Was I Served the Wrong Wine?

[u-bet!]

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday afternoon at one of the bars at Old Ebbitt and I'm not sure if I handled it correctly. After being presented with the wine list, I decide to be frugal (cheap?) and go with a glass of the least expensive offering on the list. At the very top of the list were different varieties grouped together; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and, IIRC, Chardonnay and maybe one other variety, all of them described as being from a particular Virginia winery (whose name escapes me at the moment) with which Old Ebbitt has some knd of relationship, and all priced at $6.00 per glass. I ordered a glass of the Merlot, preceded by the name of the winery, as in "I'd like a glass of the _______ Merlot". I was not presented with the bottle and did not notice what the label said as the bartender poured my first or second glass, so I assumed I was getting what I ordered.

When I received the bill, the wines were listed at $8.50 per glass and identified as being from a different winery than the one I had requested. I looked again at the wine list and saw the listing for the more expensive wine in a different section of the list, so I had either been given the wrong wine or my order was rung up incorrectly. I wondered for a moment if I should say something, such as a diplomatic "I'm not sure if I ordered correctly...", but ended up assuming I had been given the more expensive wine and deciding just to go ahead and pay for what I ostensibly drank, even though I was given something other than what I had ordered.

The problem here is that, if the same mistake had been made with a food item, I obviously would have noticed if I had been served something other than what I had ordered (or what I thought I had ordered), and the situation would have been rectified before I had eaten it. I assume there are some who might have been able to tell the difference after one or two sips between the $6.00 wine I thought I was getting and the $8.50 wine I ended up being served (if that's what really happened), but assume the majority of palates are not quite so sophisticated as to be able to make that distinction.

I have two takeaways from this: 1) I probably should have ordered by saying "House Merlot" instead of by mentioning the name of the winery and, 2) always ask to see the bottle. Just curious if others would have handled the situation as it played out the same as I did (not make a fuss, pay the bill, and go on my merry way).

[DonRocks]

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday afternoon at one of the bars at Old Ebbitt, and I'm not sure if I handled it correctly. After being presented with the wine list, I decide to be frugal (cheap?) and go with a glass of the least expensive offering on the list. At the very top of the list were different varieties grouped together; Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and, IIRC, Chardonnay and maybe one other variety, all of them described as being from a particular Virginia winery (whose name escapes me at the moment) with which Old Ebbitt has some knd of relationship, and all priced at $6.00 per glass. I ordered a glass of the Merlot, preceded by the name of the winery, as in "I'd like a glass of the _______ Merlot". I was not presented with the bottle and did not notice what the label said as the bartender poured my first or second glass, so I assumed I was getting what I ordered.

When I received the bill, the wines were listed at $8.50 per glass, and identified as being from a different winery than the one I had requested. I looked again at the wine list and saw the listing for the more expensive wine in a different section of the list, so I had either been given the wrong wine, or my order was rung up incorrectly. I wondered for a moment if I should say something, such as a diplomatic "I'm not sure if I ordered correctly", but ended up assuming I had been given the more expensive wine and deciding just to go ahead and pay for what I ostensibly drank, even though I was given something other than what I had ordered.

The problem here is that, if the same mistake had been made with a food item, I obviously would have noticed if I had been served something other than what I had ordered (or what I thought I had ordered), and the situation would have been rectified before I had eaten it. I assume there are some who might have been able to tell the difference after one or two sips between the $6.00 wine I thought I was getting and the $8.50 wine I ended up being served (if that's what really happened), but assume the majority of palates are not quite so sophisticated as to be able to make that distinction.

I have two takeaways from this: 1) I probably should have ordered by saying "House Merlot", instead of by mentioning the name of the winery, and, 2) always ask to see the bottle. Just curious if others would have handled the situation as it played out the same as I did (not make a fuss, pay the bill, and go on my merry way).

Perfectly honest mistake on both ends. You handled it well.

I really like their wine list (here's one from May, 2012). I don't see your wine there, but it's possible the house pour is in different stemware, or that it's a slightly less expensive cuvée (or even in a larger bottle or box), and that might explain the price difference.

[zoramargolis]

Given the $5 upcharge, I would have said something to the bartender about the error.

[DonRocks]

Given the $5 upcharge, I would have said something to the bartender about the error.

Oh, it was definitely worth a quick question at the time; I meant that u-bet! handled it properly in the posting by not making a big deal out of it. Thing is though, sometimes situations (a first date, a group of strangers, etc.) can prevent a diner from wanting to mention things like this.

[Joe H]

Several years ago I had my own experience: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/702148 My problem was that I was clearly presented the bottle and didn't pay any attention to it, thus the title.