Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of dining at a local restaurant. While my wife and I were engaging in our usual banter, we noticed a party of four, with one of them, a man, carrying a bright yellow satchel. My first thoughts were wow! I like that yellow! I love how men are open to carrying bags! Then the group sat down, and the man opened his yellow satchel and pulled out a bottle of wine. I caught a glimpse before he closed it and saw another wine bottle safely stored for later. Was this a thing? Some new trend no one talked about.
Maybe the restaurant didn’t have a wine selection? But that theory was disproven by the rows of wine bottles at the bar. The waiter seemed confused but reluctantly opened the bottle for him. The stranger shared it with his fellow guests, and no one batted an eye. I would be terrified to bring a wine bottle to a restaurant but maybe that’s just me.
As we enjoyed our oysters, another couple walked in, well dressed in business casual attire. I noticed a wine bottle in his blazer pocket as they were escorted to a table to the right of us. Am I being punked? Was Ashton Kutcher about to come out and say HA! I Got You? I didn’t tell my wife for fear of her turning around and exposing us.
I needed more information on this topic so like anyone in my position, I turned to Google. So here is the rundown:
- Always check with a restaurant and their BYOW policy. (Some prohibit BYOW)
- Most restaurants will charge you a corkage fee ranging from $10 to $50.
- You should not bring bottles of wine that the restaurant sells.
- Be polite and bring a wine that is over $25.
I wanted to hear other people’s take on this and asked five people who said they would never bring a wine bottle to a restaurant unless it was a BYOB type of place.
What would you do? If I could ask the whole world, I truly would. This type of behavior fascinates me.
