I'll Have the Cheapest, Monsiour Sommelier

It's a common knowledge in the restaurant world that the best-selling wine on the list is almost always the second cheapest offered. The truth of the matter is, even at a nice restaurant, most people want cheap . . . without looking cheap. Hence, the popularity of the second cheapest. There's no problem with not wanting to look cheap, but the sad thing is, there's typically not a big difference between a $30 bottle of red and one that's being sold for $32. In fact, there's a pretty good chance that you might actually prefer the $30 variety better than it's slightly-more-expensive counterpart.

The Wall Street Journal has a cool article up on their site discussing this very issue. Who's to say that the cheapest equals the worst? One person quoted in the article points out that if you're dining at a decent restaurant, they aren't going to put an undrinkable wine on the list anyway. If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read, follow the link above.