What’s the legality/policy on opening a bottle at home first and double decanting to give it some air and then bringing it with the cork back in? It varies I guess. Even over a 3 hour dinner some wines will not have opened up. Something like a Monte Bello needs hours of air to show properly.
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Well yes, probably in all countries. And also on Valentines Day. These are days that I never attempt to eat in restaurants!
Please name names, so that those of us who like to relax over dinner can avoid it!
Absolutely is true if they’re running multiple seatings. The check gets dropped after a couple “can we get you anything else?” asks… and then they start removing things from the table in an attempt to be less subtle. Classier way for the restaurant to move you is to offer a couple of drinks at the bar to close out the night.
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this may not apply to yourself, but you should recognize that not EVERY dinner, EVERY day can be a long relaxing drawn out affair. Having a 2 hour limit is very common in many cities, and works with many people’s schedules. Doing one doesn’t mean you can’t do the other some other days…
Have you been to a sushi omakase that doesn’t finish within 2 hours? again maybe you don’t eat that type of cuisine but not every restaurant has to allow for unlimited time… it’s just not necessary.
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In my experience, large wine dinners tend to present the “lingering” issue, but if it’s just the two of us, or us and one or two other non-wine couples, bringing our own wine does nothing to increase any lingering (conversation or dessert and coffee may cause lingering, but that’s different). If anything, it speeds things along because we don’t have you know who doing that thing again where he spends 25 minutes poring over the wine list. 
(Though in those rare circumstances where I’m ordering off the list instead of bringing I will almost always try to avoid this by looking online assuming the restaurant provides it).
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Dunno the legality but if you use an ah-so you can remove the entire capsule and reinsert the cork fully to make the bottle plausibly unopened.
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fantastic read, succinct and accurate. loved the easter egg.
Should the restaurant charge corkage if wine is corked?
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OH, REALLY???
Also, I love how the general consensus is that the article is well written, concise, covers all the basics, then we, as Berserkers are wont to do, turn it into a complex web of potentials on stemware, seating time, seating durations, etc
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Any reason or no reason at all is fair as long as the restaurant allows it and you’re not sneaking it in.
The fact is that even for those for whom it’s a 100% financial play, they’re going to go to a restaurant that allows corkage. Allowing corkage at your restaurant allows you to capture that customer. If you determine that tradeoff is worth it, you’ll allow corkage. If you don’t like that tradeoff, you won’t.
It’s a business decision for the restaurant. Only fair that it’s a business decision for customers, too, and it’s unfair to ask customers to treat it differently than the restaurant does.
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100%. If they allow corkage, they gain me as a customer. If not, than not. Why would they feel “short changed” by this? There are tons of great restaurants to choose from and I go to them for the food, not the “experience.” Eating out is too expensive anyway, so why should it not be an economic decision? Pretty much all of my great “wine experiences” have happened in personal homes. And lots of people can provided a great private meal to match a restaurant kitchen. Regarding wine, I generally bring very specific Italian or Oregon wines. It is extremely unlikely that a restaurant will have the wines that I will bring. If in the rare likelihood that they do, the wines will be current releases without any age. Maybe I am going to the wrong restaurants. I’m OK with that.
Come to think of it, over the last forty years, I can’t think of a single restaurant I’ve been to that didn’t have a BYOB/corkage fee policy and I have never had a negative experience. Perhaps the PNW is more easy going about this issue.
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BTW, I’ve gone to dinners with @CFu before (including some of the restaurants mentioned here, which ends up costing me dearly, as I don’t have the massive monthly ‘entertainment’ expense account he has!) and everything he said in the article, he follows.
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The decision to dine with Charlie needs to be made in consultation with a financial and estate planner.
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Correct, and, hot tip for those who DO decide to take the plunge, when he says ‘can I pick something off the wine list?’ say no.
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As much as it pains me to admit this, I agree with Charlie’s Code of Conduct. The issue that he did not mention was “Why you should pay corkage if it’s your wine?” Many people do not understand operating a restaurant is a tough business. When I tell friends that I am happy to pay corkage at a restaurant that treats me fairly, some of them say, “But it’s your wine!” That’s true. but it’s the restaurant’s table and chairs, table setting, rent (not cheap in Manhattan), electricity bill, staff to serve me and clean up after me and cook my food, menu printing costs, soap and paper towels in the bathroom, and on and on. And tips go to the staff. The restaurant gets none of them, or at least shouldn’t.
Off the top of my head, the item that he left out is “call in advance to make sure that they allow you to bring your own wine and find out what the corkage policy is.” You do not have the right to bring your own wine and if the restaurant does not allow it, that’s OK. Each restaurant has its business plan. They make their choices, and you decide where to spend your money.
The only time I had a problem with corkage was when I called a well-known restaurant in advanced to ask about their corkage policy and they said it was allowed with a $35 a bottle fee. I brought a bottle and the bill had a corkage fee of $75. I asked the manager about it and explained that I had been told when I called that the fee was $35. He said that I was given the wrong information and repeated that the fee was $75. I paid the fee, along with a substantial food bill. I have not been back since. They got the extra $40 corkage, but it cost them thousands of dollars in revenue.
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Chris, that is largely my experience as well. I go out to a lot of restaurants in both Orlando and Vero Beach, Florida, and there is only one restaurant that I have been to that did not allow corkage. That was an Italian restaurant that had a pretty deep wine cellar of Italian wine, But unfortunately, they did not keep them properly conditioned, and they were generally served at room temperature, which in Florida is not a great thing. I went there once, and never again, too bad as the food was outstanding. Every other restaurant that I can think of freely allows Corkage, and some are rather generous with their policy.
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Interesting. I would feel the same as you do. But I still find it interesting — do you know why they have this preference? In my experience, restaurants are usually happy when I bring my own stems, as they don’t have to clean them or worry about breakage loss.
Well done and well written!
Though Charlie alludes to it, I’d reiterate that tipping appropriately is an important part of byo etiquette. I try to tip based on what I would have ordered had I not brought my own bottle, maybe a little extra if it’s a more valuable bottle.
I would guess just to maintain the “look” of the table, and the room?
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one of them is for the look of the room/table. The other is that they don’t want to accidently break your stem or any liability from mishandling of your stems.
Both are perfectly reasonable.
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