Up there with serving foie gras and organic vegetables, corkage is one of the most sensitive topics in today’s restaurants. “Corkage” is a loose term for the circumstances when customers bring wine into a restaurant rather than ordering it there. There is always a set of restrictions that pertain, such as a “corkage fee” (some are ridiculously high), a limit on how many bottles are permitted, or stipulations regarding what types of bottles are allowed (e.g., those bottles not on the restaurant’s wine list).
A rule of thumb: Know the rules. Obviously, this topic has two distinct points of view: 1) the collector, who feels he’s overpaying for the same or comparable bottle on the list, and 2) the sommelier/restaurateur, who’s spent time, energy, and money to create an appealing wine program, one that some guests seem eager to circumvent.
So what should you do, and what is proper etiquette? Bringing a bottle into a restaurant once or twice a year (versus every Tuesday) is not considered an infringement on the restaurant’s wine program. If you are dining with at least four guests and bring a bottle and buy at least two more (and not the cheapest sauvignon blanc), this, too, is perfectly acceptable. Corkage fees are often waived in this scenario. And if your bottle requires chilling, then by all means chill it beforehand.
If you are the person who habitually rolls with a satchel of clinking bottles and ties up the sommelier and more than your share of stemware, however, you enter the territory of the “unwanted patron.” Should you be—or be accompanying someone—so brazen, at least tip on what the wine would have cost had it been on the restaurant’s list, so as not to slight the server. If you think your corkage fee goes to the staff, you are mistaken.
The idea of bringing wine into an establishment originated when restaurants could not (or did not) get a liquor license—hence the acronym “BYOB.” In today’s market, and professionally speaking, I believe that if the establishment has purchased a liquor license and the requisite insurance, you should buy your wine from the restaurant and only make exceptions for special occasions. But what about your extensive wine collection—and those crazy markups that restaurants charge? The lights don’t turn themselves on, my friend.
