I wrote a blog a while back about wine by the glass in restaurants. Today, I see that Wine Spectator editor Matt Kramer, also has an opinion on the topic. To quote Kramer: "Let me blunt: If you go to a restaurant and buy wine by the glass, you're a chump". Wow. That's pretty harsh. He goes on to state that in most restaurants, the first pour pays for the bottle. That's what I said, too. But then he spends the rest of the article discussing how you should buy wine by the bottle. But heck, that's not so cheap either. Most restaurants "at least" double the retail price. And in Missouri, the restaurant's cost is exactly the same as a retailer. Clearly, there is big profit in restaurant wine. So, what's a restaurant goer/wine lover to do?
BYO.
Bring your own wine and pay what hopefully is a reasonable corkage fee. In Missouri, corkage fees range from "no corkage" up to $30+ per bottle. Some restaurants also have limits on how many bottles they will allow. I would consider $10 a "great" corkage (not as great as free), and $15 to be reasonable, and probably most common around these parts. This is not a universal practice, however. In neighboring Kansas, you cannot bring your own wine into any restaurant - ever.
Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and buy that wine by the glass. What if you're dining alone, or with someone who doesn't drink wine? I know I'm not drinking a full bottle by myself - as much as I might like to. Wine by the glass is here to stay, and the price structure won't be changing any time soon. After all, our restaurant friends, need to make a profit too. Talk about a tough business! I thought retailing was hard.
In a future blog I'll discuss some tips on etiquette when you do BYO.
Tom - A Chump!
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