Corkage

Full Definition

Corkage is the fee restaurants charge for handling a bottle of wine the diner has brought from outside. The fee covers stemware, opening, decanting if needed, pouring, and clearing — and recoups some of the wine-program revenue lost when the diner doesn't order from the cellar.

Typical fees: $15–$30 at neighborhood bistros that allow BYOB freely, $50–$100 at fine-dining rooms that allow corkage with restrictions, $200+ at three-Michelin-star rooms where corkage is a courtesy rather than a policy. Many of the highest-tier rooms simply decline corkage — their cellar is the offer.

Etiquette to know: ask before bringing the bottle, never bring something that's already on the wine list (offensive to the sommelier), tell the restaurant the wine and vintage in advance so they can decant if needed, and tip generously on the corkage line — the staff is doing the work.

BYOB ("bring your own bottle") restaurants — particularly common in Australia, parts of California, and lower-licence US states — operate without a wine licence and rely on corkage as their wine revenue. At BYOB rooms, corkage is the entire wine economics; bring something the kitchen would respect.

Many cities have a small subset of restaurants that waive corkage on weekday lunches as a marketing move, or for wine-club members. Worth asking when booking if the wine matters to the night.