House wine

House wine generally refers to an inexpensive drinking wine served in restaurants. Restaurant menus often omit detailed descriptions of a house wine's country of origin, winery or grape varietal, listing it simply as "house red" or "house white", depending on the wine's style.[1] Some restaurants offer more specific categories of house wines, such as a "house chardonnay",[2] or a "house merlot".[3]

A bottle of the house red at a restaurant in Sintra, Portugal

Production and sale

House wines generally rotate, with restaurants typically transitioning from one kind to another based on availability or season.[4] House wines are typically wines that a restaurant feels will appeal to a large proportion of its clientele, determined either by its past success as a normal entry on the wine list or because the wine is easy to drink and pairs well with a significant amount of menu items.[5]

House wines are often bought in bulk by restaurants, enabling the restaurants to further lower their prices.[5] While house wines are still usually offered by the glass, many restaurants also offer them by the carafe or bottle.[4]

Historically, house wine was usually poor quality, possibly "jug wine" derived from a second pressing of the grapes,[6] and sold by the glass, promoted by a restaurant primarily on the basis of the wine's low cost. A 1979 article asserted that "so called 'fine' restaurants, those serving the haute cuisine or those considered posh or plush, will not carry a house wine".[6] In the 21st century, due to a general rise in the availability of high quality wine, house wines have improved in quality in restaurants in the United States, and frequently may be produced by or for a specific restaurant, although house wines will still usually be on the cheaper end of the wine list for any given restaurant.[4]

See also

References
  1. Ross, Marissa A. (12 September 2016). "House Wine: What Is It, Exactly?". Bon Appetit. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  2. Vargo, Lou (July 9, 2015). "3 Alternatives to Chardonnay". The Tennessean.
  3. Edwards, Andrew (April 1, 2016). "Dining Out: The Bold Hotel Bar and Grill, Southport". South Port Visiter.
  4. Teague, Lettie (16 June 2017). "Why It Pays to Order the House Wine". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  5. Teeter, Adam (19 October 2014). "In Defense Of "House Wine" - And Why You Should Have A House Wine Too". VinePair. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  6. Henry Front, "Grapes & Grain", Orange Coast Magazine (January 1979), p. 95.
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