Would You Like Us To Open that for You?

Some restaurants allow guests to bring in outside bottles of wine to have with dinner. There will usually be a corkage fee in place for those that decide to do so and the fee varies from place to place. In cases where the restaurant doesn't have a license to sell booze, the fee is minimal. Reason being, considering there is no wine to be sold, you're not not spending money by bringing in your own bottle. In restaurants with well curated lists, where wine is plentiful, you'll find fees upwards of $85, as Bernie Sun, Beverage Director at Jean Georges, mentions in a recent article Eator's Wine Editor Talia Baiocchi wrote exploring what she calls "corkage culture." Sun explains, "Some people feel like it's their right to come to a restaurant and only pay for food, but it's important to understand that it's a business."

Bringing wine to dinner is a step away from bringing your own food. Restaurants are structured around providing guests a unique experience. Whether or not you buy a bottle of wine, the wine list is still a significant part of a that experience. If a wine list offers a selection of 15 or 1,015 bottles, chances are a lot of thought went into curating the list. Applebee's excluded. Walking into a restaurant with the drink half of your meal in your hand, the staff automatically thinks, "There goes half the check." Corkage fees are in place to ensure the outcome of this circumstance benefits all parties involved.

If you disagree with a restaurant's exhorbitant corkage fee, don't bring your own wine. Go to dinner for the sake of having dinner, skip wine that night and avoid the fee altogether. Leave preconceived notions and expectations with whoever is taking names at the front door. If you commit to going out to eat, commit to going out to eat. Restaurant's are not open to host fussy diets, make salads with the dressing on the side, or act as community centers where outside food and drink is welcome.  Afterall, you don't bring your own lemur with you when you go to the zoo.