Not bad.
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So I can’t bring an 05 DRC RC if they have 05 DRC GE?
And I’m tipping on the whole bottle amount at restaurant price because they are supplying the glassware yet I shouldn’t expect a decanter or adequate glasses?
I mean the tips are straightforward but they perspective seems a bit slanted.
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Blockquote
Do tip on the bottle amount: The serving team does the same amount of work whether you order a bottle or bring one from home. They’re supplying glassware, opening the bottle, presenting the wine, and pouring. Take a look at the average price for one of their bottles and add an appropriate amount to your tip.
Blockquote
So: pay the corkage fee, offer a taste or a glass to the person opening the wine and tip on the bottle I bring?
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I really hope this isn’t an expectation amongst the service industry and I don’t think it’s reasonable. I tip well especially if I receive good service and I definitely include bottle price of bottles I’ve purchased from the restaurant, or any corkage fee placed on bottles i bring. Often there’s an advertised corkage fee and it is not added to my tab in which case that goes straight to the tip, but I am not inclined to tip on some imaginary extra bottle price.
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I tip 30% period and have no problem giving the somm a taste. If there are four of us we usually order a bottle of white or Champagne, if two, a glass of Champagne.
I don’t think they were suggesting tipping 10% for your bottle of Leroy Musigny. This is what they actually wrote.
“ Take a look at the average price for one of their bottles and add an appropriate amount to your tip.”
I think 30% is a decent amount especially if you are paying and tipping on corkage.
BYO should be civilized and not penalize the restaurant that lets you bring a bottle.
Finally, important if you decide to do a multi-bottle tasting. Generally speaking the somm is salaried, and therefore not part of the tip pool although he is the one who does all the work. Tip him separately.
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I don’t do BYO much anymore outside of wine groups. Did a good deal of it pre-COVID. I found during COVID that great bottles are much more enjoyable to me on their own at home, no time constraints, great glassware, no interruptions, no smells that interfere with the wine, etc.
If I do BYO, I think the right approach is to round up (by round up I mean like an extra 5-10% of the bill or something) the tip, but the guideline stated here is kind of ridiculous IMO. Also depends on what you ask for. I usually arrive with bottle already double decanted, no need for service other than glassware. Always offer a taste if it seems appropriate.
If it’s a place that has a bunch of rules about corkage and clearly doesn’t actually want you to bring your own wine, then I wouldn’t bother. On the other hand the USHG restaurants for example are very accommodating.
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Decent article. I agree with everything. I think there should be a little flexibility with the don’t bring a bottle on their list. If it is a run of the mill bottle and you are just trying to save money then I get that. However if it is a very rare and expensive bottle then there should be some flexibility. I went to Stone Barns once with a group and one person brought a Magnum of 90 Selosse as their contribution and it was on the list? What do you do then when it is a group? We ordered a bunch of wine and ultimately smoothed it over and where able to open it.
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Interesting set of rules, mostly agree with these.
Do call ahead to check the fee or policy: Agree
Do bring a special bottle: Agree
Do offer the somm a taste or glass: Agree
Do tip on the bottle amount: Disagree – not applicable in New Zealand
Do order a bottle off the list as well: Disagree
Don’t bring a bottle that’s on the list: Agree
Don’t complain about the corkage fee: Agree
Don’t bring a mass-market bottle: Agree
Don’t send the bottle back: Agree
Don’t expect a decanter or special glassware: Agree (frustrating yes but BYO is a privilege)
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i already love this thread, thanks for posting.
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Interesting, thanks for sharing. Mostly I agree.
Tipping on the bottle: I have to admit that tipping on the bottle price seems kind of weird. They want you to tip on the average price of the restaurant’s bottles. Some have very long lists … how am I supposed to figure this out? And is it the average of the bottles on this list, or what they actually sell?
And this cuts both ways. What if I bring a $500 bottle to a restaurant that has mostly bottles in the $50 - $100 range?
For wine group dinners where we are going nuts and bringing a lot of very well aged bottles that have grown in value, the “tip on the bottle” rule gets even weirder.
So, to this I just say: Nope, not going to do it. My standard rule is to tip on the entire bill (which includes the corkage) and tip very generously - usually 25% - 30% or more. If I actually get extra special service (which is super rare) I would tip more. But usually the service is just pulling the cork and setting out a glass.
