Let\u2019s say that you\u2019re in some wonderful sector of Wine Country and all day long you\u2019ve been tasting fabulous wines.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve taken our advice, you\u2019ve selected only the best wines to sip even if you had to pay a little more for the experience.\u00a0 At the better wineries, you could be enjoying a pour from bottles that go for a hundred dollars or in some instances, several hundred.<\/p>\n
Then you go to dinner.<\/p>\n
Remember that wine you liked so much this afternoon.\u00a0 Well, with the restaurant\u2019s markup, that could make the price of drinking it with your meal unaffordably high.\u00a0 But there is a way around it: bring your own bottle.\u00a0 Remember, most restaurants charge a corkage fee if you bring a bottle with you.\u00a0 It could be as little as $10 per bottle or as high as $25.<\/p>\n
But look at it this way.\u00a0 Restaurants mark up their wines between twice and three times the retail price.\u00a0 So if for example you loved a $75 wine, you might expect to pay $150 to $225 for this wine to accompany your meal.\u00a0 If you bring it with you, it would cost you only $100.\u00a0 Now, \u201conly\u201d is a relative term, but it certainly is cheaper than the price on the wine list.<\/p>\n
If this is your plan, it could change the way you approach wine tasting during the day.\u00a0 If you know the restaurant at which you plan to dine that evening, call them and find out their corkage policy and fees.\u00a0 You might even ask what the specials of the day will be.\u00a0 Then go wine tasting with your dinner in mind.<\/p>\n
Perhaps you\u2019re planning on having a steak, a big, luscious steak.\u00a0 A Cabernet Sauvignon would be just the right wine to drink with it.\u00a0 And luckily enough, you\u2019re in Napa Valley or Sonoma County (or Bordeaux or Chile) \u00a0where they just happen to be famous for big, luscious Cabernet Sauvignons.\u00a0 As you go through the day, try the Cabernets that would fit your budget with the corkage fee added.\u00a0 When you\u2019ve found the perfect wine, buy it and take it with you to dinner.<\/p>\n
Of course, you might taste several \u201cperfect\u201d wines while you\u2019re visiting the wineries.\u00a0 If you\u2019re thinking of buying one for your evening meal, it\u2019s a good idea to take a few notes as you go along and then decide which one is most to your liking or fits best with your dinner plans.\u00a0 You can then go back the winery where you tasted that wine and buy a bottle.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a little tip that will make bringing your wine even more attractive.\u00a0 Many restaurants, even some of the best, don\u2019t charge corkage at all<\/em>.\u00a0 They may place some restrictions on that policy.\u00a0 For example, Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg only extends the no-corkage policy to wines made in Sonoma County.\u00a0 That still gives you a lot of room for maneuver.\u00a0 Another California restaurant with a no-corkage policy is Hurley\u2019s in Yountville.\u00a0 We especially appreciate that the sommelier there gives extra attention to wines that are more than ten years old, because they and their corks can be a little more delicate.<\/p>\n There may be other restrictions, such as only certain nights when corkage is waived or a requirement that you buy one bottle off the list before they waive the corkage on the one you bring with you.\u00a0 A little advance planning pays off.\u00a0 There are lists on the web, but we\u2019re not vouching for their accuracy.\u00a0 A few simple phone calls are the best bet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s say that you\u2019re in some wonderful sector of Wine Country and all day long you\u2019ve been tasting fabulous wines.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve taken our advice, you\u2019ve selected only the best wines to sip even if you had to pay a little more for the experience.\u00a0 At the better wineries, you could be enjoying a pour … Continue reading BYOB<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":355,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions\/355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}