Consumers guided to buy the second cheapest wine on the list. Do you agree?

Blake Gray comments:

If you know absolutely nothing about wine and just want something drinkable, it's not bad advice. In that situation you don't want to overpay. The cheapest wine may be on the list just because it's cheap.

It's easy to say, "ask the sommelier for advice," but often there's no somm on the floor, and servers' recommendations are a very mixed bag. I'd rather buy the 2nd cheapest wine than something about which the server says, "This is very popular."

Morton from Napa comments:

This may be more common in Europe, but a good restaurant carefully considers the quality and price of their house wine. It's quality is a direct reflection on the restaurant. Here in the Napa Valley it is almost always the case that the house wine is carefully chosen. Elsewhere, it's always good to ask about the producer and if it isn't crumby, nationally distributed, bottom of the shelf, sweetened plonk it is an encouraging sign. So if I am looking for a good wine at the minimal price, I go for the house wine.