ThePortForum.com

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gz3x0w19lo

We are very fortunate with the Boot and Flogger.

Some of the fees described in the article are outrageous! £100 plus the price of a wine from the wine list? 50% of the average market value?!

I also saw this article this morning...and filed it in my "piece of clickbait garbage" folder

Opening sentences:
"Corkage fees - the charge applied to diners who bring their own wine - are rising as restaurants try to make a profit, industry experts have said. According to trade publication The Drinks Business, the average fee was about £12 to £15 per bottle of still wine opened on site. Another trade publication, The Restaurant, found corkage at some places in London has increased to more than £100 per bottle."

In other words, most restaurants charge £12-15, and I've managed to find a couple that charge £100+. Nothing new under the sun here.

For sure it normally used to be ~£10 a few years ago, but that's what a ~30-50% bout of inflation over a couple of years will do!

For what it’s worth, I take the view that a corkage price of up to the cost of a bottle of the cheapest wine on this list is fair enough- even if the cheapest wine is £40 or £50. I think this is okay because the cost to restaurants of serving wine are not only (or even mainly) the wine. But anything more than the cheapest wine on the list is cynical. People may choose to pay more, which is what these establishments are gambling on, but they are doing that for other factors than having a good dinner. So when someone wants to share something really nice (like the dear friend who brought a bottle of Mouton 88 for lunch on Saturday) I simply invite my intended guests to eat at mine instead.

winesecretary wrote: ↑16:20 Mon 09 Sep 2024 For what it’s worth, I take the view that a corkage price of up to the cost of a bottle of the cheapest wine on this list is fair enough- even if the cheapest wine is £40 or £50.

Agreed. I could order from the list, and I could order the cheapest wine. It's unreasonable to ask for more than that.

winesecretary wrote: ↑16:20 Mon 09 Sep 2024 For what it’s worth, I take the view that a corkage price of up to the cost of a bottle of the cheapest wine on this list is fair enough- even if the cheapest wine is £40 or £50. I think this is okay because the cost to restaurants of serving wine are not only (or even mainly) the wine. But anything more than the cheapest wine on the list is cynical. People may choose to pay more, which is what these establishments are gambling on, but they are doing that for other factors than having a good dinner. So when someone wants to share something really nice (like the dear friend who brought a bottle of Mouton 88 for lunch on Saturday) I simply invite my intended guests to eat at mine instead.

I agree with you to an extent, George, but the accountant in me (I'm retired now) would amend what you by saying I would pay the gross margin value of the cheapest wine. Why should the restaurant make the pure profit of a corkage fee? Not a huge difference, but it also saves the diner a few £.

I guess the corkage policy depends on how busy the restaurant is. If they’re packed out every night with a waiting list as long as your arm, they can charge what they like.

Personally, I eat out for the food and not for the wine. If my favourite restaurant has a good wine list at sensible prices that’s a bonus. If not, I’d rather take my own wine which I know is what I will enjoy, and pay corkage.

I’m happy to pay corkage since I want my favourite restaurant to stay in business! Plus I’m happy to pay for their work in providing glasses, washing up etc.

But if I’m feeling price-gouged, either on the corkage fee or the price of a bottle of wine, I’ll eat elsewhere.

Incidentally, my favourite local family run Italian restaurant has a pretty average wine list with a decent Sicilian Primitivo on offer for £40 with a corkage fee of £25 for a bottle of Italian wine or £40 for a wine from another country.

Alex Bridgeman wrote:...with a corkage fee of £25 for a bottle of Italian wine or £40 for a wine from another country.

This made me chuckle!

And I don't think charging up to the cheapest bottle on the menu is unreasonable since that's probably around the value of the mark up on an average bottle for them, which obviously is an important part of keeping them running.

On a related note I've actually never taken a bottle to a restaurant for dinner other than at the forum tastings (except where a place is explicitly BYOB). I should do that some time!