All About That Corkage

Bordeaux RedWe often like to bring our own wine to restaurants for several reasons: We can drink wines that we know we like; we can pair one of our special wines with an excellent restaurant meal instead of our mediocre cooking; and we don’t have to pay the marked-up cost on restaurant wine lists. (Some wines can be marked up by 30%-100% above retail.)

Instead, we pay a corkage fee that a restaurant charges when you bring your own bottle. But prices vary, depending on the city, the type of restaurant (e.g., casual vs. fine dining) and other factors.

Some charge a small fee to cover their expenses to open and serve your wine, and to wash your glasses. Others charge a fee that is the same as the least expensive wine on their list. Yet others charge higher fees to discourage the practice or because their wine list contains high-end bottles with corresponding prices.

Some restaurants will waive the corkage on one bottle if you buy a bottle from the restaurant. This enables you to discover a new wine, while also enjoying your favorite bottle from home.

wine-glasses-photo-courtesy-Marcus-Whitman-Hotel-e1294811651743We’ve been charged anywhere from $5-$30 a bottle, depending on the restaurant’s policy. For example, last weekend we were at a Bellingham restaurant and corkage was $10. In Seattle, we’ve paid anywhere from $5-$20. Last month, a DC restaurant charged $30, which was a bargain compared to the price of wine on its list. We’ve heard that a couple of world-renowned, high-end restaurants in Napa Valley have been known to charge a $75-$150 corkage fee, and a posh Manhattan establishment charges $85.

If you are considering bringing your own wine to dinner, there are some simple rules of etiquette to make the experience a good one.

  • Phone the restaurant in advance to see if bringing your own wine is permitted, and then ask if they have a corkage fee.
  • On that same call, find out if your bottle is available at the restaurant. Never, never bring wine that is on a restaurant’s wine list.
  • If you wine isn’t on their list, let them know you are planning to bring your own bottle, when you make the reservation.
  • Along those same lines, never bring a cheap wine — at least $25 is best.
  • When you go to the restaurant, don’t carry the bottle in a paper bag. If you have a nice container, great. Otherwise, simply carry it on its own.
  • Let the host or hostess and your server know you brought your own bottle to drink, and then follow their lead on next steps.
  • If you bring a special bottle of wine, offer your server and/or the sommellier a taste. It will be appreciated.

Bottom line: It’s best to know a restaurant’s policy on corkage fees before showing up with a bottle of your own wine.

Cheers!
Margot and Dave

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About Margot

Margot has been writing about wine since 1997 at KOIN-TV in Portland, Oregon; ten years later, she created this blog. Write for Wine focuses on the fine wines of Washington state, with additional posts about Oregon, B.C., California, ANZ, France, Italy, Spain and more. A former national journalist in Canada and the U.S., Margot has been a Washington wine enthusiast since moving to Seattle in 1999. Her motto: “It’s wine o’clock somewhere.”