Walk into any off-license or well-stocked supermarket wine section and you'll find yourself almost overwhelmed with choice. The number of wine merchants keeps growing, the Irish wine-market keeps growing, consumer demand keeps growing. It's a struggle for people like me who write about wine to keep up with the ever-increasing range, so for people who have just a passing interest, the subject gets thornier by the year.

There are a few stratagems that you could employ to decide what wine you should buy. You could stick with the same wine you've always bought and wonder if you might be missing out on something better. You could make a judgement based on price and wonder if maybe you're being ripped off. You could ask the man behind the counter and wonder does he really know what he's talking about - or you can take advice from 'experts' in the press.

There are publications that are generally agreed to carry some weight on the subject, 'Decanter' magazine is one, 'The Wine Spectator' is another. In the case of 'The Wine Spectator', which awards wines marks out of one hundred, the effect of that ranking can have a huge effect on the wine's market price. If you were to buy Robert Parker's guide to the wines of Bordeaux, you can try this experiment. Check the prices in the market-place against the scores. You'll find that any wine scoring over 90 points starts to become very expensive. It's what's known as the 'Parker Effect' - such is his sway over American wine buyers that a 'thumbs up' from him makes a wine instantly desirable and consequently its price goes up.

Among wine writers you can find a common prejudice against branded wines. What appears to be at the root of this is a fear that brand dominance will eventually drive individual and idiosyncratic wine-makers out of the market place. This may or may not be a reasonable fear, but it does tend to make it hard for big brands to get critical acclaim. An interesting exception to this is the Carmen Carmenere / Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2001. In June Decanter magazine had a blind tasting of Chilean reds and awarded only that wine its top five-star award. This was no flash-in-the-pan, in February it was awarded 91 out of a 100 in 'The Wine Spectator'. Perhaps less prestigiously, I chose Carmen's Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, a little less expensive than this wine, as 'wine of the week' a few weeks ago.

Wine of the Week

Carmen Carmenere / Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2001

The wine is a blend of two grape varieties, the well-known Cabernet Sauvignon and the less known Carmenere. The Carmenere is one of the very few varieties permitted in the Bordeaux appellation, but these days it's very rarely used there. However the variety flourishes in Chile and in this wine adds considerably to its structure. What you get for your money is a superbly made wine, full-bodied , with a powerful bouquet and long-lasting aftertaste. If you want to know what a Parker-rated 91 wine tastes like without breaking the bank, try this.

Available from Tesco Merrion, selected Supervalus, McCabes of Mount Merrion and selected independent off-licenses. RRP. €15.35.