It's a question that's worth asking from time to time: how much should you pay for a bottle of wine? Like anything else, there's something to suit every wallet, from wines costing tens of thousands of pounds to wines for under a fiver. The first kind - bottles of great wines from ancient vintages - are not really for drinking, they're for collecting, exhibiting in wine museums or simply for trading. A bottle of Chateau Lafite from the eighteenth century might just possibly be drinkable depending on how it was stored, but each mouthful would cost you hundreds of pounds. Unless extravagance of this sort sits happily upon you, you'd be better off keeping it and maybe one day selling it for a profit to another collector or museum.

Next down the price range come the great Bordeaux and Burgundies from good vintages. A fine twenty-year-old example from a good vintage will cost hundreds of pounds, and there are people in the world who can afford it and will drink it, even at restaurant prices. Last year a group of bankers hit the headlines after spending over £40,000 on wine to accompany their dinner. In the real world, however, that kind of spending is not the norm. Most wines that are sold from retail outlets fall into the 10 - 20 euro bracket, so it's worth looking at what you can buy for that.

In Ireland there are two taxes on wine, firstly there's duty which is about 2.30 euros on every bottle and then there's VAT at 20% as well, so there's tax on tax. This means that a price of 7 euros is mostly made up of tax, and there's little left for the wine itself. As you go up the price scale the percentage of duty in the price becomes less, so you're paying more for the wine and should therefore be getting a better one.

But as in any commodity, the price you pay is partly made up of the actual value and in part the perceived value. A lot of work goes into making an excellent wine: careful hand-picking of the grapes, pruning the vines for maximum exposure to sunlight and then more care in the winery itself. The best wines are made from low-yielding vines that are pruned to keep production small, ensuring that the grapes have the maximum intensity of flavour. Wines made like this will obviously cost more than those made industrially from high-yielding but lesser grapes. Perceived value comes into play with wines that have a history and pedigree. Champagne is a good example of this, as are the great Bordeaux. World-wide demand dictates their price rather than the work that went into making them.

At the other end of the spectrum are the unknown wines; Moldavian, Bulgarian and Greek. When did you last see one with a 15 euro price-tag? There may be wonderful wines from these places, but while they remain unknown no one will pay more than the barest minimum.

Wine of the Week

Pinot Grigio 2000, Collavini.

So in the average price range, here's a wine that has won prizes and accolades. Well-made, with a nice balance of fruit and acidity, it makes an excellent accompaniment to food. You can spot it by the dachshund on the label.

Widely available, RRP under 13 euros.