Wine lovers should only spend £6.99 on a bottle of wine to impress dinner party guests because they are unlikely to be able to tell the difference between that and a more expensive tipple, experts have said.

A group of leading connoisseurs from around the world agreed that £6.99 should be enough to buy what they would consider a “decent” bottle in a British shop.

Above that figure, the differences were more about “individual taste” than quality, they said.

Judges taking part in Decanter magazine’s World Wine Awards came up with the price amid fears that customers are regularly paying over the odds in an effort to satisfy the wine snobs.

Their guidance will come as a welcome relief to the nervous dinner party guest eager to impress and will make the task of selecting wine a slightly less expensive affair.

The magazine asked the judges to reveal how little they would pay for a bottle of wine if they were going out for the evening without risking their reputation. They agreed that anything over £6.99 was enough to satisfy the aficionados.

With prices for top vintages increasing despite the international economic slow down, the figure will offer some comfort to buyers keen to navigate the social minefield of selecting a bottle of wine.

“There is such a difference between £4.99 and a bottle of wine that is £7.99, but from there it is more about individual taste and preference,” said Guy Woodward, the magazine’s editor.

Read full article: The Telegraph