开瓶费: Corkage Fee

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All About Wine Corkage & Corkage Fees

The ABC's and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Corkage

What is Corkage?
Corkage is a per bottle fee that a restaurant charges a customer who brings their own wine to be consumed at that restaurant. This isn't allowed in the majority of restaurants in the country, but it's very common/normal in Northern California.

Why do restaurants charge Corkage fees?
The corkage fee covers service (but not tips/service charge), wine glass breakage/rental and some of the lost revenue from not selling a wine off the restaurant's list. Keep in mind that restaurants are in the business to make money and wine is perhaps their biggest profit center; in most circumstances, a $20 corkage fee is not at all unreasonable.

Typical Corkage Fee
Many restaurants charge $10-$20 but the actual range is everywhere from free (sometimes called BYOW restaurants) to $75 (very high end places, like The French Laundry). A high corkage fee is in place to discourage you from bringing wine and/or to make sure the restaurant profits when you do so.

Corkage Fees are Sometimes Waived
Some restaurants have a policy of buy one bottle, get one corkage fee waived. Sometimes there are $0 corkage nights. It is also possible that they're waived completely, often depending on how friendly you are with the owner/wait staff of the restaurant, or if you really brought a special bottle. That 1962 Haut-Brion is less likely to get a corkage fee than a 1997 Silver Oak. Sharing the wine with one or more members of the restaurant may lead to having the fee waived, too.

Bottle Limits
Some restaurants limit you to bringing two bottles.

Three general rules apply!
  •  Never bring a wine already on the restaurant's wine list. Most won't open a bottle on their list. Many restaurants offer a copy of their wine list online.
  •  Don’t bring a cheap/grocery store wine. The idea is to bringing a special wine.
  •  Tip as if you purchased the wine at the restaurant (so you will have to make your best guess), adjusting for corkage cost.

My own, fourth rule would be
  •  Do not bring wine to a restaurant with a very good wine list unless it's a very special wine. It’s important to reward the restaurants that make the effort to have a strong wine list, especially those which price them fairly.

Bringing Wine to a Casual Restaurant (rather than a Fine Dining Restaurant)
Your wine doesn't need to be so special. Many casual restaurants have miserable wine lists (i.e., 100% industrial wine, sometimes with ridiculous markups) and why should you drink overpriced plonk to go with the restaurant's good food? Even in Wine Country, I often bring a non-oaked French or Italian white to go with seafood, as most California whites (which dominate local wine lists) lack sufficient acidity.

Table Etiquette
Although you can wait a bit, I think it's best to place the wine your brought on your table so that the wait-staff can't miss seeing it. You should always ask for the wine list and double-check to make sure the wine(s) you've brought are not on their list.

Otherwise, treat your bottles just as if they came from the restaurant. Ask to have them decanted if you wish. You should receive decent stemware, if not ask for it. Some restaurants maintain two sets of glassware.

If you've brought a special wine, it's considered very nice to share a taste with a person at the restaurant, such as an enthusiastic sommelier, manager or even your waiter. It is not at all required, and certainly you do not have to offer.

What is a "Special Wine"?
While there are no definitive parameters, a special wine should be an older wine not easily available, a bottle purchased under special circumstances or received as a gift, or an unusual wine.

Uncertain?
Ask the restaurant. All restaurants should gladly answer such questions over the phone