Offering a Taste. I nearly always do this. But lately I’ve been finding it kind of weird. For restaurants where there is a somm/owner who is really into wine, who engages me in discussion, and is curious about the bottle I brought, yes absolutely I offer a taste. But more often than not these days I’m dining in a restaurant with no somm, or anyone else in the restaurant who is really into the stuff. Offering them a taste is seeming weirder. They’re working, they aren’t supposed to drink on the job, and they might just not be that interested in 25 year old Bordeaux. I’m getting a lot of ‘no thank you’ responses these days. I will keep offering tastes - but in the famed era of the decline of the somm, this feels less generous, and maybe even kind of patronizing.
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I’ve had more folks decline a taste citing this as the reason recently than I ever remember getting in the past. Could be coincidence, or they don’t want to say “I don’t drink” or “I don’t like wine” or “I don’t like that stuff you brought,” but it does seem to happen more frequently.
That said, I did have one do this and then come back later and say “I asked the manager and he said it was OK this time.” 
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Same, they are almost always declining, with some form of “I’m on the clock”.
Do call ahead to check the fee or policy: Agree
Do bring a special bottle: Disagree. If I want a bottle of Kabinett with my dinner and there’s no Riesling on the list, there’s nothing wrong with bringing a bottle of $20 - $30 German Kabinett.
Do offer the somm a taste or glass: Strongly agree
Do tip on the bottle amount: Disagree. If I bring a bottle I paid $300 for and pay $40 corkage, and you open it and pour it into a couple of glasses, I’m not tipping you an extra $60.
Do order a bottle off the list as well: Disagree (although, I’ll do this from time to time when there’s a good list). It’s up to the restaurant to have wine I want for prices I think are worth paying.
Don’t bring a bottle that’s on the list: Agree
Don’t complain about the corkage fee: Agree
Don’t bring a mass-market bottle: Disagree (although, I rarely bring what I’d consider to be a MM bottle). If you have a birth year bottle of Dom you want to enjoy for your birthday and it’s not on the list, you should bring it.
Don’t send the bottle back: Agree
Don’t expect a decanter or special glassware: Depends on how much the corkage is. If I’m paying $80 to bring in my own wine (and if the rest of the meal is very expensive), I expect nice glassware and a decanter if appropriate. If I bring wine to a pizza parlor and corkage is $20, I don’t expect much.
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So much easier in New Jersey. 
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I agree. Most of the time they do thank me and say they will take me up on the offer once they get a chance, but then I get conflicted on gently reminding them as the bottle runs low and emphasizing that I’m totally fine with them not tasting it. I’m excited to share (whether they end up liking the wine or not) and I want them to know that my offer is very genuine, but I don’t want to pressure people.
For now.
Now is all that matters.
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I tip on “typical” bottle price of what I’d buy if I wasnt BYOBing (assuming good service) but not on the corkage fee (a small adjustment I know and with rounding up and my mental arithmetic it may not happen in practice, it’s the principle). A bit more if they went an extra mile on logistics. The waiter should not lose out because we bring a bottle.
Agree on not taking a wine on their list. Not sure how mass market is defined but that would not be a barrier to filling a category gap in their list.
Ordering a bottle off the list - yes if needed but not for the sake of it , eg Cava or young Chablis say. The restaurant needs their margins as well,
These are principles not absolutes.
Share yes , if waiter or somm interested or would appreciate it.
“Don’t send it back” huh? How do you send back a BYOB?! I must be missing something.
It was a joke, one I have made when my BYO was corked.
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I second Brodie.
I recently went out to dinner at a steak house with some friends that are more cocktails and beer drinkers. One of my buddies who came owns 3 restaurants but isn’t a huge wine guy. I brought a Napa Cab that I purchased from the winery as I’m on their mailing list. The same bottle, just little younger was $550 on their Wine List. My buddy next to me said, “hey you get a raise?” I said “no, I purchased it for $195 from the winery. This is why bring wine to a restaurant and don’t buy off the list”. My buddy who’s the restaurant owner gave me the major stink eye 
It was the restaurants best wine on their very tame and bland list with all the usual suspects that you see at Costco, etc. I’m not spending $200 for a bottle of Caymus or $325 of Silver Oak. Slight thread drift but this is partially why the younger generation are not buying wine so much (restaurants charging 2X retail).
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