Ordering a glass of wine and receiving a different one....How often does it happen?

[rain4st]

HI everyone, Just finished dinner at a local restaurant. Thought I would try a Rodney Strong Cabernet. Had never tasted it before, however was told it was a decent wine. I was less than impressed when it arrived, extremely flat, no body lacking quality. So I proceeded to surmise that A. it had been open too long or B. this was not the Rodney Strong Cab. I proceeded to order Trinchero Merlot that was was rich in blackberry essence and toasted oak finish. I pondered to ask the question on the first choice and finally asked the server if the first Rodney Strong Cab had been open for a while accounting for the loss in flavor. The server went back to the bartender and found out that he had poured the Rodney Strong Merlot and said"he wasn't even aware there was a Cabernet by Rodney Strong"! I truly believe that the merlot must have been opened for awhile as the flavor had all but gone.
The whole point to this is I wonder how often this happens. I am certain often. Certainly this separates a good restaurant from poor one, but I sincerely bet it is a frequent event. Would love to hear your thoughts....

[Bucko]

Believe it or not, I have never ordered wine by the glass in my twenty years of wine consumption. Maybe I'm skeptical as to what I might get. I want to see the bottle -- even then there are often screwups, especially the vintage year.

Bucko

[rain4st]

Interesting Bucko... Maybe this is why my newly opened wine bar is a pleasant surprise to my customers. Since we seat only 30 people, most are close to the bar and are able to see the bottle from which we pour. I had expected others to be professional enough to pour what the customer orders. Now that I think of it, I did not see the Rodney Strong Merlot even on the menu.....So I wonder what I actually received.... I have no doubt I was the first customer to ever catch a miss pour...Maybe my tastings are developing my palate???

[Innkeeper]

In restaurants not known for their wine lists, this can be a problem. Stopped at a popular place in Frackville, PA on the way home from our April road trip. Wine seemed appropriate with the steaks we had ordered and asked for two glasses of merlot. The waitress said they were out of it, and that they did have cabernet and "burgundy." We ordered the cab and when it came it was Hearty Burgundy from our friends in Modesto. We complained, and the waitress (who had worked there 45 years) stated that we were wrong, and brought us some "burgundy" to prove it. Well, we couldn't decide what in the world the "burgundy" was, but we knew for sure what the cab was. So, next time we'll stick with the Pennsylvania craft beer.

On the up side, we have never been disappointed either with the food or wine by bottle or glass in any restaurant on the WS Award of Excellence List. Always consult it when looking for a place to dine in a strange city. In fact have enjoyed some memorable wines by the glass in such places. One was a 1980 Simi Cabernet Sauvignon we were offered at a stop off I-80 in Elkhart, IN back in '86. It was just a few blocks off the interstate, and came off the WS List.

[Garbo]

Often have a similar experience when we travel to see family in the midwest -- some of the restaurants have interesting varietals by the glass, but most folks there don't order anything but merlot or white zin, so the bottles of more interesting wines tend to go bad before they are finished. Safest is BYOB.

[Thomas]

In many ancient cultures, and on into the nineteenth century in some cultures, serving the wrong wine was punishable. The casks or other containers had to be clearly in the customer's view as the wine was drawn off. It is the only civilized answer to the problem.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 09-13-2000).]

[mrdutton]

Any place that serves the wrong wine and does nothing to rectify the situation will NEVER be visited by me again. On top of that, they'll receive bad word-of-mouth advertising from me.