Working towards the Top 20 below, I've been immersed in so-called bargains over the past couple of weeks. Perilous, I tell you. In spite of all the talk in the wine world about new techniques and whizzkid makers combining to produce more palatable, low-priced wines than ever before, there is still a disquieting amount of poison out there. For every bearable bottle, I must have tasted three or four ranging up the negative scale from very forgettable to unforgettably awful. The bargain wine field is a minefield.
But yes, there are good buys at £5.99 or less, in a whole variety of styles. Leaving aside the family jar big brands from Australia and California (which you may by now have sampled umpteen times and feel ready to move beyond), much of the best value comes from Chile and the south of France. Both regions are producing more and more examples of modern, well-made, easy-drinking wine at rock-bottom prices the sort of thing that tends to be described as gluggable. Spain and, increasingly, Portugal, can be good sources of inexpensive wine made from grapes we haven't yet tired of, and newly revitalised areas like Hungary and Greece are also in there with a chance.
To my mind, the wines listed below all pass the Terrace Test which requires that, even after two or three hours of ambling around at an outdoor party, the glass carrier still feels inclined to ask for a refill.
WHITES
1 Chateau Siagleyrac Bergerac Sec 1995 (Vintage shops, Vineyard Galway, Fine Wines Limerick and other outlets, £5.99). Budget alternative to white Bordeaux from 50 miles further east: plump, gooseberryish Sauvignon Blanc sur lie, rounded out to extreme drinkability.
2 Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc 1995 (Mill Wine Cellar, £5.99, James Nicholson £4.99 stg). If you prefer more aromatic New World Sauvignon at a keen price, Chile offers almost limitless choice but for sheer style and zest, this January Bottle of the Week beats them all by a short head.
3 Domaine de La Tuilerie Chardonnay Vin de Pays d'Oc 1995 (Quinnsworth, £4.99). From England's Wunderkind winemaker, Hugh Ryman, on the loose in the Languedoc, an impressive Chardonnay in the New World tradition, packed with pineapple, grapefruit and creamy oak. Good length, great value.
4 Chardonnay du Domaine de Gourgazaud Vin de Pays d'Oc 1995 (Dunnes and some other outlets, £5.49-£5.99). Very light, very fresh Chardonnay - citrus and apple aromas and flavours rather than butteriness. Refreshing.
5 Terret Vin de Pays des Cotes de Thau 1994 (SuperValu and many other outlets, £4.99). Not even the jumbo wine atlas reveals precisely which comer of the south of France the dynamic Lurton brothers, Jacques et Francois, are using to produce this pleasant, light, summery white with hints of lemons and white peaches. Never mind. It's made for warm weather.
6 St Michael Le Rime Pinot Grigio della Toscana 1994 (Marks & Spencer, £5.99. Don't be put off by the flashy gold label. Classic, even quite classy, Pinot Grigio, delicately fruity and slightly nutty - made for M&S by the Tuscan giant Banfi.
7 Monte Velho Vinho Branco 1995 (Molloys, £4.99 and many other outlets). If, like me, you can't remember the last time you sipped Portuguese white wine with relish, try this from the revitalised Esporao estate and prepare to be converted. See Bottle of the Week.
8 Salisbury Estate Riesling Dry 1994 (Redmonds, Duffys Terenure and other outlets, £5.99). This recent arrival is further proof of how the New World is getting its teeth into poor, neglected Riesling. From South Australia, it has appealing lime flavours and good weight, even if Rhine raciness is missing. On sale at the K Club's 19th Hole, which augurs well for a Riesling revival.
9 Kourtaki Vin de Crete 1994 (Superquinn, Pettits and many other outlets £5.19). A monster tasting of Greek wines in Dublin a few months ago proved how far wine-making in that country has progressed beyond thin taverna horrors. This crisp, tangy white has been the standard bearer in the revolution. Sample it and see why Sainsburys sell two container loads a week.
10 Bataapiiti Tramini 1994 (widely available, £4.99-£5.49). As Eastern Europe edges towards more exciting wines, Hungary is the land of hope for interesting whites. This one, a collaboration between Italy's Antinori and central European distillers Zwach, proves the point. Intriguing flavours of muscatel, orange and spice with a dry finish.
REDS
1 St Michael Cabernet Sauvignon de Pays d'Oc 1993 (Marks & Spencer, £4.49 until June 9th, then £4.99). Born of one of the Franco-Australian unions that are producing so many new-style wines in the south of France, this flexible middleweight is soft and fruity, with a dry, savoury finish - easy drinking either with food or on its own.
2 La Serre Cabernet Sauvignon Vin de Pays d'Oc 1994 (Pettits Jubilee Selection, £4.99). Pettits special offer, celebrating 50 years of grocering, deserves to trigger a national buying spree in the south-east. This is a terrific bargain - a rich, concentrated Cabernet with bags of blackcurrant fruit underpinned by firm structure.
3 Fortant de France Grenache Vin de Pays d'Oc (Superquinn, £4.99). More wizardry of Oz: Australian Robert Skalli has made Fortant de France one of Languedoc-Roussillon's biggest-selling brands. People who baulk at blockbuster reds will enjoy his Grenache - soft, light, fruity as a summer pudding and pounds cheaper than Beaujolais.
4 Domaine Saint-Nathalie Faugeres 1994 (Dunnes £4.99). More for traditionalists, an appetising, satisfying wine with damson and plum flavours and a slightly gamey edge, balanced by soft tannins. See how it opens up in the glass.
5 Carmen Merlot 1994 (widely available, £5.50-£5.99). Merlot, like Sauvignon, is a Chilean success so widespread that it's hard to pick a single cheapie winner but this is the one that keeps drawing me back. Beautifully plummy spicy and smooth, it slips down easily with food or without.
6 Miraflores 1994 (McCabes, £4.49; £3.99 if you buy three). One of Jim McCabe's direct import discoveries, with quality it would be well-nigh impossible to beat at the price. This Chilean is also plummy and spicy - soft on the palate but with substance. A party cracker.
7 Sistina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 1994 (Verlings, Terroirs, Karwig's Wine Warehouse, £4.99-£5.29). It can be difficult enough to find low-priced Italian reds worth bothering with, but this gutsy number full of cherries and herbs will leave you thirsty for more.
8 Fuente del Ritmo Tempranillo 1994 (Quinnsworth, £4.99). The Spanish steal which was a January Bottle of the Week is still available at a knockout price. Its meaty, slightly smoky character would make it just right for a barbecue.
9 Solana 1994 (widely available, £5.99). Spanish tradition tweaked in the direction of the New World in a very approachable red wine with rich, concentrated fruit and supple tannins. It's Tempranillo again - this time calling itself Cencibel.
10 Alianca Bairrada Reserva 1991 (widely available, £4.39-£4.99). This good old Portuguese standby is another great barbecue candidate. Its baked fruit flavours, with undertones of burnt caramel, come into their own with chargrilled food.
Stop Press: Superquinn have just received a supply of "nouveau South African Sauvigon Blanc from the Franschhoek vineyard in the Parrl region. It's an interesting first for Ireland to have wine of the same year on the shelves as early as May. The new baby is on the shelves this weekend at £3.99 a bottle.