POLL: Is paying corkage fee "worth it" in a restaurant?

[Roy Hersh]

You are able to bring your own bottle into your local restaurant, either someplace that you frequent or somewhere entirely new. They charge you somewhere between $10-20 ... we can even call it $15 (as I will be paying tonight) for the privilege. The restaurant claims there is a cost to having people bring in their own bottles. Loss of their own wine sale, decanting/serving the wine, even washing glasses ...but no matter how they calculate the charge, that is really not the point.

But do you feel that it is worth paying the corkage fee on top of the price of your own bottle?

There is also a poll if you would like to participate, but really it is more beneficial to hear your views. Thanks in advance!

[Brian C.]

$15 isn't that much in the overall scheme of things when you bring in a bottle you bought for, say, $40, and other restaurants want to charge $125 for it (assuming that we can't do this exercise when a restaurant forbids you from bringing in a bottle that's already on their list). They will probably have better stemware than I have at home, and I won't have to wash the decanter or the good stemware after dinner, either. To sum it up, the $15 becomes less and less relevant as your bottle gets more and more expensive. Taking it further, if I have a $300 bottle, it's definitely not a problem. I certainly don't want to pay a grand for it in a restaurant setting.

This kind of reminds me of bringing in my own food to the movies. The markups get crazy, and what's a customer to do given a desire to have munchies at the movies, or in this case, wine with dinner? I think it bugs me most when a place has big distributors like Southern write up their boring list and charge 3 times retail. To add insult to injury, they will charge over $30 for you to bring in your own bottle. At a place like this, the answer is either don't go, or simply order iced tea.

[Paul Fountain]

I'm generally happy to pay a corkage fee as long as it is reasonable. The higher the fee, the better I expect the stemware and service to be.
For a nice restaurant, I think $20 is reasonable - particularly if they have put some effort into their wine list. While BYO is quite common in Australia at lower end restaurants, it isn't so common in the higher end restaurants.
I did take a bottle of Brunheda 40 year old to one of Australia's best restaurants a couple of years back, but we did order matching wines with the 9 course menu first before we got to the port. I did give a glass to the somm as well.

[Andy Velebil]

I have no issues with a small corkage fee. Provided the establishment has nice stems and the wine being brought isn't on their wine list.

If I am bringing my own glasses, the place has a poor wine list, and I'm doing the uncorking and pouring I don't feel I should pay a corkage. If I didn't bring a bottle I'd just have water and be happy and the place still wouldn't make any additional money. I assume the percentage of people bringing their own bottle is pretty small (someone correct me here if needed).

I've never understood why places don't charge closer to retail for a bottle then just sell more of it to make up for the slight loss in revenue. Seems to work quite well in other places and then wine becomes more of a daily drink instead of a special occasion drink....is this something the wine industry in the States should start pushing for?

[John M.]

I've never understood why places don't charge closer to retail for a bottle then just sell more of it to make up for the slight loss in revenue. Seems to work quite well in other places and then wine becomes more of a daily drink instead of a special occasion drink....is this something the wine industry in the States should start pushing for?

I agree 100%, the mark up on liquor/wine can be utterly ridiculous....they'd turn over a lot more stock if priced lower. Of course, I don't know the other costs associated with a liquor license in a restaurant....but there has got to be a lot of mark-up after that.

[Peter W. Meek]

Probably not fair for me to vote, as I've never taken in a bottle and been charged corkage.

The only restaurant I've ever brought bottles to is my regular restaurant, either for a port tasting, or for a group of friends (including the owner) who occasionally each bring in a bottle or two of something special (like a mini vertical (2 vintages) of Sassicaia) or a fabled California Cab. The owner provides stemware and decanters (I recall seeing 42 glasses on the table once). He frequently orders some special dishes from the kitchen, as well. This can hardly be called a normal corkage situation.

He is also risking his license to sell wine, as I believe BYOB is not legal in my state.

[Glenn E.]

There isn't really an option for my opinion, so I picked the "No" that says I'm not willing to pay for the privilege.

The reality is that they're losing sales, at least in my case.

If I'm allowed to bring my own bottle, which is not on their wine list, then I'm probably also going to order a drink to start the meal. My wife will probably also order a drink or a glass of champagne. Then she'll have a glass or two of wine off their by-the-glass menu and I'll drink the Port that I brought.

If I'm not allowed to bring my own bottle (read: corkage is charged), then I won't have anything to drink and my wife will have maybe one glass of wine. So they lose at least 2 drinks' sales and possibly also a by-the-glass wine sale.

This is a big reason that we don't eat out that much. Our favorite restaurant doesn't charge corkage on the first bottle that you bring, so they're always our first choice - The Purple Café (several locations, typically Bellevue for us). We are even developing a relationship with the Sommelier because we always offer him and our server a glass.

[Moses Botbol]

In Boston, bringing wine is against law so I am told. I'd gladly pay a corking fee and I always ask the somm. or waiter if they'd like a glass. I also do that (with waiter) when I order a bottle off their list. I ask if they'd had that bottle before, and if they'd like to try it. One year I brought an '80 Sandeman Magnum to my friend's 40th at a famous steakhouse in Boston. Talk about jumping through hoops.

Surrounding towns it varies on whether you can bring a bottle in. Actually in Boston, if they don't serve alcohol, you can bring a bottle in. Mostly small Asian restaurants. I seldom bring wine to those places. Most do not have halfway decent stems and they may keep the bottle in a brown bag... Talk about feeling outcast. It's not like we are smoking a bowls in the bathroom...

For those who can bring a nice bottle to a restaurant, pay 0 or under $20 and have it served with dignity; you are very lucky. I don't think I'd have any large formats left.

[Andy Velebil]

Talk about feeling outcast. It's not like we are smoking a bowls in the bathroom...

Drinking bowls in the bathroom?