Mario Batali tweets on corkage...

[LMD_Ermitano]

I, personally, am generally averse to paying high corkage fees, but will (and do) bite the bullet if I like the restaurant enough. One example is Gaddi’s at the Peninsula HK where the corkage is equivalent to a little over US$50/bottle, but the food, service, and ambiance justify it for me - plus, given their mark up on their wines with age, I’m better off paying corkage.

I’ve never eaten at any of Batali’s restaurants, but I am willing to try one out - then decide whether or not paying US$50/bottle corkage is “justifiable”.

[Bob_Wood]

Oh boy. Another “we’re entitiled to ‘reasonable’ corkage because we’re wine geeks” thread. Pass the popcorn and carry on.

[Victor_Hong]

@Bob Wood

Oh boy. Another “we’re entitiled to ‘reasonable’ corkage because we’re wine geeks” thread. Pass the popcorn and carry on.

Agreed.

[Brent_C_l_a_y_t_o_n]

Bob, I think Keith’s points are right on, it’s not so much that one is ‘entitled,’ but rather that there is little motivation to support a restaurant that wants to rub your nose in it with attitude on top of a higher-than-comparable-places rate.

FWIW I’ve BYO’ed at Babbo twice. Once was a business dinner so I didn’t see the bill but I definitely assumed corkage was waived for our table as the supplier paid and we had several bottles and a winery rep with us and a bottle or two was purchased off the list. The second time was with family, and my uncle almost always insists on bringing at least one bottle from home when we go out. Even though we had called and confirmed corkage beforehand as well as making it understood we would bring a bottle with us, there was a pronounced reminder at the table about the corkage fee, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it obnoxious. We did buy another ‘good’ bottle off the list as well as a couple serviceable whites for the non-wino family.

It would seem to me, at least, that the local CW on Babbo is that a $35 corkage fee would be commensurate with the quality of food and general popularity of the place but $50 is a stretch if you ‘want’ the BYO crowd. I’m quite sure the restaurant does just fine thank you with the tourists, ‘weekend warriors,’ and NYU crowd to not really have to worry.

I think the more interesting story here is not a rehashed corkage debate but the perception of the Twitter conversation and whether that really matters, at all to Batali’s business/image.

[Cris_Whetstone]

@Victor Hong

@Bob Wood

Oh boy. Another “we’re entitiled to ‘reasonable’ corkage because we’re wine geeks” thread. Pass the popcorn and carry on.

Agreed.

But nothing is complete without sanctimony from Bob AND Victor. Care to yell down from the tower with your opinions boys or do we assume you love corkage and are willing to pay whatever restaurants will take?

[Barry_L_i_p_t_o_n]

Brent, is that their public BYO policy, i.e., if I call and ask, will the say BYO is ok (for a fee?)?

[Mel_Hill]

@Brent C l a y t o n

I think the more interesting story here is not a rehashed corkage debate but the perception of the Twitter conversation and whether that really matters, at all to Batali’s business/image.

FWIW, his tweet is about what I would expect from him

[Tim_Heaton]

“Corkage is far from pure profit unless you bring your own glasses and do your own wine related work and clean up as well.”

Corkage is an economic profit, not a pure profit. Having said that, Batali (I know who you sailed with last year, sellout) is a d’bag

[Rick_Gregory]

@Brent C l a y t o n

I think the more interesting story here is not a rehashed corkage debate but the perception of the Twitter conversation and whether that really matters, at all to Batali’s business/image.

Well, Batali didn’t reply just to the person who tweeted at him… he structured the tweet so that all 272k of his followers saw it. And, well, he has 272,980 followers. There are newspapers with smaller circulation.

[Roberto_Rogness]

Love Jonathan Gold’s response: @theJGold “At some places, I’ve been tempted. RT @Mariobatali we sell wine. Would you bring a steak?? RT @joeszeles $50 corkage fee!”

[Justin_W_ells]

Good evening, Sir I see you’ve brought some wine to enjoy with your dinner this evening. Very good, Sir.

Oh, you’d like a few ice buckets to keep the whites you’ve brought perfectly chilled? No problem, Sir.
Of course, Sir, I’d be happy to decant all your reds for you, not a problem at all, Sir. (Just one second while I grab half of the entire stock of decanters for the entire restaurant…)
I’d be happy to bring you and all your guests multiple Riedel stems each so you can all compare and contrast your wines at the same time, no problem, Sir. (That will only add an hour of extra labor at the end of the evening buffing 30 extra stems…)
Oh, your bottle of wine is corked, I’m sorry to hear that, Sir. Yes, I’d be happy to remove all those glasses it was poured into, bring a whole new flight of stems and a new decanter to decant your back-up bottle into. (Meanwhile that couple in the corner who is actually spending money, and not being pompous asses, would love just a bit more of my attention…)

Ice costs money. Stemware costs money. Employees cost money. Every single item you walk on, touch, use, or even see in a restaurant costs money. That 37 dollar entree you just snarfed down while guzzling your wine you brought has the LEAST amount of profit out of every single item the restaurant sells. It’s all the peripherals. You want to help a restaurant make money and actually be around in 5 years? Order bottled water. Order dessert. Order a starter white. Pay corkage. Tip your server.

