{"id":348,"date":"2015-06-24T16:45:09","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T23:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breakaway-tours.com\/blog\/?p=348"},"modified":"2015-11-16T12:53:46","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T20:53:46","slug":"the-411-on-byob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.breakaway-tours.com\/blog\/the-411-on-byob\/","title":{"rendered":"The 411 on BYOB"},"content":{"rendered":"

BYOB (bring your own bottle) \"BYOB\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thinking about bringing your own bottle to a restaurant? Many restaurants not only allow you to BYOB,\u00a0 some now have special nights where they don’t even charge Corkage! Corkage\u00a0refers to the fee a restaurant charges for a bottle you bring yourself. And\u00a0yes, you are still obliged to pay corkage on a bottle with a screw cap (I’ve had folks ask, seriously). Think of it as a courtesy for the restaurant allowing you to bring your own special bottle. \u00a0Keep in mind that various state and local laws might affect this. It\u2019s illegal to bring your own wine to a restaurant in Colorado, for instance. And please, please remember, it is at the discretion of\u00a0the restaurant owner\/management team whether to extend\u00a0you the privilege to\u00a0BYOB.\u00a0 So\u00a0stick with these basic rules of etiquette and you will surely rank among those ‘In the Know’.<\/p>\n

\"etiquette\"<\/a>Don\u2019t\u00a0BYOB to save money.<\/strong>\u00a0I say this first, even though it overlaps with some of what you\u2019ll read below, because it\u2019s the bottom line.\u00a0BYOB because it\u2019s your birthday and you have a great Cabernet from your birth year, or because you have\u00a0an import\u00a0that you’re dying to try with some fabulous grub, or because the bottle is unique in some way. I promise you that bottle of Three Buck Chuck isn’t going to be worth it.<\/p>\n

Get to know the place first.<\/strong> Go at least once, and if it seems like the kind of place that might be receptive \u2014 and, of course, the kind of place you\u2019d like to go back to \u2014 then think about bringing your own bottle.<\/p>\n

Consider the restaurant.<\/strong> If it\u2019s a fancy place with a great wine list, it\u2019s probably a bad idea to bring your own wine except under very special circumstances.<\/p>\n

Just Play it Cool Boy…….<\/strong><\/p>\n

Call ahead and ask if you can bring your own bottle, and ask about the corkage fee.<\/strong> From the response, you\u2019ll get a sense of how the restaurant really feels about this. The corkage fee will tell you something, too. If it\u2019s high \u2014\u00a0$10-$15 is pretty standard, $25 is getting up there\u00a0\u2014\u00a0my guess is the\u00a0restaurant really doesn\u2019t encourage the practice. Also, if you plan to take more than one bottle, ask if that\u2019s OK. In some cases, it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

Take something special.<\/strong> This is key. If you walk in with a widely available\u00a0Chardonnay that you could have gotten at\u00a0the corner\u00a0wine shop on the way to the restaurant, or something that\u2019s likely on the wine list, you\u2019re probably not going to be treated warmly. But if you have a bottle that is special in some way, the restaurant will likely be charmed.\u00a0 And that\u00a0incredible bottle of Champagne\u00a0that you have left over from your wedding would be nice to bring to your first anniversary dinner.\u00a0 Restaurants spend time, money, and effort creating and maintaining their wine lists. I know from experience -it is the work of many including chefs, owners \u00a0and management to bring you a carefully considered list<\/p>\n

….Real Cool.\"paper<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Be discreet.<\/strong> Maybe the restaurant doesn\u2019t encourage people to bring their own, but makes exceptions for\u00a0awesome folks\u00a0like you. In that case, be awesome. Don’t\u00a0walk in with a paper bag, hold up the bottle and shout, \u201cHere\u2019s the wine I brought!\u201d<\/p>\n

Order\u00a0some of the restaurant\u2019s wine first.<\/strong> If you’re a party of two, consider having two glasses of the house wine, or two glasses of\u00a0bubbly, or a specialty cocktail\u00a0while you study the menu. If there are four of you with a single bottle, perhaps order a bottle of the restaurant\u2019s wine first. This shows good faith, and quite often the restaurant will waive corkage on one bottle if you also order a bottle from the list.<\/p>\n

Offer a glass to\u00a0your server\u00a0or sommelier or chef.<\/strong> Remember that the reason you have brought this wine is that it\u2019s special in some way. It\u2019s fun to share special wines, and the waiter, sommelier or chef will appreciate your generosity (and they probably won\u2019t take more than a sip anyway).<\/p>\n

Tip as though you had purchased a bottle from the wine list.\u00a0 <\/strong>I cannot stress this enough.\u00a0Your server\u00a0is working just as hard opening and pouring that bottle as he would if you\u2019d bought it there. If the restaurant seems to charge about $40 for a good bottle of wine, figure the tip based on your bill plus the $40.<\/p>\n

Everything I’ve detailed here is\u00a0really just simple common sense and good manners. If you keep these points in mind, you can make your dining experiences even more special. And the maitre d\u2019 won\u2019t cringe the next time he sees you!<\/p>\n

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