Why wine bars charge a corkage fee for bottles of wine purchased and consumed on their premises? I recently attended a popular wine bar in San Francisco and they charge a corkage fee of $ 15 for wines purchased from their shelves that are not in the current menu. It makes no sense to me that they may charge a corkage for something bought and consumed on their premises. Is this a common practice? Does anyone know the logic / reasoning behind it?
Thank you
They need to cover the cost of glasses, clean glasses, the wages of the person pouring the wine, rent, utilities, maintenance ...
$ 15 is not high as I paid much higher in restaurants.
I do not know, I've never heard of it. It could be that some wines are rare and are available but are not listed in the menu. Maybe they charge the fee because wine is difficult to obtain or because they are rare one. Just guessing.
The short answer: Because they can.
Really, they do because even if you bought a bottle of their side's retail shop (I guess) and drinking in the bar area of the shop, you do not pay what you would pay on the side bar . A bottle that you buy to resell for say, $ 30, will be at least $ 60 for the same bottle at the bar. They are just trying to recoup some of the lost profits to buy yourself a bottle of detail instead of the bar, even if it is all in the same pocket.
Bulls - t I know, but that's how it works. I used to go to a bar which also had a wine shop attached, but the owner was cool and if you found a bottle beside the shop, he was happy to open if for you (especially if it was a good bottle, it normally don 't make the bar). I suggest you find a place that does the same thing.
After reading the response by BLUESEA manuals, practical life here is the scoop on this point.
Most restaurants and wine bars in California or outside, collect a corkage fee. Basically, the accounts of corkage for all the service of opening the bottle, serves wine if they wish, provide glassware (which means they have to clean as well as accounting for the broken glass that occurs frequently), the cost of cleanup (spills, laundry, disposal, laundry, etc.), and licenses - a restaurant must pay each year for the liquor license. A corkage fee usually $ 5-15, and they are very common in restaurants and wine bars.
In fact, wine bars and restaurants do not allow their customers to open their own wines. They do so by courtesy. There is no law saying they have for you open your own bottle. Thus, it is good for them to do so.
Some restaurants really discouraged by the pricing policy AVV corkage extraordinarily high ($ 35, $ 50, etc.). The reason is that they are at least double the cost of wine for each bottle they sell. For example, a bottle sells for $ 50 can be purchased by the restaurant for $ 35-40, and they will charge you at least $ 100-125 per bottle here. Thus, the profit margin is high, and they do not lose on all prices.
Look at this another way. If you want to make a Big Mac or Chinese take-out for a nice fancy French restaurant and eat there, you will be discouraged from doing so. Do not expect to eat your own food at the restaurant for free. Why should it be different for wine?
Interesting. I had never heard of it. Found this explanation but it still seems strange that they charge you when you bought it there!
What cap?
Is a bottle cap by fee, but a restaurant customer who brings their own wine to drink in this restaurant. This is not allowed in most restaurants in the country, but it is very common / normal in Northern California.
Why do restaurants charge corkage.
Posted on March 11, 2010.
