The Borrowed Penguin Wine Review

To BYOB or Not To BYOB

Maybe I’m just wasting more of my time than usual looking at internet chat rooms lately, but it appears there is more and more discussion about “corkage” or “BYOB” at restaurants these days. It’s not just on the internet message boards, I’m hearing it pop up more and more, both in social circles and business circles. Basically the question is pretty simple: should people be allowed to bring their own wine into restaurants, and if so how much should it cost to do so?

I’ll start with the “should it be allowed” question. First off, alcohol is a controlled substance, which means you must have a specific license to sell it, serve it, or even have it on your premises. Additionally there are very strict guidelines you have to follow to maintain that license. So if a restaurant happens to be in an area where corkage is not allowed by law I will never once question there decision to refuse that people bring their own wine, no matter what. I would never sell to a minor no matter what, and from a legal point of view both instances are violating the terms of your liquor license.

(Quick note: as far as I am aware the state of Missouri is a bit of a grey area when it comes to corkage, but within Kansas City, MO it is strictly outlawed. Oddly enough, corkage is legal in Kansas, which may be the one area of where Kansas is actually more progressive than Missouri)

So for those restaurants that are allowed to offer corkage, should they? Well, I’m a big believer in letting the free market work its magic in most areas, and so the reality is pretty much any restaurant in a market where corkage is allowed will be forced to allow it or miss out on a portion of the customer base. Admittedly they may not be happy about it, but they will probably allow it in some form (keep reading).

Which brings us to the real question: what is a fair corkage policy? This takes us back to the message board comment I made earlier. What blows my mind is how many people think top-flight wine service is something that should be available at every corner deli. In reality top-flight wine service is something that really only matters at high-quality restaurants, and that’s one of the reasons they cost more. Also, a lot of people often say they feel a negative vibe from employees when they bring their own bottle. Below are actual comments cut-and-pasted from an high-traffic and very influential wine chat room, along with my responses:

We also bring our own glasses in case the restaurant has bad glasses.
RE: if the wine you’re drinking requires better glasses than the restaurant has, you’re probably taking it to the wrong restaurant.

My waiter was really put out that I expected something better than the glasses he showed up. That said, other than training, my waiter's attitude was probably the major problem. I learned something from the experience though and now open most of my blts ahead and home, bring my own glasses and often do my own pours.
RE: if you’re too good for your server, too good for the restaurant’s glasses, and too good to let them serve the wine, are you really surprised the server appeared to have a “bad attitude?”

Doesn't it aggravate you to pay the corkage fee, then? It just amounts to a penalty. I'm not even a huge advocate of bringing in my own bottle - I wouldn't bring my own food.
RE: very interesting point; you might be on to something here…

When the waiter twisted off the capsule on the bottle of Petrus that was brought.
Admittedly this is major no-no in terms of technical wine etiquette, but I do this all the time for convenience and it doesn’t hurt the wine at all

I told him I'd take care of our pouring for the rest of the night. I've never been back. I should have known [restaurant name deleted by me] would suck??? I did have the satisfaction of leaving the guy a 20-cent tip.
RE: so you told the guy he wasn’t good enough for you and then tipped him two dimes, and you honestly wonder why servers have a negative view of people who bring their own wine?

I think the real issue here is what corkage should be used for. The reality is no restaurant in the world will have every wine—or even every type of wine—available, and corkage is a way to help guests that have a specific bottle they wish to enjoy with a meal do that. It is not intended to help you save money. Cost is a prohibitive factor in most people’s life. Most restaurants that serve outstanding food cost a lot, and the wine is normally quite expensive as well, so you may not be able to have both. I would love to have dugout box seats for all Royals home games, but I can’t afford them so I just by View Box seats when I get time to head to the park.

On the subject of bringing your own stems, people are being very self-centered and petty. First off, and this is going to sound ridiculous, but there is a liability issue at play. The world is full of scam artists and shakedown specialist, and what if—somehow some, some way—one of those glasses broke and a guest or employee was severely cut on the broken pieces? If you can’t see the lawsuit here you’re asleep at the wheel.

Next, and this is a much more realistic concern, is the fact that having one table with very distinct and different stemware is awkward and can certainly make a restaurant look bad. If one table has glasses that are different than everyone else’s you are going to get questions, and it will be uncomfortable for a server or manager to explain: “these people brought their own wine, and to be frank they felt that our servers and glassware really aren’t good enough for them, so they brought their own glasses as well.” As a final note, the kind of people who feel compelled to bring their own stemware to a restaurant are the exact same people who would immediately want to know why a particular table was getting treated “better” than they were.

