The wine list at Light House

The Light House food, as Charles has described , is furiously "creative" - which makes life difficult for wine. An Italian white seemed called for, and we chose the 2001 "Capitelli Croce" Soave of Anselmi (it should be called Capitel Croce) at £28 plus £3.50 service.

When the wine arrived it turned out to be the 2001 San Vicenzo from the same producer, not a Soave at all but a Veneto IGT. It was good, though, so we didn't mind: fuller and more characterful than most Italian whites, with a ripe, late-harvest style.

The 50-entry list is relatively expensive for the suburbs, with 10 choices by the glass; I rate this wine list 2 out of 5.

Downhill is Wimbledon Wine Cellars, which, as Steve Pryer said in last week's ES magazine, is one of London's best independent wine merchants. Italian wine is a passion here (including our lunchtime bottle, at £8.99). Owner Andrew Pavli insisted I try the red 1997 Tzingan made in Tuscany by Stelios Aivaliotis. It is a Merlot-Cabernet of wonderfully detailed character, packed with scents of incense and pure, curranty flavours - as it should be, for £37.

I asked Pavli for his three best sub-£10 wines, for a party that night. He suggested the 1999 Bourgogne Blanc from Faiveley at £9.99 (a subtle white, deftly fruited and with beautifully absorbed oak), the 1999 Domaine de la Soumade Rasteau from Andrè Romero at £9.99 (a tangy and mouthfilling red) and the 1998 Prado Rey Cuvèe Primium from Spain's Duero at £8.99 (15 per cent yet softly contoured, shimmering with the vanilla of American oak casks). And there are hundreds more to chose from in this fine shop.

Wimbledon Wine Cellar, 1 Gladstone Road, SW19 (020 8540 9979); 84 High Road, W4 (0208 994 7989).

Light House
Ridgway, London, SW19 4ST