Got Corkage Fees?

“The disparity between a restaurant's price and food quality rises in direct proportion to the size of the pepper mill.” ~ Bryan Miller

What is a Corkage fee? It's the fee charged by a restaurant to patrons bringing their own wines to enhance their dining experience. The "size" of the 'fee' does appear to be larger or smaller in price in direct proportion to the size of their pepper-mill, as it has been said, size does matter.

The corkage fee is usually minimal in most places and is considered a convenience charge to the restaurant for opening and serving wines from outside their cellar. The use of a corkage fee is widespread in many parts of the United States, especially in heavy wine-producing areas such as Napa and Sonoma Counties.

The corkage fee is not designed to be a penalty for the patron and should not be viewed that way. But in the same breath, under no circumstances is the [BYOB] bottle price to become part of the tipping equation.

Wine corkage policies appear to vary state-by-state and even city-by-city. So while visiting another state, you may want to call ahead to find out that states or the restaurant's policy are regarding BYOB. Like it's often said, it's good to know before you go.

For example; with my experience in Arizona; where BYOB is not permitted unless you have a very specific license. It does appear to be frowned upon by restaurateurs there, well at least that was my experience as I inquired by phone and in some cases in person about their BYOB policy. Many states have widely different laws regarding this practice and have different licensing requirements disguised as revenue generators.

What are some of the issues or wine service irritations which motivate folks to want to BYOB or even BYOG in the first place? Good question; here's what I've found out via a bit of research.

Stemware: Most folks I've talked with and some of my own experiences say the desire to BYOG [bring your own glass] is brought on by the fact that far too many restaurants idea of a wine glass is cast-offs from Medieval Times. I've seen 'stems' so thick and clunky you could potentially take out a mugger if you need be. Frankly, if that is the case, I'll just have a beer.

Because of this oft-encountered scenario; you may see some wine-geeks with what can only be called a "wine-purse" bringing in their own stemware. But please don't laugh too much; as I imagine you would have wished that you also had the excellent sense (the stones) to do the same.

Wine List Markup: This is the one issue that has most folks boycotting buying wine in a restaurant period. Why, because ordering wine in a restaurant can cost up to six times [400% markup] as much as drinking the same bottle at home. Most folks believe, and I also concur that this kind of gouging is beyond the pale. I also think this issue alone is what has really driven most vino-sapiens to BYOB, when and where they can.

Commodity Wines: Ugh, this issue is driving a lot of folks bonkers. A few vino-sapiens who consider themselves to be somewhat savvy wine drinkers are oh-so-tired of only being offered "plonk" wine-list chock full of overinflated prices and adding insult to injury many of those wine isn't even correctly stored.

Reasonable Corkage: So what kind of corkage fees are reasonable? There as many arguments about what "reasonable" is and is not, like stars in the winter night sky. But if you really want to get down to where the wine bottle meets the linen-topped table; I would say that $20 and under is a good place to start. In my opinion, that's what I'd call reasonable. Another option [good policy] is having the fee waived if another bottle of wine is purchased from their list. That's what I call good form. 

The fee to merely uncork your wine for you can vary greatly. Some restaurants charge what I consider an outrageous corkage fee, so the safe bet is to always call ahead, before making a reservation. For example, some higher-end restaurants [dependent upon the size of their pepper-mills] may charge as much as $50 [IMO rip-off]. But in more reasonable establishments you can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $20 for a corkage fee, as always though, caveat emptor.

More Tips Uncorked:

• Another trend that I've experienced is that a few restaurants will waive the corkage fee if you purchase an additional wine from the restaurant. Time for some bubbly.

• This is a refreshing new trend and one I've experienced myself in Paso Robles. Many wine-country restaurants will waive the corkage fee if you bring a wine from the wine region where the restaurant is located. It is my hope that this is a growing trend not only in Paso Robles but around the country.

• Whether you're dining in your favorite eating establishment in your hometown or any other restaurant that does not have a great wine list, feel free to bring a wine that is preferably NOT on their wine list, preferably one that's of good quality.

• If you have brought "anniversary" bottle or maybe just something special, consider offering the 'Somm' or perhaps the waiter a taste of the wine, I think it is good form.

• Let's say you have a bottle of wine that requires chilling before it's served, I would attempt to chill the bottle beforehand and once you arrive ask the wait-staff for an ice bucket.

• Restaurateurs, if you are going have a wine menu, keep it updated and secondly, could you store your wine collection correctly, really tired of being served warm red wine.

• Restaurateurs get steamed when they see someone bring in a cheap bottle of wine just to avoid the restaurant markup. I can't say I blame them, it would seem that some restaurant patrons are just cheap, please don't be this guy or gal.

• One significant trend that I've experienced is seeing some restaurants have corkage free nights [yay!] to help increase traffic on slower traffic days.

• Another trend I've seen, some retailers around town who promote 'free corkage' if you bring in a bottle from their store with a coupon or sticker on the bottle.

Okay, folks, those are the trends I see currently and have experienced in the real world. I would love to get some feedback from you all three of the readers. I want to hear about your experiences, the good, bad or just plain indifferent. 

It does not matter if you agree with me or not. I hope you'll think of this as just a conversation, not my soap-box where communication is only one way. So please join in, and I look forward to hearing from you. Until next time sip long and prosper cheers! 

BTW: There are a some great comments below, check them out and/or add a few of your own.