House Wines

The Cantina Sociale - Soave, Italy
You can fill your demi-johns here!
(Photo by RR, Aug. 1994)

Ordinary Wine

Vino Sfuso
Vin Ordinaire
Plonk
Whatever

In Other Words
Your Daily Wine!

This page is not meant to downplay appreciation of fine wines. We're all in favor of them, but it is not realistic to think that we can have fine vintages daily.

More and more Americans are accepting the idea that a meal is incomplete without wine. Those of us who feel this way would rather have a modest wine with our supper each evening than a finer vintage every few days.

This means "House" wine, whether purchased in a restaurant or used at home. Restaurants in France and Italy would not survive for long if they did not offer reasonably priced good wine. If it's not available by the glass or carafe, people will go elsewhere. Certain grand restaurants may be exceptions, but the rule still holds. Fortunately, American menus are beginning to feature wine by the glass.

For several years I have logged wines into and out of our small rack. Some have been pretty decent bottles for special occasions, but most have been what we call "Official House Wines". The list changes from time to time. Our house wines can fall out of favor. This happens when a wine becomes so popular that the winery can get away with a premium price.

For a long time we posted here a list of wines that we used daily. As it turned out, these lists had to be constantly updated and were not really that useful. Over a period of time, wineries are bought by other wineries - a once acceptable price becomes unacceptable - a new label appears and is a relative bargain (at least for a while) - our tastes might change.

Rather than list a few current favorites, let's just advise some careful shopping to see what's good and also inexpensive. It may take some time to get your bearings, but before long you will become adept at spotting the bargains and taking advantage of them. You will also learn what to avoid. When a wine is available in magnum bottles (1.5 liters), it usually (but not always) costs less to buy the large size. You will have leftover wine, but it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

Of course you could pour your wine from a box, and save substantially. If boxed wines get better that may be an alternative, but at present the boxed wines being offered have declined in quality. Most now feature added "natural flavors", which is a strong clue that the wine is poor.

RR, NR

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