Wine Sampling At Olive Garden: Does A Limit Exist?

Let's be honest. We don't go to Olive Garden for a fine dining Italian experience. It has a bit of an over-the-top Italian theme, but we know what to expect: affordable and serviceable Italian food. Yet there are some aspects of the Olive Garden experience that really set it apart in a good way.

You probably know about the never-ending soup or salad with breadsticks. Order an entree and you can get as many breadsticks as you want. The chain also occasionally offers a never-ending pasta bowl. But the Olive Garden perk we just learned about might beat them all. Depending on location, you might be able to score 25-cent wine samplings in 1-ounce portions. In some states, the casual dining chain will actually allow you to try the wine for free.

When we first heard about this incredible deal, we were a bit skeptical. But according to Jaime Bunker, senior vice president of marketing at Olive Garden (via USA Today), the restaurant chain does indeed serve highly discounted wine samples starting at 25 cents. Bunker also said customers over 21 can sample a "few" different wines but didn't clarify an exact amount. For further evidence, a TikTok user posted a video of a wine sampling with her friends.

The 1-ounce pour for wine samples is consistent across all feedback, but other specifics seem to vary based on location. One Redditor said samples are free in the state of Washington, while another Redditor – who didn't disclose their location — said samples cost between 99 cents and $1.99, depending on the wine. Another commenter said you can sample up to three wines for free, as long as they're different, which seems to confirm Jaime Bunker's mention of the "few" wine samples limit.

But it turns out, Olive Garden's wine sample program is actually nothing new. The chain gave away around 17 million wine samples at its 850 locations in 2017. And when Olive Garden celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2002, Darden (the restaurant group that owns Olive Garden) announced that through its weekend wine sampling program, 30 million customers had enjoyed samples at their local restaurant the year before.

Depending on location, customers have some worthy wines to choose from at Olive Garden. The most expensive of these options is Meiomi Pinot Noir for around $34 a bottle. So even if you go beyond the samples, you're not going to break the bank on wine at this Italian restaurant chain. Overall, you have to respect how willing Olive Garden is to provide customers with the ability to maximize their dining experience at almost zero cost.