Corkage at a restaurant with a cheap bottle of wine
Can you bring a bottle of cheap wine to a restaurant?
Can you bring a bottle of inexpensive wine to a restaurant?
It is okay to bring an inexpensive bottle of wine to a restaurant under certain conditions. First, ask yourself why you’d want to bring in a bottle of cheap vino to a restaurant (under $20). It is a bad idea if the thought is to save money. Most restaurants take pride in preparing their wine lists. They want to match their food menu with a selection of wines with a broad price range.
Corkage guidelines for bringing an inexpensive bottle of wine to a restaurant.
- Bring a wine that has some importance and meaning even though it might be inexpensive.
- Don’t bring a second label wine as in Trader Joe’s, Kirkland or Cameron Hughes.
- Bring a wine is made by a boutique winery or family-owned winery. Example – Terra Savia Chardonnay, Sabon Estate Zinfandel, or Blue Quail Wines from Mendocino.
- Bring a wine that is an older vintage – wine from your cellar.
- If a restaurant has a meager wine list, you have more latitude
- The fancier the restaurant (Michelin star), the better idea it is to choose from the wine list.
Additional thoughts on corkage
- Always call ahead to find out what the corkage policy is a restaurant. Often in a restaurant’s corkage policy, they will charge you the restaurant wine list price for your wine if it happens to be on their wine list. If the corkage fee is high, $20 or more, your inexpensive bottle of wine becomes high priced.
- Of course, you can try bringing any wine to a restaurant. Manners are manners! I once witnessed a party bring in Two Buck Chuck to a Calistoga restaurant.
- One of the downsides of bringing wine to a restaurant is it doesn’t make sense if you are into pairing food and wine. It limits your choices. If the special of the night is a seafood pasta and you have a big Cabernet, forget about having the special of the night. Get the ribeye
More interesting thoughts on wine
- How to choose a wine for dinner
- Food and Wine – Making the match
- How red wine is made
- VinePair – a good source for wine & spirits education