Wagamama Merlot

Wagamama's merlot is estimated at £27.50 (est.) a bottle, the fuller of the list's two reds: plummy, rounded and soft edged, the crowd pleasing red that asks nothing of anyone. Wine prices go unpublished online, so the figure is this site's estimate, marked est.

Merlot's job on a short list is breadth: enough body for the beef dishes, soft enough tannin to survive the glazes, and a familiarity that lets tables order it without discussion. Beside the teriyaki brisket bowls and the steak soba it does its best work, the plum meeting the soy caramel comfortably.

Vegan marked, unlike its pinot neighbour, it is the red for the table that wants red and no seminar. The heat limit applies as ever: past firecracker the wine list loses to the sweet bottles and the blush, and this glass is best kept to the savoury side of the menu.