Do you honestly think the food alone pays for everything? I would lay odds that if you dined at the top 25 restaurants in any city, ate only an entree and drank water that you would actually COST the restaurant money.

Is 50 bucks a lot for corkage? Obviously. But the thought that it is “pure profit” for a restaurant is ridiculous at best.

@Cris Whetstone

@Barry L i p t o n

Corkage is far from pure profit unless you bring your own glasses and do your own wine related work and clean up as well.

This always seems like a strange excuse to me. Do they pay for wine glasses separately and have an extra busboy for wine with corkage fees? Of course not. Those are all regular items that are paid for with the cost of running the restaurant just as is your water glass and bread plates that cause extra cleanup. No one would complain about a nominal fee but when it starts going north of $20 you really have to wonder what the motivation is and what exactly it is you are ‘paying for’.

[David_K_o_l_i_n]

Lots of terrific restaurants in Chicago do well with no or minimal corkage, or waive corkage for good or friendly customers. How do they do it?

[Cris_Whetstone]

@Justin W ells

Ice costs money.

I need to ask some restauranteurs for the sauce they have clearly given some of you. Blissful!


It’s still funny to me that apparently you are paying a lot for service in said restaurants yet when wine enters the picture it is suddenly some burden or extra work. Where are all you guys when people are looking for excuses to restrict tips from waiters for some esoteric restaurants problem out of their control? What if corkage actually went to the waiter versus into the coffers of the restaurant itself?

Oh, and at $50, yes most of that is pure profit. What could your cost to the restaurant actually, honestly be for that one bottle you brought in that you probably do most of the handling yourself for?

[billnanson]

@D. Zylberberg

$50 seems like a reasonable charge - replaces the profit he expects if you order off the list.

Does that mean people who drink water - drivers for instance - are not welcome?

[Justin_W_ells]

Gotta love your ridiculous response. Perhaps you’d like to respond to the actual points raised?

Sorry to break it to you, but at least 80% of the time it’s not just one bottle, especially when wine geeks are concerned. There’s also a substantial difference between “profit” and dollars on the bottom line.

I’m not defending MB’s choice of words or amount he charges, I’m merely trying to show you a different side to your “they should be lucky I’m even gracing them with my presence, how dare they charge ME for a service!”. Do you not view corkage as a service? Do you truly believe that bringing a bottle of wine into a restaurant costs the restaurant zero dollars?

@Cris Whetstone

@Justin W ells

Ice costs money.

I need to ask some restauranteurs for the sauce they have clearly given some of you. Blissful!


It’s still funny to me that apparently you are paying a lot for service in said restaurants yet when wine enters the picture it is suddenly some burden or extra work. Where are all you guys when people are looking for excuses to restrict tips from waiters for some esoteric restaurants problem out of their control? What if corkage actually went to the waiter versus into the coffers of the restaurant itself?

Oh, and at $50, yes most of that is pure profit. What could your cost to the restaurant actually, honestly be for that one bottle you brought in that you probably do most of the handling yourself for?

[A_Ballin]

I think his policy is totally fair and reasonable.

If you dont like, dont go. Its his restaurant, not the red cross.

[Humberto_Dorta]

@Barry L i p t o n

I am fine with the $50 corkage.

I am fine with his response.

I really like the wine list at Babbo and while I haven’t been for two years, I never have a problem finding an interesting wine for $65 or less.

The comparison to Wine Searcher seems fair (I’m assuming it’s WS low price, not high price).

What do you think the markup on the bottled water is? Or a coke?

Corkage is far from pure profit unless you bring your own glasses and do your own wine related work and clean up as well.

I was there six months ago. New somm sucks. 0/3 in her pairing recs and even more aggravating 1/3 on her description of the wines.

[Paul_Jaouen]

@Roberto Rogness

Aside from crazy rent, I think all those casino restaurants have to pay a percentage of the GROSS to the house just like if you are in a shopping mall.

In the same hotel, Pinot Brasserie does zero corkage and allows unlimited bottles.

[drsugarman]

@chaad thomas

@J a y C a i n

It does seem like a fairly truculent response to a legitimate question.

“@Mariobatali what’s up with the $50 corkage fee @ B& B. Outrageous!” does NOT qualify as a “legitimate question” in my mind. It’s clear that, as a tweet, it was an attempt to humiliate Batali in a public fashion, and therefore, it’s not surprising such an effort elicited a contentious response (which, of course, is not to defend the wisdom of such).

I agree with Chaad here … though clearly Mario missed the exit to the High Road when it was presented …
As far as $50 corkage goes … at least they allow it.

[Brian_Gilp]

@J Diven

But this is Vegas and looking at the menu, a grilled pork chop costs $45. So if you are a wine drinker choosing to dine there, yeah I imagine they are looking to make $50+ off you in wine. Most restaurants in Seattle are 2x+ retail, granted at lower price points, so seeing 3x retail at this place doesn’t surprise me. I’ll never go there, but i’m not the audience.

FWIW other celebrity chef restaurants on the strip do have 2X retail wine lists. I was there in Feb and both Bradley Ogden in Ceasers and Jullian Serrano tappas in Aria were both 2X. There were even a few older bottles at Jullian Serrano’s. Sure you can find 3X+ wine lists on the strip but the fact that this is Vegas does not automatically justify the pricing.