Kitchen

[howaboutthis]

I went out to dinner last night and ordered a glass of pinot grigio. I didn't specify any particular brand, I just said "I'd like a glass of pinot grigio". When the bill came, I was surprised to see that they had not given me the house wine, but a more expensive brand. Was this appropriate? I always thought that when a person does not specify a particular brand when ordering, then the house wine is served. Is this not so?

[ahoymate]

I guess you learned to ask next time to specify which type of wine you desire.

The person who is taking your order will pick the best wine to please you and his/her tip.

[Mary Bailey]

I know when I order a mixed drink at a restaurant, there are no prices on the menu and I'm always shocked at the price. Alcohol is a restaurant's highest profit. Next is breakfast.

[Cardamom]

Maybe they didn't have a Pinot Grigio as a house wine. You can always ask for the house red wine. Hope it was good!

[Moonchilde]

There isn't necessarily a house wine for every type of wine. The server assumed you had looked at the wine list, which almost everyone does - if I want a simple glass of Chardonnay, rose or merlot, I still check what they have because I might have a preference for one of their offerings that's $1 more than the least expensive house wine and be happy to pay the difference. I always *look.* they most likely gave you either the least expensive pinot grigio or the least expensive that they or other customers consider good, but I doubt they would go high end without asking you. Also, all wines or all *types* of wine are not all sold by the glass in a given restaurant. Perhaps the one you received was the only one they had available that they sold by the glass.

[Marienkaefer2]

Restaurants that I go to list all their wines and the price by the glass and bottle. If you are looking for a house white, ask what kind of house whites they have. Although I do feel that the server should have told you the name of the wine (vineyard, etc) and the price.