Olive Garden Italian Restaurant – Plano

The wine list arrives as a laminated insert tucked behind the pasta options, which tells you everything you need to know about the priority hierarchy here. Thirty-eight labels sounds ambitious until you realize most of them are built for the guest who just wants something red and inoffensive with their Tour of Italy. There's a Bertani Amarone and a Col d'Orcia Brunello lurking at the back, which is either a pleasant surprise or a hostage situation depending on how you look at it.

The list leans Italian, which at least makes geographic sense — you'll find Prosecco, Tuscan reds, and Veneto representation including that Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella. But the bulk of the real estate belongs to house pours and recognizable crowd-pleasers like Cabit Cabernet, the kind of wine that exists primarily to be inoffensive. The Col d'Orcia Brunello di Montalcino is a legitimately serious bottle that has no business sitting on the same list as unlimited breadstick promotions, and the markup on top-end bottles running $65–$100 means you're paying chain-restaurant rent on wines that deserve a better neighborhood. There are no real deep-cuts, no interesting grower Proseccos, no small-production anything — just a safe, predictable roster that won't offend and won't excite.

Thirty-five by-the-glass options is a staggering number for a chain that also sells Never Ending Pasta, but quantity is doing a lot of work here that quality is not. The Zonin Prosecco shows up as the sparkling option, which is fine for a Tuesday but nothing to plan around. The $2.50 upcharge for a 9 oz pour is a reasonable move if you want more glass without committing to a bottle — just don't expect the pour to be temperature-controlled.