Name your price

Spy Valley chardonnay. Photo / Supplied

I used to joke that if a wine is under $10 it's grocery, if it's over $40 it's luxury. For obvious imploding financial reasons, this needs revision.

Luxury may now come to mean anything over 20-something dollars. So in these trying times, if you want a quality broad spectrum of wine styles at a decent price, who ya gonna call? Spy Valley, that's who. Named after those eerie alien spheres sitting awkwardly in Marlborough's Waihopai Valley and used by the US to save the western world from the threat of intergalactic invasion, Spy Valley is keeping a close watch on the bottom line.

An eclectic mix of varietals with a strong bent towards aromatic whites, Spy Valley wines have attitude and style and come at a fair and reasonable price. These wines aren't grocery, but neither are they luxury. They sit in that fuzzy middle area, where often quality and cost don't talk to each other and invariably we finish up with an okay but not great wine at a ridiculously inflated price. Not these folk. How they've managed to do it I've no idea (and I have no intention of asking since that might invite them to review their prices upward.)

Being a largish producer obviously helps, but that can create quality control issues. Big, as we know, doesn't always mean better, anymore than being small, boutique and cute guarantees quality. Spy Valley's sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, chardonnay, merlot and pinot noir range in price from $17 to $29.

Most are around the $20 mark. They do have a more upmarket "Envoy" label that's luxury - and another story. In the meantime, I spy with my little eye something beginning with value ...

Recommended

2008 Spy Valley Unoaked Chardonnay
Soft around the edges with a concentrated tropical fruit core and hints of peach and spice. Lovely texture.
Price: $17

2007 Spy Valley Merlot
This has a dash of malbec (6 per cent) which helps create that deep red/purple colour. Rich, dark berry fruits, chocolate and spice flavours.
Price: $20