So what is a good corkage system and fee? Whatever the restaurant’s policy is it should be clearly stated and you should be able to get good answers before you go to the restaurant (if you can’t get a straight answer over the phone, don’t expect too much when you get there). As a point of courtesy you should never, ever, ever bring something that is already on the restaurants list or even something that is readily available. Remember, you’re supposed to be adding something, not bringing something the manager can call up and order from his wine rep. The restaurant should respect your wine and ask how you would like the bottle handled, and basically from the moment you walk in treat it as if you have purchased it off the list. Finally, you should be polite to the staff regarding it (remember, if you’re at a restaurant where you don’t think the staff understands or can appreciate the bottle you have brought, you’re probably taking it to the wrong restaurant), and don’t forget to remember how corkage effects the bill when it comes time to tip.

When it comes to a “fair” corkage fee I think there is a lot of room for variation. I think that no matter what, the fee should reflect the overall level of the restaurant. If you’re at a place where the cheapest bottle on the list is $83, then don’t be shocked by a $50-a-bottle corkage fee. If the wine list boasts an extensive selection of bottles under $40 then a $50 a bottle fee seems a bit steep. If they limit the amount of bottles you can bring, ask that for every bottle you bring you purchase one of the list, of charge you per-person then don’t be surprised. Remember, they are a business and the goal is to make money—if you don’t like it or feel it’s unfair you don’t have to go there.

As a final note I want to make clear that most restaurateurs are not just greedy individuals who want to force people to buy overpriced wine off their lists. Most people who are savvy and interested enough to bring their own wine (not the people who are buying Yellow Tail down the street on sale at the grocery store) are good customers and the kind of clientele you want in your restaurant. In fact, one person I know who runs a restaurant here in KC and in not allowed to do corkage put it to me this way: “I wish everyone brought their own wine and just paid me a corkage because it costs me nothing.” Hypothetically, let’s say a restaurant has a $25-a-bottle corkage fee and a three times wholesale markup (i.e. a bottle that costs $25 wholesale sells for $75 on their list). One customer buys a $75 bottle and another brings something with them and pays the $25 corkage. Obviously there are stemware costs and labor costs but they are relatively small compared to the inventory cost and cost-to-carry.

The restaurant had to pay $25 to bring that bottle of wine into the restaurant, and they had to store it, and they’ve been holding onto it for a certain period of time. Additionally, that’s not the only bottle of wine they have in the restaurant. They are having to chose which wines they will carry and how many of each. They have a wine inventory at all times and are incurring the costs and risks of that. As for the other customer, they essentially walked in and just paid $25 for a product that cost the restaurant $0. Now I’m not a business major, but which model looks better to you?

I am a former server, and I had bad experiences with guests wanting to do corkage. Personally I think it is something that should be allowed, but I also have no problem with restaurants exercising discretion when it comes to corkage. There is certainly a segment of the population that envisions corkage as a way to have wine at a restaurant real cheap. That’s not the form of corkage I support. For people who have a genuine interest in wine and food and are looking to enhance and increase their enjoyment by bringing their own wine, I think it’s a great idea. Just remember, corkage is a privilege, and with all privilege comes a level of responsibility. When you are offered the chance to bring your own wine to a restaurant make sure you respect the restaurant that is offering you that opportunity.

Which Battle Is The Toughest

Since I’m a wine retailer people always assume that the wines on my inventory floor at any given moment are a reflection of what I myself enjoy. That is completely false. The inventory in our store at any given moment is a reflection of what market trends indicate will create the highest inventory turnover. Sorry to sound so cynical, but that’s the truth. If our store’s inventory did reflect my personal tastes there would be more Alsatian wines, way fewer domestic Chardonnays, more red Burgundy, more Spanish, no generic Australian (and probably fewer Australian across the board), and fewer California Cabs along with a lot more Washington wines.

Now having admitted that I base most of my purchase decisions on what I think the consumer will purchase (and yes, that does mean the label factors into the decision) I still focus on picking the wines that I think are the best and offer the type of experience a person expects when they spend that amount of money. It means when I taste wine at trade events or when my reps are through on sales calls I’m not focusing on whether or not I like the wine but whether or not I will be able to sell it to customers who will be happy with their experience. I still bring in some things that I get really excited about because I do know there is a certain percentage of my customers I can hand-sell wines to.

Of course everyone who sells wine for a living would love to reach the point where we only dealt with wines we personally loved. So when we all get around and chat about wine a common topic is wines we love and are very interested in but we all know are very hard sells. What are the wines that us wine geeks love and enjoy but the mass-market more or less ignores?

