How much should I be spending on a bottle of wine?

Or rather, what is the sweet spot where quality and value for money meet?

The discovery and savouring of new bottles is the glue that keeps the secondary school woodwork project of my life together. But, after rent and bills, groceries, shampoo, therapy and a Disney+ subscription I said I’d never get, there’s not much left to spend on the one thing I enjoy the most: wine. If you’re reading this, you may well feel a similar way.

I’m just back from a book tour, and at every stop I was greeted by a raised hand asking the same question: how much should I spend on a bottle of wine? Through this question, I think we’re really asking several. How little can I spend without stripping my tongue of all sensation? How much do I have to spend until the quality isn’t reflected in a high price tag? Where is the sweet spot in the quality-to-cost ratio?

Hannah Crosbie is a wine writer and broadcaster. Her book Corker: A Deeply Unserious Wine Book, is published by Ebury Press at £16.99. To order a copy for £14.95, go to guardianbookshop.com