House Wines

[phowley]

In Rome is it ever inappropriate to order house wine, red or white?

[mbfant]

Traditionally house wines in osterie and trattorie have been white, and only the better establishments offered actual Frascati, which wasn't even any great shakes until recently. I remember when the glass carafe was likely to contain something sort of copper colored or else nearly as pale as water. Today vino sfuso (carafe wine) is found mainly in trattorias and pizzerias, not in restaurants and rarely in any place with any kind of wine list. Restaurants are unlikely to have a house wine, though some do. In any case, nowadays where vino sfuso exists, it is better than it used to be, and the red is usually no worse than the white and is sometimes a decent Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. A restaurant exception that comes to mind is Trattoria Monti (never mind the name), where there is a nice verdicchio on tap, but the family is from the Marche, so everything about the place is an exception.

[Tuscanlover]

Rome is the "home" of Frascati. You should be ok for white!