It's easy to look at other people's lives and believe they can afford everything all the time. We were sitting round a luxurious dinner table, knocking back a case of something good from the Wine Society, when I asked the chap who had provided it what he usually drank at home. He was retired, and I harboured visions of long evenings lazily selecting a fine bordeaux or burgundy.

Instead, "Bag-in-the-box," he said, cheerily. "Mostly from Chile - I find that's best. Then, when we want to treat ourselves, I find a bottle."

I have never been very good at economising and usually do it in a topsy-turvy manner. If I buy a Bond Street dress, I will rush to Topshop and spend even more money in an effort to reduce the average cost of each garment. But I suppose the principle - that it's more interesting, and more fun, to be a sometimes £3, sometimes £7, rather than all the time £5 a bottle person - is the same.

The extra advantage of bag-in-the-box wine, apart from being quite cheap, is that you can enjoy it a single glass at a time over a period of four to six weeks, so there's no question of "having" to finish the bottle.

If we believe Wikipedia, in un-snobby Australia, where boxed wine is far more popular than it is here, the silvery sacks from inside of the box may afterwards be "inflated for use as pillows or tied to a tree to scare away birds" or put on "statues to create a postmodern effect".

I don't recommend any of that. But I do recommend drinking red rather than white box wine, simply because cheap red tends to be more palatable than cheap white (none of the whites I tried were up to much). Also, watch out for sell-by dates - bag-in-box wine deteriorates rapidly (expect it to reach the depressing stage nine to 12 months after the container is filled). Look for a sell-by date with as much time left as possible. Marks awarded this week are relative to the wine's bag-in-box status, and not to be compared objectively with others.

Chileno Shiraz Cabernet, non-vintage, Central Valley, Chile

Stockists: £14.99 for three litres (equivalent bottle price £3.75), Waitrose

Description: Lovely, rounded, mouthwatering smell, and taste of red and black berry fruit. A blend that really works and no one would ever guess this was b-in-b.

Drink it with: A Chilean 'shepherd's pie' topped with corn mash would go nicely. It's also a good party wine that's juicy enough to drink on its own, or with simple suppers.

Score: 4.5

Sainsbury's Chilean Merlot, non-vintage, Central Valley, Chile

Stockists: £13.39 for three litres, Sainsbury's (equivalent bottle price £3.35)

Description: Plenty of ripe fruit that fills the mouth in a warming way. However, it's a little sticky and there's a slight edge of what my mother calls 'burnt tyre taste' (and no, she doesn't mean a mercaptan fault), that gives away its price.

Drink it with: As with the Rouge Reserve, easy weekday meals, maybe even pizza.

Score: 2

Rouge Reserve, Domaine La Maurerie, Vin de Table, France

Stockists: £25 for five litres (equivalent bottle price £3.75), Stone, Vine & Sun, Twyford, near Winchester (, 01962 712351)

Description: Gutsy, country plonk that's a 'cocktail of mostly syrah and merlot with a bit of carignan'. Very French and a surprise hit with SVS customers, who usually drive to pick it up, much as in France you might pop down to the local vineyard.

Drink it with: Nothing too fancy: sausages, salami, cottage pie, cold roasts, boeuf bourguignon or other casseroles.

Score: 3.5

Spanish Red Special Selection

Stockists: £11.99 for three litres (equivalent bottle price £3), Marks & Spencer

Description: The easy, smooth and rather jolly red fruit of the bobal grape makes this slip down easily, but it's just a little flat. Open it at the end of the evening and you won't even notice.

Drink it with: Scratch meals, rice dishes made from leftovers, couscous with a spicy tomato sauce. Might be a good base for mulled wine, too.

Score: 2

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