General Corkage guidelines / etiquette

There are plenty of threads on corkage, but I couldn’t find a good discussion on overall guidelines for newbies - if there is one please feel free to point me in that direction. I’ve never brought wine to a restaurant before, but now that I’ve been accumulating more and taking more of an interest in wine, I’m interested in doing so. That said, I feel a bit hesitant - I don’t want to be a bad customer for restaurants! To be transparent, my motivation is just to drink better wines at restaurants but stay within my budget, so this is not a case of bringing collector level wines. Is there anything wrong with just bringing a solid California cab or pinot to a local restaurant? I know corkage is common so I would assume it’s perfectly reasonable to BYO, but for some reason it feels uncomfortable to me.

As a tangible example: going to a local steakhouse with a few friends where we’d probably order a round of cocktails and then one bottle of cab in the $60-90 range off the menu to drink with our steaks. I have some Kinsella Spencer vineyard cab at home I wouldn’t mind bringing a bottle of (it’s not on the restaurant’s wine list, which is very limited). Do people think about how much they are costing the restaurant based on the corkage fee vs what they might typically order, or am I overthinking it.

Are there guidelines in terms of what “level” of wine to bring, i.e. is it not cool to bring a wine that retails for say $40-50? Other than avoiding something directly on the wine list, is it considered bad to bring something that’s just another napa cab instead of something more differentiated from the broad offerings on the wine list? And how much do people’s answers depend on the type / price of the restaurant (e.g. local mid-range bistro vs very expensive michelin type place vs typical steakhouse)?

For the purposes of this discussion I’d be curious to hear views setting aside COVID, and then if you think the latter warrants a different approach feel free to mention (I’m definitely less inclined to do my first corkage until things are better, but again, I don’t have a great feel for how it’s viewed by restaurants).

For me, going out to dinner is usually an excuse to drink a bottle of wine — otherwise I’d just as soon stay in and fire up the grill. So I don’t feel bad at all about bringing wine, because in my case I’d probably otherwise eat out at least 50% less (which would cost restaurants far more money than lost margin on wine markup). As far as other etiquette, I like to call to confirm corkage policy and let them know I’m planning to bring my own bottle(s) and if they have a wine list posted online I make sure that the bottle I’m bringing isn’t on the list.

  1. corkage is a hospitality benefit extended by most restaurants - treat it that way. it’s not a right. it’s not a way to save money, even though that might be an added benefit.

  2. there is zero connection with corkage fee, if charged, and the economics of the restaurant. so don’t even think about it.

  3. always, always, always, confirm in advance the restaurant’s policy - fee per bottle, limits, etc. ideally get the name of the person telling you. sometimes the policy is on the website, so no need if that’s the case. sometimes they say you cannot bring something on the list, which is fair but i’ll go further and advise doing this even if they don’t say it.

  4. bring something “worth” bringing - this is obviously a sliding scale, but i do believe it’s worth signaling to the restaurant that you view this whole matter as per #1 above.

  5. when arriving, whomever greets you indicate that you called about the corkage policy and you brought a bottle with you. ask that person what you should do with it and then follow that instruction.

  6. in most cases, i also think you should at the very least buy a round of BTG, cocktails, or best case, a bottle off the list.

  7. offer your server or whomever is handling you wine a taste. don’t push, but offer nicely.

Ha, see this is where I get confused. Justin’s response is more along the lines of “as long as the restaurant allows it, don’t sweat it” - and reading some other threads on WB, it seems there are lots of people who bring wine almost every time they go out to eat. But ybarselah’s response is much more in the “it had better be special” camp, which definitely doesn’t describe my situation. Maybe I’m just looking for a consensus where there won’t be one

It feels more like if the restaurant doesn’t have it and its not a cheap bottle of wine is the way to go. You could always call the restaurant and ask too about the specific bottle.

Which is more profitable for a restaurant - food or alcohol - is off topic here, so I won’t go down that path …

First, living in TX, where very few restaurants can legally allow BYOB, it absolutely is a privilege. I agree with Yaacov’s points, and would add:

The corkage fee goes to the restaurant and not the server. Tip very well and don’t penalize the server because you chose to bring a bottle. Offering a taste is fine, but that’s not a replacement for a tip.

