What is House Wine?

House wine: What Is It, exactly? That’s a fantastic question because if you’ve gone out for dinner, you know they’ll offer you the house wine, so what is it exactly?

House wine can be many things; it depends on what house you’re eating at. A fancy restaurant might have a pretty decent house wine, and an inexpensive eatery will probably offer less ostentatious wine.

House wine is simply a label or two that the restaurateur wants to offer as a starting point for anyone wishing to quench their thirst without having to browse the wine list. 

What is house wine? Whatever the restaurant wants it to be. It’s part of its identity.

What is house wine in a restaurant?

You’ll often find white and red house wine at a restaurant, but don’t think they’re either inexpensive or low quality; there are many reasons an establishment would want to offer something nice as a house wine. 

For starters, many sommeliers wish to educate their customers with exciting new grapes from foreign countries, and the house wine is a perfect opportunity to feature such wines. 

Sometimes the person in charge of buying the wine buys too much of a specific wine and selling it as a house wine is a fantastic way of making some cellar space.

Finally, if a restaurant has the means to do it, they can purchase wine and label it with the restaurant’s name. They might not produce it, but it’s part of their brand and identity. 

What is house wine mean?

House wine is simply the featured wine at an establishment.

You’ll find other examples of house items on the menu, and not just wine. The chef’s salad, the soup of the day, or the restaurant’s house hot pepper sauce are some examples. 

What is house wine called?

House wine is called that way because in the past, before restaurants, there were inns, and this medieval roadside establishments made their own beer or wine, and that’s a true house wine; it’s made right there by the people who serve it.

This still happens in some places like in Vienna, Austria, where winemakers have their own eateries and serve their authentic house wine. 

What is House Wine? Q&A

·      Why is it called house wine?

Many years ago, even centuries, guesthouses along the road offered travelers a warm bed, something to eat, and the house wine. The house wine, of course, was made in-house, so it was literally the wine made in the establishment. Its quality could make or break the business’ reputation, so it was probably good, not that there were any other options, really.

·      Is house wine always the cheapest?

As a general rule, the house wine is the most inexpensive, yes, but as mentioned above, the house wine can be a special bottle or leftover stock, so it might not be as cheap as you think. The idea behind house wine is to offer an inexpensive drink for people who don’t want to invest in a more expensive proposition. When in doubt, ask for the price.

·      How many glasses of wine do you get from a bottle?

Here are some quick numbers to remember; A standard wine barrel holds 5 UK gallons, which are 300 750ml wine bottles. Every bottle contains five 5-ounce pours. 

Keep in mind an establishment can decide to serve larger or smaller pours, being a 4-ounce pour a standard in many places.

·      What is the average alcohol content of wine?

On average, a bottle of wine has 11.6% alcohol, but this is quite low compared to modern offerings that can have up to 16%.

The lowest alcohol levels come from certain white wines from Germany that can have as little as 7%, while the most alcoholic wines come from warm wine regions like Australia or sunny California. 

·      What is the best cheapest wine?

• It’s hard to say which is the best wine, since we all have different tastes, yet there are plenty of low-priced bottles of wine of fantastic quality. 

Look for wine from lesser-known countries or regions or made with less-famous wine grapes. These are the cheapest and can be superb!

·      Is table wine for drinking?

The lowest category in wine is table wine. It has no provenance, and it rarely says the grapes it’s made of. These wines are drinkable but might not be very enjoyable; they can be dull or unbalanced. Table wine is excellent for cooking, though.

·      What are the basic types of wine?

The basic types of wine are white, red, rosé, sparkling, and sweet.

No wine style is better than others, they all have a purpose, and you might like one more than the others. 

·      Should you order the house wine?

When in doubt, order a glass of house wine; if you like it, order the entire bottle! If not, demand something more to your liking; it’s that easy.