Would you bring your own wine to a restaurant?
A night out, particularly including a glass or two of wine, can be an expensive outing. But, depending on where you live, bringing your own wine – an increasingly popular trend at certain restaurants – can help ease the pain.
In several provinces, restaurants can allow you to bring your own bottle of wine in, but they’re not required to do so.
In Quebec, where licensing is less stringent, BYOW restaurants are common. Ontario restaurants must be licenced, however, and the few that view BYOW as an option will tell you the bottle must be from the LCBO. And now Manitoba has joined the list.
But do you really come out ahead if you bring your own grog? Not really, particularly if you tend to stick to medium-priced brands.
The corkage fee covers service (but not tips), wine glass breakage/rental and some of the lost revenue from not selling a wine off the restaurant's list, they argue. While corkage is unusual in Quebec establishments, many Ontario restaurants charge patrons as much as $18-20 per bottle.
And they're right to do so, argues consultant Rags Srinivasan. In fact, letting diners pack their own bottle is a loser’s game for eateries since the potential pickup in bargain-hunting business will be nothing compared to the drop in revenue, he maintains.
Are you more inclined to patronize restaurants that let you bring your own wine? Are they any where you live? What's a reasonable corkage fee to shoulder?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: mascaren | Apr 16, 2021 9:05:36 AM
This is a great idea...............it has been the norm in Australia for quite a long time now.
A corkage fee of $10.00 per party (not per person or bottle).
The restaurants DO NOT lose money,as you would have to buy a meal anyway.
Posted by: Old Bigfoot | Apr 17, 2021 1:43:05 AM
Saying that on Old Age Pensioner is on a limited income is a no brainer! Going out for supper is a once in a year affair, if that. I ask for water and drink no beverages at all to cut the cost. Bringing my home made wine (70 cents a bottle) and NO corking fees might even bring me out twice a year. Hey, that would be a profit to the restaurant.
Posted by: Brian | Apr 17, 2021 1:51:36 AM
The Person who wrote this article is wrong.. In montreal we have lots of byob restaurants and they are the best... and there are no corkage fees .. why should I be gouged 100 percent mark up for a decent bottle of wine??.. byob is a great deal and its very popular and most of them are exclusivley
byob which means they are selling food not booze.. so the food has to be good
Posted by: Peter | Apr 17, 2021 5:38:39 AM
Hi Gordon. How can I put any weight on what you purport with....."And there right to do so" Don't you mean "they're" . Holy (bad) grade 8 English Batman!!!! And YOU are a "jounalist", "authority", "columnist?", "wine writer", Enough said.
I completely agree with Mascaren having spent a month in Australia, and Brian's comment cuz he has simply nailed reality.
Posted by: TR | Apr 17, 2021 7:36:20 AM
You're forgetting the costs that go into a good restaurant’s wine program: the salary of a good sommelier, the storage costs of carrying a large inventory of wine, as well as glassware. A reasonable markup should make everyone happy.
Posted by: Luke | Apr 17, 2021 8:49:52 AM
I agree with Brian, there are some very good BYOB restaurants that offer top notch food that would be complemented with a good bottle of wine.
When times are lean, I look to BYOB restos when going out. I get to enjoy the bottle I want at liquor store prices. That being said, occasionally I also have/need to go to licensed restos and I don't mind paying a fair markup, the operative word is fair. The kick is when you know the wine and how much it costs and you are being gouged by 2.5x-3x the SAQ (Quebec) prices.
Posted by: DrVex007 | Apr 28, 2021 3:51:05 AM
Here is a tip. When eating out, only order wine that you've seen at your local LCBO. (if you are in Ontario)
Restaurants have a way of buying wines direct from the distributors and that means that you cannot check pricing. So is that $50 bottle really worth $50 even with a fair markup? Also, avoid buying by the glass. A $10 bottle of wine suddenly becomes $35 when bought by the glass. If you are both buying a glass of wine, just buy the $20 bottle. A fair markup is about double. Beyond that is excessive to me.