Corkage Etiquette

Wine Tributaries
by Tim Hayes & John Koetzner

Living here in the heart of Sonoma County with the wine industry everywhere you turn, you cannot help but recognize the harmonious link between fine food and fine wine. Visitors and locals alike recognize the bounty of our county served on a plate or poured into a glass as world class offerings. One of the most intriguing aspects of dining at Mangia Bene, Bistro Ralph, Mixx or Johnny Garlic’s is to pair your favorite wine with their culinary creations.

When we talk with out-of-state visitors in the tasting room, we frequently tell them to buy a bottle of their favorite wine and take it with them to dinner to enjoy. More often than not they are shocked at the prospect of bringing a bottle of wine with them to a restaurant and having it opened for them. If you are from the area you know that bringing your own special wine with you to dinner is a common practice and that for a small fee called "corkage" the restaurant is more than happy to open and pour it for you.

We conducted a little survey of local Sonoma County restaurants and asked them how much they charged for "corkage" at their establishments and what if any was proper etiquette for bringing in your own wine. Ralph Tingle of Bistro Ralph and Felix & Louie’s said, "Any way that makes the customer more comfortable is fine. If the person wants to stop off earlier in the day and leave a bottle of wine, that’s fine too." Felix & Louie’s has another spin on corkage by renting wine lockers for $300.00 a year that allow a person to store wine at the restaurant without an individual charge each time a bottle of wine is used at a meal.

While many may wonder what most restaurants prefer customers to do, the majority we surveyed echoed Tingle’s sentiments. Dan Berman at Mixx Restaurant agreed that however the customer was most comfortable bringing in the wine was best. He suggested that you could just carry it to the table and set it down, give it to your waiter, and have them chill it or open it and return it to your table. When asked if there was an inappropriate time to bring a wine, he indicated that there was not, but most restaurants prefer that you do not bring in wines that are available for sale on their regular wine list. In fact, most restaurants insist that the wine should be one that is not available on their wine list.

Quite often, when entertaining key retail accounts for the winery, we will bring four or five different wines to be served with different courses, giving the waiter a list of the order in which to serve the wine. From a winery standpoint it is a great way to showcase your wines with a variety of different dishes. In most cases the restaurant is glad to have you dining with them and wants to make the entire evening one to remember and an experience you will want to repeat.

What kind of charges can you expect for corkage fees? Some places in San Francisco can be as high as $25.00. Other more creative corkage fees can also be found. For example, The Sardine Factory in Monterey has a sliding scale based on the value of the wine and it ranges from $7.00 to $25.00.

In calling around to different restaurants, we found that $7.00 is about the average for corkage in our area. For example, Bistro Ralph, Felix & Louie’s, Johnny Garlic’s, Catelli’s, all charge $7.00. On the higher end, Charcuterie charges $10.00 for bringing along your own bottle of wine, Mixx charges $8.00, and Mangia Bene charges $7.50. More modest charges are available at Chateau Souverain and at Western Boot, both charging $5.00 for the privilege of taking in your own wine.

Our suggestion is to be aware of what wines are available on the wine list when visiting your favorite restaurants. That way you will not commit a faux pas with the wait staff if you do decide to take a bottle of wine to dinner. If you are visiting a restaurant for the first time, it is a good idea to call ahead and check to see if the wine is available and to know what corkage charge to expect.

Following this bit of etiquette can have incredible rewards. If you happen to have a twenty year old bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that you have been saving for an anniversary, it can make that occasion coincide with a wonderful culinary experience. Raiding the wine cellar for that special wine also adds to the uniqueness of the dining adventure. So, corkage is just one more way that restaurants make the marriage of food and wine that much better.

Wine Tributaries is hosted by Wines on the Internet.