It is no secret that one of my favourite cheap and cheerful wines is the wonderful Jacob's Creek Classic Riesling, which you can buy from supermarkets for $8 to $12.
I love it because for a start it's riesling - and I'm head over heels for that variety - and because it's a little cracker that's packed with rose apple, lime blossom and all sorts of delicious mineral flavours wrapped up in a ribbon of clean, spritzy acidity with a hint of toffee on the finish.
Such great value for money and it always does well in Australian wine competitions.
It's also pretty amazing when it's had a few years in the bottle and I can testify to that after having tried the 2002.
It was golden in the glass with Weet-Bix, honeysuckle and beeswax aromas and clean, ripe citrus flavours still holding strong.
I've also realised that I've been taking this wine for granted because it's always been there, affordable and everywhere.
But for the team at Jacob's Creek, making great riesling is something it takes very seriously.
For about $20 you can buy the next tier up, the Jacob's Creek Reserve Riesling, which is a different beast entirely.
Sourced from the Barossa Valley, the 2010 has punchy Cox's orange apple, lime and mineral characters with a hint of biscuit complexity and juicy length of flavour.
The acidity has that lovely pinprick, gum-tingling character that keeps you wanting more and it's a delicious drink.
Those tangy, citrus and apple characters just keep on coming, meaning this wine for the money is a total workhorse in the cellar - the 2005 is only just beginning to develop that honeyed, mealy character that I love in older rieslings.
For a few dollars more you'll find the superb St Helga Eden Valley Riesling, which has had the Orlando brand of old dropped for it to come into the Jacob's Creek fold.
And then there's Steingarten. Named after the beautiful Steingarten or "garden of stones" riesling vineyard perched off Trial Hill Rd in the East Barossa Ranges, it represents the epitome of what chief winemaker Bernard Hickin and his team can achieve when only the best fruit will do.
The view at Steingarten is spectacular, but at ground level you'll see it's steep, stony and rather hostile. It's a wonder anything could grow there at all.
Yet since it was established in 1962, the Steingarten vineyard has produced 50 magic vintages with citrus, beeswax and mineral flavours.
Every time I visit Steingarten I find it almost a spiritual experience.
"I reckon V11 could be a 30-year vintage," Hicken said during a tasting of 1994 Steingarten.
"V Eleven" is a winemaker's way of saying "the 2011 vintage".
V94, if you are lucky enough to have some squirreled away in your cellar, has bruised-apple aromas with hints of toffee and biscuit, a seam of solid acidity alongside rose caramel and marshmallow characters - after 18 years in the bottle it was still a really interesting wine.
But the 2011 is ultra-clean, delicate and focused with a touch of salt, white floral notes, lime and green apple on the nose and it bursts with crisp, vibrant fruit on the finish.
A $36 a bottle with a 30-year lifespan?
Absolutely.
But the Steingarten style has evolved from a riesling that wouldn't see the light of a shop shelf until having at least three years bottle maturation to a riesling sourced (from the 2012 vintage expected here next month) entirely from pure, pretty Eden Valley fruit as opposed to the original bold Barossa recipe.
You'll also have to look a little more carefully because there's a new label featuring a rendition of Steingarten painted by Australian artist Pro Hart.
The New Zealand Summer of Riesling is on until February 28 and if you're itching to join the frivolity you can check out the events at www.summerofriesling.co.nz
Aorangi Road Single Vineyard Hawke's Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2011, $18
With a stack of shiny medals to its name, including a gold medal at the San Francisco International Wine Awards, this is one super-tasty sauvignon.
Grown on the Mangatahi Terraces, 30km west of Hastings, by a specialist sauvignon blanc producer, it has delicious sugar-snap pea, white peach, zippy herbaceous notes and a lovely, lemon finish. www.glengarrywines.co.nz
Invercargill Brewery Stanley Green Pale Ale 330ml, $5
Bronze-gold and foamy in the glass, this beer is brewed by Steve Nally and is an ode to his grandfather who died aged 29 in World War II.
There's an intense grapefruit-pip bitterness, smokey notes and a salty, sweaty character which I really like.
It's perfect ice-cold after mowing the lawns. www.invercargillbrewery.co.nz
Matawhero Gisborne Chardonnay 2012, $26
If you're a fan of peach, marzipan and buttered crumpet flavours then you'll love this new release from Matawhero.
The acidity is crisp and crunchy and there's an underlying grapefruit note on the finish. It's refreshing and nicely made - and lovely with salty fish and chips on a Friday night.