Most of us don't know how to pick the best wine to go with our food

Almost half said they felt you need to be a wine ‘connoisseur’ to know how to pair good food with the right wine, and nearly two thirds didn’t think the colour of wine was important when it came to choosing a bottle to accompany a meal.

This lack of knowledge may stem from the fact that nearly all respondents bought their wine from a supermarket, where specialist wine advice can be thin on the ground, yet more than half indicated they would pay more for a bottle of wine if they knew it would go well with their meal.

Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes advises customers to experiment with their wine styles and flavours to discover which foods complement which wines. He says, ‘Try the same dish with a peppery red and see how this tastes, then compare it with another softer red or even a white, letting your tastebuds do the work.’