I was recently chatting with Rhonda the chef of one of Chorleywood's finest gastronomic delights; the Rose and Crown. A delightful little pub and restaurant (more restaurant than pub) on the common. Both of us share a passion for cooking, her a talented professional and me an enthusiastic amateur. Steering the conversation towards wine I commented on how most restaurants get their wine from smaller suppliers, so you tend not to recognise any wines when presented with the wine list. This inevitably prompts the a charade I'm sure most of us are familiar with; seemingly considering each wine like a Master Sommelier, then ordering the second cheapest bottle. One reason restaurant like to sell wine you've never heard of, as Rhonda pointed out was so the customer doesn't realise the mark-up.

I'm now pretty confident I know my way around wine in the supermarket or on sale with the major retailers. I'm certainly not short of new recommended wines I want to try. But ordering wine in a restaurant for me, like it must be for most people, is a risky business. I do however have two crucial rules to reduce the risk:

1. If the wine is from an prestigious appellation such as Chablis, Sancerre, Chateauneuf-Du-Pape or an expensive grape and region combo such as a Pinot Noir from Burgundy, then I give it a wide berth as it is usually either a) out of my price range or b) not very good.

2. Next is food pairing. Full bodied Shiraz or Malbec for beef, a slightly lighter red for lamb such as a Rioja or Chianti, a more buttery white wine for white meat such as Chardonnay and for fish something a little more crisp and citrus such as a Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc With a curry it is usually a pint of Cobra.

And there you have it, my guide to ordering wine in a restaurant!

Anyway coming back to mark up on wine. Rhonda's point was proven to me very recently. After a rather disappointing experience at the Grove in Watford, my wife and I decided to try a new restaurant called 'Friends' in Pinner. When I say new, I mean new for us. Judging by the numerous AA rosettes around the place stretching back to the 1990s to the present day, the restaurant has been around for some time. The food is French/Modern British and was very good, not quite the same level as some of the really good restaurants you get in the West End, but good none the less and at a fraction of the cost. The 3 course set menu was £31 a head and 25% off if you booking through Top Table. All in all very good meal. Unlike most restaurants though, Friends in Pinner did not buy their wine from a small retailer, they bought it from a retailer I am very familiar with; Majestic. Many of the wines on the wine list have been reviewed on this website, so I was also very familiar with their price..

My wife was having steak and I was having lamb so we ordered a Rhone - Côtes-du-Rhône Belleruche 2007, a wine highly praised by Robert Parker no less. This is a pleasant wine and one I have bought on occasion from Majestic. The online price £6.99 for two bottles, in the restaurant £25. The funny thing was if I'd not known the cost before ordering I'd have thought nothing amiss with the price. I spotted another favourite of my the Alomos Malbec 2007 and as the Jane MacQuitty from The Time points out "this tasty red oozes with lively, ripe, spiced plum and loganberry fruit", however £27 on the wine list and £7.49 in Majestic (albeit a different year). The Chateauneuf Du Pape on the wine list was £35 and as per rule 2 gave it a wide berth. Now I rarely if ever pay £35 for a bottle of wine, and if I did I'd have very high expectations in a restaurant or otherwise. If we talking about mark up of 350% or more, we're looking at a £10 bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape in the supermarket. In my experience a £10 bottle of Chateauneuf Du Pape is not good value for money (even at £10). I'm guessing you need to pay at least £50 in a restaurant for a well chosen Chateauneuf Du Pape.

I think I was happier in blissful ignorance, but I suppose this is subsidises the food.