Discussion of the relative merits of Merlot and Malbec has, in my limited experience, been quite low on the list of popular topics of conversation among the denizens of the Bird Cage on Stamford Hill. Things have changed under new owners Hugh O'Boyle and Caroline Jones, however, and it's now right up there with the burning issue of how an all-women brewery in Lapland has come up with such an excellent beer as Lapin Kulta. There's an impressive list of 21 wines, and, of the four reds available by the glass, Symposium (Vin de Pays de I'Aude) is the cheapest at £2.50/175ml. It's a simpler affair than its name suggests - soft and gulpably light in body with raspberryish fruit. 'It's a good session-wine' says Hugh, coining an excellent phrase. Laquete Vin de Pays d'Oc Merlot/Grenache (£2.75) is a good herby mouthful of brambly fruit with some length to it while Salisbury Shiraz/Malbec 2000 from S.E. Australia (£3.35) has a nose as jammy as either of my 18-month old twins and is full of big, black fruits with a nice smoky edge. From the Cape region of South Africa Two Oceans Pinotage (£3.25) is a silky gush of big, fat, red strawberries which is kept from silliness by nice, soft tannins. There are two good whites from North-Eastern Italy available by the glass: Veritiere Venezie Garganega/Chardonnay 2000 (£2.95), ghostly pale and rather elegant with crisp elderflower notes; and the fuller-bodied, more complex Canaletto Pinot Grigio 1999 from the Veneto (£3.25) which has good length and zesty, smoky, slightly musky tangerine flavours. Also good is the toasty, buttery and melonflavoured Stormy Cape Chenin Blanc from South Africa (£3.50). I also tried, in quick and injudicious succession, an excellent, yeasty Australian sparkler called Green Point, and a fabulous 20-year-old Bourbon called Old Rip van Winkle.

Oh yes, and that beer which I seem to remember is made by naked Rheinmaiden lapdancers on stilts. Or something like that.

Down at The Prince there are three reds and three whites by the glass at £2.65/175ml or £3.50/250ml. I tried the Sauvignon de Touraine from Jacky Marteau which is just what it should be - a crisp, fresh blast of green-apple gooseberryness. Altogether more complex is the golden-coloured Villa Tonino from Sicily which is made from Inzolia and is slightly frizzante. With a nose of pear drops and sherbet, it's spicy in a Gewurztraminer sort of a way and quite long - 'too long', said Mrs G. darkly - but you can't please everyone all the time. Of the reds, Domaine de la Cessane Vin de Pays d'Oc Grenache/Merlot is a gently fruity, mildly peppery number while the Argentinian Syrah Finca el Norte from Villa Atuel is smooth and inky-dark with that wintergreen, aniseed and somehow farmyardy flavour of some New World Syrah that's so much nicer than it sounds.

The Daniel Defoe has a new range of wines this month. Of the two house whites at £2.30/175ml or £3.20/250mI, the 'medium' is a Mosel Oba which doesn't have much bouquet but does have a nice balance of acidity and peachy fruit; the Colombard/Chardonnay Vin de Pays de Cotes de Gascogne has a nice, clean white-fruitiness. Hawkes Peak from California (£2.40/£3.40) is very light in colour and body and has lovely, zesty flavours of candied oranges. Also good at the same price is Morning Mist Paari Chardonnay 1999 quite heavily oaked but not enough to overpower the lemons and limes beneath. The house red Vin de Pays d'Oc Merlot (£2.30/3.20) is cherryish and a little dilute, especially next to the popular Chilean Villa Rosa Rapel Merlot (£2.70/£3.40) which is a huge jam soup of blackcurrant fruit and glycerol very New World and proud of it. Morning Mist Cinsaut/Cabernet-Sauvignon from the Western Cape (£2.50/£3.50) comes in at a head-banging 14%, and the alcohol somewhat overpowers the oaky, leathery flavours.

Ryan's also have a new list of goodies this month including a red and a white from Hawkes Run of S.E. Australia (£2.35/175ml, £3.15/250ml) the white is a well-balanced Semillon/Chardonnay with grapefruity flavours and a nice tarry edge; the Shiraz has gentle marshmallowy oak to offset the soft red f ruit. Punching above its ObA weight, the Mo-sel f rom Prince Rupprecht (£2.30/£3.15) has that little dash of petrol on the fruit that's one of the keys to decent 'entry-level' German Riesling. Hidden Falls Ruby Cabernet/Merlot, at the same price, is nicely plummy, with soft tannins. L'Emage Vin de Pays du Cornte Tolosan Sauvignon Blanc is good fresh, grassy stuff, without the rasp of a lot of its peers. Although it's not available by the glass, Infiniti Sparkling Shiraz (£12.50) merits a mention by virtue of being the most unusual wine I've tasted in my recent wanderings - a glass of fizzy, oak-aged blackcurrant sorbet doesn't sound very nice but you'd be surprised.