Bad form, or totally reasonable?
Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 3:57 pm
Hello, and happy new year to all!
I recently found a local wine store that has a great selection and good prices - needless to say, I'm quite happy about that! I had the owner of the store pick a few selections for me (I'm a complete newbie and 100% open for suggestions at this stage in my development) and one of them was a Behrens and Hitchcock Dr Crane Cuvee (2003). I went to a new local steak house and took the bottle with me for a nice meal. The guy seating me said "which B&H is that?" immediately telling me that these guys were familiar with this wine. After being seated I grabbed their wine list and found this exact same bottle selling for $205 (I paid $75). They charged a $20 corkage fee, and I tipped as if there was an $80 bottle on the ticket. My question is, I have been told that it's somewhat bad form to take in a bottle of wine that the establishment offers on its own wine list. But given the huge savings in doing so, I am obviously compelled to do this again. What are all of your thoughts on this? This was the first time I had ever brought a bottle of wine to any restaurant, so I don't have much "feel" for what is appropriate and what is not. If they have a "corkage fee" option, is it fair game to bring anything I want?
Thanks!
Jeff
ps. I absolutely loved the B&H!
I recently found a local wine store that has a great selection and good prices - needless to say, I'm quite happy about that! I had the owner of the store pick a few selections for me (I'm a complete newbie and 100% open for suggestions at this stage in my development) and one of them was a Behrens and Hitchcock Dr Crane Cuvee (2003). I went to a new local steak house and took the bottle with me for a nice meal. The guy seating me said "which B&H is that?" immediately telling me that these guys were familiar with this wine. After being seated I grabbed their wine list and found this exact same bottle selling for $205 (I paid $75). They charged a $20 corkage fee, and I tipped as if there was an $80 bottle on the ticket. My question is, I have been told that it's somewhat bad form to take in a bottle of wine that the establishment offers on its own wine list. But given the huge savings in doing so, I am obviously compelled to do this again. What are all of your thoughts on this? This was the first time I had ever brought a bottle of wine to any restaurant, so I don't have much "feel" for what is appropriate and what is not. If they have a "corkage fee" option, is it fair game to bring anything I want?
Thanks!
Jeff
ps. I absolutely loved the B&H!