Confession time: what's the wine you buy on autopilot, the wine you know inside and out like a wife of many years, the one that's reliable, trustworthy, and has stood by you through thick and thin? A recent Nielsen survey commissioned by Constellation Brands divides wine consumers into six broad categories. Fourteen percent are Satisfied Sippers, who tend to always buy the same brand, and twenty-three percent (the largest category) are Overwhelmed, staring down the endless wine aisles and not knowing what to get. It's easy to draw the next conclusion--these buyers end up getting the tried and true as well.
I don't advocate tossing the wife, but this month what about banning the house wine? (If you drink beer or cocktails or even soda, read on--you can do this, too.)
At restaurants, house wine tastes somewhere between boring and wretched. At home, house wine is good for many things--you already know you like it and can serve a bottle to unexpected guests, or just when you yourself are tired and don't have the energy to try anything new.
But January is the time for new beginnings. Instead of buying the same-old wine, fill a case with 12 wines you've never seen in your life (you'll get a 10-20 percent discount on a case, so there's even more incentive). There may be some duds in the dozen, but life is short, and wine is fun, when you're willing to branch out a bit.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-03-2009 @ 4:40PM
xenothaulus said...
I've never developed a taste for wine, but I frequently do the same thing with beer (in places that allow it at least. PA sucks for beer drinkers.) I've discovered a lot of great brews that way.
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1-03-2009 @ 10:32PM
crogers said...
I am a first time reader of this blog (I was actually searching for dried hibiscus flowers) and I loved your article on Ban the House Wine. It is so true; my husband is an avid wine collector and drinker (I kiddingly call him the wine "sewer" instead of wine stewart) anyway, this has been a practice we have done for years and have even encouraged our friends to follow this practice. It's fun to get together and do tastings on some fun inexpensive wines that you may never have heard of.
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1-14-2009 @ 5:07PM
Chef Ed said...
I have been wondering what drives customers to ask for a house when when they come to my restaurant and in looking for answers, stumbled upon this entry.
We abolished the concept of house wine at our restaurant from day one, seven years ago. We have at any given time between 70 and 80 wines by the glass.
We try to gently guide customers who attempt to order "house" wine to a selection on our by-the-glass list without embarassing them, but I can see in the dining room that a lot of customers are totally nonplussed by the idea that a restaurant wouldn't have a house wine.
Here's to expanding your wine horizons....
Chef Ed Matthews
http://www.oneblockwest.com/
http://oneblogwest.blogspot.com/
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1-15-2009 @ 1:10PM
Gretchen Roberts said...
Chef Ed, I love the idea of actually banning the house wine at your restaurant! Thanks for the comment.
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