You missed E)- Yes, Bring Wine if there's no or a small Corkage fee.

Actually there should be an F too.

F - Yes, if it's a special event

I always call ahead to make sure it's allowed, but I ALWAYS bring my own wine. Why pay for wine when I have cases and cases in my locker and wine cooler?

I almost always take a bottle for a decent or better meal. I often select restaurants based on if they offer corkage ( though most do here in CA). Most mid level restaurants serve wine but take no pride in their wine lists. If I'm going to a particularly nice place for a special event there is usually a special bottle I want to bring along. Between those two cases I rarely purchase a bottle from a restaurant.

Depends on the restaurant and the occasion. We'll bring a bottle maybe half the time we're out at a nice restaurant, but only if the wine we're bringing is not already on the restaurant's wine list, and we also generally offer a taste or a glass to the wait staff/sommelier as well.

The more reasonable a restaurant's wine list and prices are, the less likely we are to bring a bottle, and there are a number of nice restaurants with fairly priced wine lists that we frequent where we're much more likely to just buy off their list.

No I do not bring my own to a restaurant, now if it's a movie theater that doesn't have a bar, that is a different story.

I try to explore if I'm out, so no. It's best to see what they have in their cellar. Any restaurant that serves food worth wine will have wine worthy. (wow, did I just do that?)

We can't do that in Texas, unfortunately. But when we're in CA, we'll frequently bring our own bottle, particularly if we've been visiting wineries & have one or two we'd like to enjoy. Many local restaurants will waive corkage if you bring a local wine. If the restaurant is known for its wine list, then we'll typically use that opportunity to try something new and learn something from visiting with the somm.

But always check first, use your manners & wine etiquette (don't bring something on their wine list, etc), and offer a taste to your somm or waiter (if appropriate).

Cheers!

StarM wrote:We can't do that in Texas, unfortunately. But when we're in CA, we'll frequently bring our own bottle, particularly if we've been visiting wineries & have one or two we'd like to enjoy. Many local restaurants will waive corkage if you bring a local wine. If the restaurant is known for its wine list, then we'll typically use that opportunity to try something new and learn something from visiting with the somm.

But always check first, use your manners & wine etiquette (don't bring something on their wine list, etc), and offer a taste to your somm or waiter (if appropriate).

Cheers!

You might want to double check your facts there. It may very by counties or something, but a good friend of mine took his girlfriend to a BYOB restaurant in Houston for Valentine's Day. I believe BYOB is even in the name.

loveladyelectric wrote:You might want to double check your facts there. It may very by counties or something, but a good friend of mine took his girlfriend to a BYOB restaurant in Houston for Valentine's Day. I believe BYOB is even in the name.

I've heard that recently Texas made this an issue and it does not vary by county, though my information could be skewed. My entire family lives in the state and I travel there monthly. Apparently, you can bring your own bottle if the establishment serves no alcohol or beer and wine only, no liquor. If liquor is sold, no BYOB. If that information is correct, pretty weak. Hasn't affected me too much - I don't normally bring my own while traveling.

I bring my own wine in most cases. Restaurant markups have become outrageous, especially on wines with any age on them. If we plan on drinking a bottle or more, I will call the restaurant, check if they allow it and ask them what their corkage fee is. I also let them know which bottle(s) I plan on bringing to make sure I don't bring anything that is already on their list - I think that would be rude.

Normally, I will bring my own even if the corkage is expensive, hoping that in return, I get good wine service. The fee per bottle will be better than paying the markup on the wine. I do not feel bad about doing this at all! If they allow it, why feel guilty? The majority of the time they charge corkage of $15-30 and up per bottle, so I am paying to bring my own anyway.

Of course, if the restaurant has a decent wine list and pricing, I will enjoy something from their cellar.

There should have been an option that my wine is better AND less expensive :P. I prefer my own personal collection over what I can afford (or want to pay) at most restaurants.

Yes, you can bring wine to a restaurant in Texas if they do not serve alcohol. Some charge a cork fee some do not.

Why do people think it's "shabby" to bring your own wine? At many restaurants, the sommelier becomes interested in wines the customers bring. The corking fee is a bit annoying, but most of the time, quite worth it.

mschauber wrote:Why do people think it's "shabby" to bring your own wine? At many restaurants, the sommelier becomes interested in wines the customers bring. The corking fee is a bit annoying, but most of the time, quite worth it.

I also thought that the term "shabby" was inappropriate, for the question being asked.

mschauber wrote:Why do people think it's "shabby" to bring your own wine? At many restaurants, the sommelier becomes interested in wines the customers bring. The corking fee is a bit annoying, but most of the time, quite worth it.

The corking fee is annoying, but $20 is the highest I've seen and it's definitely far less than buying a wine of equivalent value to what I'm bringing. That said, I usually bring the nice stuff because I only bring wine when I'm eating great food (that needs great wine.)

Also, where have you experienced this seen as shabby? Friends or restaurant employees? I've never experienced this, only the latter where the server or sommelier becomes interested. If I'm not finishing it all I usually let them try it and they'll wave the corking fee.

loveladyelectric wrote:The corking fee is annoying, but $20 is the highest I've seen and it's definitely far less than buying a wine of equivalent value to what I'm bringing. That said, I usually bring the nice stuff because I only bring wine when I'm eating great food (that needs great wine.)

Also, where have you experienced this seen as shabby? Friends or restaurant employees? I've never experienced this, only the latter where the server or sommelier becomes interested. If I'm not finishing it all I usually let them try it and they'll wave the corking fee.

