Introduction to The Spectator Wine Club Online

The first thing you should know about the Spectator wine club is that it isn't a club at all. You don't have to belong, and there is no membership fee. Why it is even called a club I have no idea. Perhaps it is meant to convey a sense of exclusivity.

The first thing you should know about the Spectator wine club is that it isn't a club at all. You don't have to belong, and there is no membership fee. Why it is even called a club I have no idea. Perhaps it is meant to convey a sense of exclusivity. Anyhow, we do one main offer every month, two before Christmas, and between offers we have a 'mini-bar', usually offering four wines linked by a common theme. Delivery is free (merchants sometimes charge up to £10 a case) and the wines are usually discounted, as they are this month.

The most famous convenor, manager, writer, general secretary - I don't know what we call ourselves - was the late Auberon Waugh. He knew little about wine when he started, though he knew he enjoyed it. He knew plenty by the time he had finished. The great thing about wine, of course, is that you can trust your own palate. If you like the taste, it's a good wine. If you don't, it ain't.

A lot of people are somehow persuaded that they need an incredibly sensitive palate in order to detect slight, fleeting evanescent flavours. You don't - and some experts in my view have tried far too many wines. Their palates may help them enjoy wines in which the flavour is almost undetectable. That's not much use to the rest of us.

Of course if you like Liebfraumilch, or Mateus Rose, Blossom Hill, or Le Piat d'Or, you'll save a lot of money. Those wines are cheap, though not necessarily cheerful. But if you try something a bit classier, a bit more sophisticated, a little more flavourful, you're likely to want to stick with it. And try more. There are thousands and thousands of wines out there, and they are improving every year.

It needn't cost a lot. Spectator wines tend to be priced from £3.95 up to £10 or so, and the only qualification for appearing in our 'club' is that they are terrific value for money. This month's offer, the first to go on the web, is slightly pricier than usual, but that's because the wines are specially good. Berry Bros. Extraordinary Claret is pretty amazing stuff,  and the Pinot Gris from Alsace is sensational. But they are all first-rate,  or they wouldn't be here.

Now and again readers ask me why I am prejudiced against red Bordeaux. I'm not. It still accounts for some of the world's greatest wines. But the fact that the leading wines can charge hundreds of pounds a bottle has led inferior winemakers to lift their own prices. See the article that goes with this month's offer. If you want great value wines look to Italy, to northern Spain, to South America, and nowadays to southern France, where they often use the same grapes and the same techniques as the Bordelais to create better wines sold for much less money.

So, as I say, trust your judgement. Or, rather, trust mine to begin with. Try some of these wines that I've selected and see what you think. I believe you'll enjoy them, and I hope you'll come back for more.