I’d have to say that there are two front-runners that always emerge in this discussion: Burgundy and Rosé. Both wines are quite popular within wine circles but present major difficulties when it comes to selling them to the general public (i.e. selling enough of them to make it a sound financial decision to have an emphasis on them). So which is a greater challenge?

Most people say Burgundy, and with good cause. Chardonnay is the number one white wine is this country by a light year, and nothing is showing any signs of gaining on it. Pinot Noir is still an exploding category where small producers making wines from tiny, very specific plots are more and more sought after, and additionally consumers are showing they are comfortable paying a premium for Pinot Noir (which is necessary, since it is basically the most expensive grape to cultivate and the most demanding to make wine from). White Burgundy is Chardonnay and Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir, so you would think it should be easy to parlay the success of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir into success with Burgundy, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Some people argue that the main factor impeding the success of Burgundy is the price, and I admit that Burgundy prices tend to run at a premium. But I disagree with this notion. Great Bourgogne Blanc can be had for less that $20 a bottle, and so can solid Bourgogne Rouge. Next time you’re out notice how fast $20 domestic Chards and Pinots move.

The reality is Burgundy is confusing as hell, and it scares people off. In Burgundy the appellation the wine comes from is the most prominent piece of information on the label, not the producer, so in any given wine store you may find yourself looking at two or three (or a dozen) wines will “Pommard” or “Gevrey-Chambertin” in bold letters on the label, all at different prices (if the store chooses to organize the wines by the region they are from). Or you may find yourself looking at several labels that all appear to be the same but are at different prices (if the store organizes the wines by producer, and the price variations can be huge—from $12 a bottle to well over $100). Burgundy contains countless appellations of varying size: some appellations, like Pommard or Gevrey-Chambertin, have numerous producers and generate large volumes of wine each year while other appellations are really just individual vineyards that may have only one owner (and in some cases are only a handful of acres in size).

If you’re a consumer the questions are almost endless: what is the difference between Appellation A and Appellation B? What is the difference between Producer A’s Appellation X and Producer A’s Appellation Y? What is the difference between Producer X’s Appellation Z and Producer Y’s Appellation Z? Then there is the added level of confusion when you add in specific vineyards and Premier Crus and Grand Crus. What’s the difference between Gevrey-Chambertin and Premier Cru Gevrey-Chambertin? What’s the difference between Chambertin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Griotte-Chambertin, Chambertin-Clos de Beze, and Mazi-Chambertin?

The point of this entry isn’t to explain Burgundy. The point is to discuss the challenges between introducing people to Burgundy and introducing people to Rosé. The challenge with Burgundy is it is the most confusing and daunting wine region in the world, and it scares people off.

The challenge with Rosé is the exact opposite: instead of people not knowing anything about a particular wine and being intimidated by it, people think they know Rosé and therefore refuse to go anywhere near it. The Rosé I’m talking about isn’t the ubiquitous White Zinfandel you find everywhere. I’m talking about dry Rosé made in the style that was the norm prior to the invention of White Zinfandel by Sutter Home in 1975. These wines, which I personally find to be delicious, are made around the world and from virtually every red varietal you can think of.

Whereas the challenge with Burgundy is helping people get a footing and try something new, with Rosé the challenge is helping people get over their preconceptions about wines that are pink in color. Everyone thinks every wine that is pink in color must be a lifeless, sweet, bulk-produced wine that should be less $5. Instead of getting people to try something new the struggle is to get people to try something they’re already convinced isn’t any good.

So back to the main question: which is a tougher sell? On this one I’m going to disagree with the majority of my colleagues and say Rosé is the tougher sale. With Burgundy there is an avenue in and many people do view Burgundy as a progression in the wine world. Rosé on the other hand is viewed by most people as a joke or a step backward in wine; an insignificant category that identifies a person as an uneducated wine novice. That is a much more difficult hurdle to overcome than confusion.

While Rosé is a tougher sell I should also acknowledge it is also a less significant category. If I never sold a single bottle of pink wine other than Beringer and/or Sutter Home White Zin my store would be fine. On the other hand if we never dealt with any Mersault, Vosne-Romanee, Morey-St.-Denis, Pommard, or Chassagne-Montrachet that would definitely say something about the overall level of depth, quality, and variety in my store. So while I’ll continue to fight the Rosé battle, I’ll make sure I take care of what I need to in Burgundy before putting too much effort into Rosé.