The bribe didn’t change the rules.
1 Like
I agree with this in general. The question - do they have a policy whereby you purchase a bottle off their list and you get corkage fees for one bottle waived? I know that some restaurants offer this policy - and others might slip this in as an incentive to purchase something off the list.
Is this a restaurant that is visited often by the OP? Or has the OP been offered this benefit at other restaurants? That’d be nice to hear - for instance, if you have this happen to you once at the same restaurant, you might ‘expect’ it to happen again . . . or if you had it happen once at another restaurant, you might believe that it is ‘common courtesy’ to do so.
Just trying to look at this in other ways . . .
Cheers.
Especially with what they’ve had to deal with the past year.
I don’t see the OP whining - just asking for opinions . . .
Cheers
I agree w/ this, 100%.
I would also add, I offer a pour to the somm and/or the server just because it’s a nice thing to do. So long as they were providing good service, I would still offer even if I knew in advance it wasn’t going to get the fee waived.
I imagine it’s very rare for the somm or server to own the restaurant, so how they’d even be able to waive the revenue on behalf of the restaurant is beyond me, although I realize it might happen occasionally. To me, it’s like expecting a waiter to comp a dish because I tip well.
Jordan,
Curious - have you ever been in a restaurant where the corkage fee was waived for you for any reason? If not, I completely understand your comments, but I think many others have experienced this - either due to purchasing a bottle off their list to ‘compensate’ for bringing a bottle or for other reasons.
Cheers.
I think that’s right, and I would feel perfectly fine about it.
I usually share a pour with the Somm because I enjoy sharing wine with people that will appreciate it. Sometimes it results in a waived corkage fee and sometimes it doesn’t, but I don’t consider it poor form either way.
Now, depending on what you poured and where you are, a $200 wine probably isn’t that special to the Somm. Don’t forget wine res come in all the time and give them free pours of all kinds of stuff they want to place on the wine list. If you poured him/her a glass of 89 Haut Brion and they didn’t waive corkage, that would surprise me a little more.
Lastly, if you brought in a current release bottle from a region that’s well represented on their list, the Somm might also assume (rightly or wrongly) that you’re simply trying to save a few hundred bucks of restaurant mark up.
1 Like
I give somms a pour if I’ve BYOB’d an interesting wine because I think it’s cool to get the perspective of, and in some weird sense reward, someone who has dedicated their career to excellence in wine service. I don’t do it expecting corkage to be waived because restaurants don’t pay the bills by telling creditors about the great wine they tasted last night.
Only time I felt short changed was when I brought a bottle and poured first for the somm at a very good DC restaurant, only to find it was horribly corked and so was disposed of. Ordered off the list instead but was still charged corkage which I felt was a bit rough. I guess they had opened the wine for me.
1 Like
That would irk me. I don’t consider the fee to represent solely the service, but also partially compensation for lost revenue.
Just a question. How would you feel if a somm insisted he get a glass of an expensive wine you brought without you even offering it? I had this happen once and I thought it was strange.
The wine community is often a generous sort and I am among those who without fail share wines with staff regardless of corkage fees whether they exist or are waived or are honored. This exchange of sharing wine in restaurants is more like a dance of give-and-take between parties and a friendly relationship can be formed. If the Somm takes the sampling plus the customer buys wine off the list and nothing is offered in return this dance was very one-sided. While the Somm has no obligation to offer the patron anything in return (fee waiver, offer of a dessert, whatever), the signal was sent loud and clear that this Somm is not someone who cares to participate in establishing much of a relationship. I consider that poor form.
2 Likes
To me, it depends on the tone and the manner in which they ask. I’ve certainly been to some places where the somm politely inquired about getting a taste of the wine. No problem in my book. ‘Insisting’ seems odd.
I believe that it is general good form to offer the somm/server a pour when one brings wine to a restaurant. And I feel like many workers in byob establishments have come to expect that type of sharing and conviviality that is very common place; but ‘insisting’ on receiving a pour seems to have an entitlement connotation attached to it which can come across as off putting. It all comes down to tone.
1 Like
Wouldn’t worry about it. That $200 bottle would have cost you $475 at least with tip so you made out just fine.
Maybe ask ahead of time? 
The pour form by the Somm is all that stuff she learned in her WSET classes, right? ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
The pour for the somm is irrelevant to the question of corkage. As others have said, share because you want to share and be an enjoyable customer, not because you expect, or even just hope for, something in return.
Buying a bottle off the list also doesn’t entitle you to anything, unless the restaurant has a bring-one-buy-one policy.
Both those things said, if this is a restaurant with which you hope to build a relationship, I would contact the somm or GM separately and discuss whether you might reach an understanding for future visits.
1 Like
I wouldn’t be too happy either. I get they opened it and used a glass or two, maybe a decanter, but it’s a chance to connect with the customer. What’s the reaction if you buy a bottle and it’s corked, argue about a replacement?
Yup this is what we refer to as The Program. Some adhere some don’t