They're household names across generations, and budget-friendly to boot. Joanne Gibson revisits old favourites

Call me a wine snob, but I recently had to contain my horror when I saw only Tassenberg on offer at an old friend's 40th birthday party.

Make no mistake, I enjoyed countless bottles of Tassies in my student days. But there comes a time in life when you move on. Doesn't there?

In desperation (as the host bore down on me with his home-distilled limoncello, if you must know), I unscrewed the cap and poured myself a glass. And you know what? I finished it and even had another.

Dry and red (just as the familiar old label promises, both in English and Afrikaans), Tassenberg turned 75 last year with surprisingly little fanfare from producer Distell. Then again, how much marketing is necessary for a plus-minus R20-a-bottle brand with an estimated annual production of around 12million litres?

Bigger celebrations are expected for Distell stable mate Chateau Libertas, the tried-and-trusted blend of cab, shiraz and merlot that turns 80 this year (and remains SA's top-selling wine bottled under cork, at a recommended retail price of between R29.99 and R34.99). Created in 1932 by US-born William Charles Winshaw, a medical doctor who came to South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War and co-founded Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery in 1925, it was seen as the height of sophistication at a time when people drank beer, brandy and sweet "sherry".

Birthday preparations last year included a dramatic makeover, the familiar yellow label morphing into a sleeker, more modern version.

Not everyone liked it. "Dull and anaemic," commented Tash on spill.co.za. "We used to buy Chateau Libertas because it brought back so many happy memories," harrumphed Marie-Pauline Sauzier on winethegap.com. "We will not buy it now."

In today's sea of labels in supermarket wine aisles, happy memories are as good a reason as any (if not better than most!) to make purchasing decisions.

"Chateau Libertas occupies a very special place in the hearts of many South Africans," says Distell spokeswoman Rae-Lynn Fletcher. "It is not uncommon for a young man, his father and his grandfather to share a bottle, reminiscing about when and how they were introduced to Chateau Libertas."

Another brand steeped in nostalgia is Roodeberg, the wine developed at KWV by Dr Charles Niehaus in 1949. "Through historic world events and personal milestones, Roodeberg was there," boasts the brand's website - the obvious irony being that it was hardly in South Africa at all until 2004!

For many, myself included, this added to the export-only flagship's allure. What a thrill it was to purchase my first bottle of Roodeberg at a tiny wine shop near London's Ealing Broadway station in 1999. What a disappointment to discover that it was a decidedly average quaffer. Only recently, with far more realistic expectations, have I revisited Roodeberg - enjoying the smooth 2010 with its plum, mulberry and dark chocolate notes (around R60).