I think you have to consider the specific circumstances. If the restaurant offers a small, boring wine list (perhaps selected by a distributor), I would think it’s more of a “don’t sweat it” than if the restaurant has a well-curated list. If I was going to a 3 Star Michelin restaurant with a list of 100s or 1000s of bottles, including mature bottles, I would be darn sure it’s a very special bottle I’m bringing … and not just because the corkage fee is likely to be high.

Thanks Scott, re your first post, 100% on tipping the server well / as if you bought a similar bottle (or at least whatever bottle you would have ordered of the list). On the second post, this is part of what I’m trying to drill down on: how much is the “corkage is for special stuff” just specific to when you’re eating at a fancy restaurant with a big wine list, as opposed to the local Italian bistro or gastropub or whatever, where “don’t sweat it” is the right way to think about it.

Toby.

The restaurants that offer BYO want you to bring your own. They will probably charge you (I always call to ask how much the charge is). I’d rather bring my $60 bottle, and pay a $25 - $35 fee (reasonable to me) than buy a $100 bottle off the list that cost the restaurant $40. I still save money, and end up drinking better.

I’ve brought all sorts of wine, from $25 bottles to a $200 bottle. A better restaurant with fine dining rates a better wine. YMMV.

dh

Toby - it really depends on your market, and the circumstances of the venue you want to patronize.

In New England, I have found corkage to difficult/quirky to be granted. Out West, where I live now, its routine & customary. There are no end of places in my area which have free corkage nights, or always offer it with easy to understand terms etc.

And I suppose the crisis facing the hospitality industry right now likely means if one called and spoke to a manager/wine captain at a restaurant, perhaps one might get even better terms if negotiated. (We haven’t gone out to eat since the National Emergency was declared, other than maybe 1 time outside at the Oxbow Public Market picnic tables while passing through)

Yaacov’s list seems reasonable, but I’d point out that its the blinkered perspective of a wine professional in a high end environment. Perhaps in that rareified world every time corkage is offered it really is cannibalizing a supernormal profit from the wine list, but in more typical situations just because someone brings a $100 bottle doesn’t mean they would have spent that off the list if denied corkage. I don’t think those guidelines are reflective of regular non Michelin rated venues.

The one thing I might add, if you are bringing older bottles to a place that is not a fine dining destination, bring an Ah-So / Durand and open them yourself, assuming they allow that. (Or do it ahead of time) The typical server, and their corkscrew, isn’t awesome at handling older, brittle corks.

I’ll chime in on a few points in corkage etiquette:

1- Always call the restaurant and inquire about the corkage policy. Even if it’s on their website, it doesn’t hurt to confirm it. Whether you can BYO, how much it is, or if there are restrictions as to what you can bring (limit on bottles, no wines on their list, not large formats, etc.)

2- Once you’ve done called the restaurant and are fine with paying the stated corkage fee, you are free to bring whatever bottle you damn please (so long as it’s within the restaurant’s guidelines). You shouldn’t feel pressured to bring a “special” or expensive bottle, if you’re paying for the corkage, you’re free to bring whatever wine you want (again, so long as it’s within the restaurant’s guidelines). The reason why many chose to bring a special bottle is because corkage fees aren’t always cheap (I’ve seen places with $75+ per bottle for corkage fee.) So if you’re bringing say a $25 bottle of wine where the corkage is $75, it becomes a $100 wine, at that price point, a similar bottle may be $80 off the list, so financially it makes more sense to purchase from the restaurant. But if on the other hand you’re bringing a $200 bottle, the equivalent bottle at the restaurant may be $600, so paying $275 is a whole lot cheaper. The other reason people caution against bringing a wine that’s on the list is to avoid a perceived faux pas of being “cheap” and not ordering the wine direct from the restaurant. But personally, I have no problem bringing a wine that’s on a restaurant’s wine list (granted they allow that). At times I have no interest in purchasing an expensive bottle of wine from a restaurant at 3-4 times retail prices.

3- Once you arrive let your server/sommelier know you’ve brought your own wine and let them know you’d prefer them to open it. Should they open it immediately and decant it so it can breathe, or should it wait a bit. Do offer the server/sommelier a taste of the wine.

