About corkage fees

Corkage fees

With restaurant markups of 100%-200% over retail price, many diners opt to bring their own wine and pay a fee known as corkage. Corkage charges range from zero to as high as $50 per bottle in upscale restaurants. Corkage charges in moderate restaurants will run $10-15 per bottle.

What to expect with corkage charges

The server will open your wine and provide appropriate glassware. In upscale restaurants corkage includes an ice bucket for white wines and higher quality glassware may be provided. During corkage, the cork will be presented and a sample pour will be offered. Glasses will be attended to in the restaurant’s usual manner. The server should be tipped for corkage.

When should you bring your own bottle and pay corkage?

If there is little or no corkage charge you can bring your wine and avoid paying the markup for restaurant wine lists. In a situation where corkage is in the $10-15 range you should not bring an inexpensive bottle. If you paid $10 for your bottle and add $10 for corkage, you might be wiser to order an inexpensive wine from the restaurant’s wine list and skip corkage costs. If you have a cellar stocked with wonderful old wines, it’s worthwhile to bring your bottle and pay corkage.

Paying corkage makes sense when there’s little or no corkage charge or when you have cellared wines to maturity, where their value makes corkage fees worthwhile.