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]

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]

• Table wine