4- If possible, make every effort to order a drink or two from the restaurants beverage list. The reality of the situation is that restaurants make their money on their beverage programs, so bringing your own wine is in a sense a loss of profit for them. Thought do note that that is what the corkage fee is there in part for, to cover some of that lost beverage revenue, so don’t feel too guilty about bringing your own wine. Ordering something from the restaurant, whether it’s cocktails, or BTG, or a bottle to start is a polite way for you to let the restaurant staff know you understand the realties of their financial circumstances.

5- This goes more for larger groups that bring multiple expensive bottles. Don’t negotiate the corkage fee. You’re already depriving the restaurant of it’s beverage sales and if you’re bringing in several expensive bottles, you can afford the corkage fee. If not, then don’t bring your own wine.

yes! annoyed at myself for not referencing a great tip, especially these days. thanks for adding.

Yaacov’s list was pretty good but, yes, it definitely varies from place to place, area to area, demographic to demographic. I work at a restaurant AND find a lot of wine lists to have few things on them I want to drink, so this is an interesting subject for me.

If a restaurant offers corkage, don’t feel bad about using it. You said putting Covid aside, but honestly, that’s a bit tough at the moment. Last week I went out to one of my favourite places, an unpretentious French bistro with an appallingly bad wine list. I was tempted to bring a bottle - I’m enough of a regular that they likely would have been fine with it - but still paid $15 a glass x 4 to drink their mediocre stuff because I know they need the cash and need to move product.

I think a good rule of thumb is use corkage because you want to drink a wine, not because you want to save a buck. And like Yaacov and Rodrigo have said, perhaps consider ordering a round of cocktails or a glass of sparkling to start.

i was hoping someone would touch on this. my itb status is limited specifically to being the founder of a company that analyzes sales information of wine. i can tell you with utmost confidence that based on our extensive data, corkage has zero impact on the bottom line for a restaurant that offers it (meaning the type of places that have at least a half-decent wine program, not a random indian spot in murray hill). the cost of corkage is entirely in modifying their normal business processes. this therefore applies regardless of market or concept and merely goes under the umbrella of being a “good customer” which in my experience always results in the best returns. people working in restaurants are there to deliver hospitality - so let them. if you ever get the vibe that they are hostile or looking down on corkage it’s likely because they’ve had awful experiences with it from bad customers.

so if my perspective is “blinkered” it’s not because of where i live or what i do, it’s because i’m also taking into account the other side of the transaction, which is rarely if every properly discussed here.

thank you for adding the restaurant perspective.

if the server doesnt charge you corkage throw it to them as a tip. if they left it off it wasn’t an accident.

I practice this, but I think sometimes it’s waived without mentioning it was waived. Or maybe that makes me feel better about the principal/agent aspect of turning a restaurant fee into a tip.

If a restaurant offers corkage fee, you should feel comfortable bringing a bottle. If you order a round of cocktails or a moderately priced bottle of white wine or champagne to start, the corkage fee might even be waived.

I agree with Yaacov and some of the others on the thread, it’s impossible to discuss corkage without also discussing restaurants’ financial realities. COVID is very different scenario from normal and I think most would agree that one should avoid bringing your own wines now and support your local restaurants in these increasingly challenging financial times.

Yaacov- interesting that you mentioned your research into this matter. My understanding of corkage fees, at least in talking to people in the industry was that the high corkage fee for some places tended to serve two purpose: (1) was to disincentivize people from bringing in their wines and instead to order from the wine list and (2) to serve in part as a replacement for some of that “lost” beverage revenue. So while corkage fee is not necessarily adding to the bottom line, it’s there to make sure it’s not hurting the bottom line. Curious to know some of the findings and data from from your research if you can share it.

And I’ll echo the sentiments from others here re: restaurants waiving corkage. If the corkage is waived, add the entire amount to the tip. You brought the bottle with the full intent of paying the corkage fee, so just redirect that to the restaurant staff.

Huh, that surprises me - you mean no impact on the restaurant’s profitability taken as a whole? Or on individual transactions involving corkage, because I assume they must lose some profit they would have made if you just ordered off their list.

Good feedback in general, thanks everyone. I’m coming down on the side of no issue bringing a wine even if it isn’t “special” (assuming we’re not talking about a very upscale / super wine list type place). Still have to grapple with COVID considerations I guess, so I appreciate your thoughts on that Sean.