What’s Your Corkage Fee?

Sleek decor. Classy music. Attentive service. Award-worthy cuisine. It’s very easy to say screw it and order an expensive bottle off a wine list when you’re in an upscale restaurant. The establishment preys off of the customer’s sentiment. That’s why they don’t mind paying two, three, or even four times the amount the bottle would go for in retail stores. Customers think they’re trapped into spending bundles on an average bottle of wine if the place isn’t BYOB when in fact most, if not all restaurants have a corkage fee.

Recently I went to a steakhouse and spent a good twenty to thirty minutes scanning the wine list. A decent bottle of Cabernet that normally goes for $50 went for a whopping $130, a cheap Malbec that could be bought for under $20 went for $70, and a higher-end bottle that would go for $300 was inflated to nearly a grand. You get the point. When I asked if there was a corkage fee, I was informed yes, and that most restaurants do allow customers to bring in outside bottles- they just don’t think to ask.

“What’s the corkage fee?”

“Twenty five dollars.”

So essentially I can go to a store and buy that $50 Cabernet, pay the extra $25 and still be paying for just about half the amount I’d pay for it off of the wine list.

Bottom line is that while there are some restaurants that are so upscale and exclusive that they would never allow a party to bring in an outside bottle, a lot of restaurants do allow it. While bringing in a cheap bottle with a corkage fee of fifty bucks is insane, you may want to consider dusting off that old bottle the next time you decide to celebrate an occasion at a higher-end spot.