Just saw that it was the poll consensus. Weird. Could someone who answered that give their opinion?

chipgreen wrote:I also thought that the term "shabby" was inappropriate, for the question being asked.

Well, if you bring a shabby wine, I suppose it would be seen as shabby. I have *heard* of people taking 2-buck-chuck (alas, no longer $2) to restaurants, but haven't ever actually seen it happen.

I would imagine the number of respondents choosing the 'shabby' option reflects the number of non-wine.woot wooters who still like to participate in all the polls.

It's funny. On the WB board the other day, there was a similar discussion. Many came to the consensus that there are many out there that are not 'confident' enough to bring their own wine. I don't know if confident is the right word, but they were basically working the angle that most would shy away from bringing their own because they feel like the restaurant, wait staff and/or patrons would look down on them for doing so. I guess that is perception for you?

Personally and fortunately, I don't get any of these feelings when I BYOB. But after seeing that board thread and then seeing how many are responding to it being 'shabby' has me thinking that many people out there must feel this way.

I took my wife to Alexander's Stakehouse in Cupertino for her birthday last year. We brought a bottle of Iron Horse bubbly for her and a 2003 Corison Napa Cab for me. Yes the corkage was steep, but they also had the Corison on their wine list for $175. YIKES! $35 corkage is a pittance compared to that, wouldn't you say?

webdev511 wrote:I took my wife to Alexander's Stakehouse in Cupertino for her birthday last year. We brought a bottle of Iron Horse bubbly for her and a 2003 Corison Napa Cab for me. Yes the corkage was steep, but they also had the Corison on their wine list for $175. YIKES! $35 corkage is a pittance compared to that, wouldn't you say?

Was it the Kronos or just the normal Corison? If the latter, it seems a bit steep, but then the '03 actually retails for $95 (see Cathy's site), and I imagine the markup was based on that and not the average price that's paid for it (around $35 according to CT's community valuation and wine market average).

I'm a bit surprised they actually let you bring that in - most places that I've been to don't allow you to bring in a bottle that's already on their list, though I suppose that's more of an unstated policy and a matter of tact than anything else.

loveladyelectric wrote:Just saw that it was the poll consensus. Weird. Could someone who answered that give their opinion?

It's not my opinion, but I do know people who look down upon it as a sign of being cheap or not able to afford buying a bottle @ the restaurant. They wouldn't be caught dead bringing their own wine.

Me personally I don't have an issue at all with it, and have done it on a number of occasions. Like others, I tend to only bring nicer bottles, and ensure it's not on their list before hand.

longjohn wrote:Yes, you can bring wine to a restaurant in Texas if they do not serve alcohol. Some charge a cork fee some do not.

Yes, sorry I was unclear. I was only addressing the "no corkage" policy of TABC at restaurants with a full liquor or a beer & wine license. Restaurants without any type of liquor license can permit BYOB at their own discretion.

Thus the problem with the archaic, arcane & asinine liquor laws in Texas, and other places.

There are several restaurants where I live (Nassau County, LI) where I bring my own wine, ranging from a steakhouse with a great (but expensive) wine list to really nice Italian restaurants. The steak place charges a $25 corkage fee, but half the time the head waiter where I sit doesn't put it on the check. He knows my wife and I will make up for it in the tip. The Italian places charge anywhere from nothing to $15. Bringing my own wine is a no brainer.

My guess is most of you folks are happily married. For those of us who are single and going on lots of first dates, nothing says thanks-but-no-thanks like bringing your own bottle.

Why? Well, partly it's the cheapskate effect, but it's also the idea that one might dictate which wine someone is drinking without knowing them well.

In short, I can't wait until I can bring my own bottle...

All the time. High end steakhouses here charge $25, $15 at others. El Gaucho seems to not have crazy markup so I bought a bottle there on Valentine's Day...2010 Leonetti merlot for $120 (retails for like $75, if you can find it!) That was life changing wine, I dream of getting on their list.

Bione wrote:My guess is most of you folks are happily married. For those of us who are single and going on lots of first dates, nothing says thanks-but-no-thanks like bringing your own bottle.

Why? Well, partly it's the cheapskate effect, but it's also the idea that one might dictate which wine someone is drinking without knowing them well.

In short, I can't wait until I can bring my own bottle...

This I can understand.

Bione wrote:My guess is most of you folks are happily married. For those of us who are single and going on lots of first dates, nothing says thanks-but-no-thanks like bringing your own bottle.

Why? Well, partly it's the cheapskate effect, but it's also the idea that one might dictate which wine someone is drinking without knowing them well.

In short, I can't wait until I can bring my own bottle...

Didn't think of it this way - I can understand that this could be an odd situation. Not so much on the cheapskate aspect but on inadvertently pressuring your date to drink what you have brought, causing an uncomfortable situation. I think that if I became aware that someone I was interested in thought I was cheap for bringing a bottle, I would possibly be dodging a bullet .

You are correct regarding me - married, with a wife that loves to BYOB as well.

I wish that was legal in Colorado!

Bione wrote:My guess is most of you folks are happily married. For those of us who are single and going on lots of first dates, nothing says thanks-but-no-thanks like bringing your own bottle.

Why? Well, partly it's the cheapskate effect, but it's also the idea that one might dictate which wine someone is drinking without knowing them well.

In short, I can't wait until I can bring my own bottle...

ok, if a first date cannot appreciate how much better the wine i'm bringing as compared to the restaurant wine list, or expects me to fork out a couple hundred bucks (or higher) for wine on a first date, that's the first sign that i don't want a second date...

with that said, i usually don't bring a bottle to a first date because it's too hard to guess if two people can finish the whole bottle...