NapaLife’s Corkage Survey

of Napa Valley restaurants

By Paul Franson

From the Dec. 10, 2007, NapaLife.  © 2007 Paul Franson

 

Corkage is a hot subject in Napa Valley, where many residents work at wineries or otherwise obtain wine free or at very low prices, and they like to take the wines when they go out to eat.

Almost all restaurants in the valley allow you to bring in bottles, but most charge corkage, typically $10 to $20. Most of those also forgive the corkage on a bottle if you buy one, which is ideal if you want to start with a modest white or sparkler they have chilled, then segue to a special red wine.

 The French Laundry tops the list at $50, hardly out of line when the meals are $240, but note that it has bottles that cost less than that.

I also asked the restaurants if they waived the fees for vintners, winemakers, tasting room staff (who refer customers) and other restaurant staff members, but the results were so complicated, that I decided it would be better for you to ask— if you fit in one of those categories.

Personally, even though I have a lot of wine, I don’t take it to a restaurant unless there’s a good reason. To me, it’s like taking in a steak and expecting them to cook it for you. It’s not easy to make a living running a restaurant anyway, and selling wines is as much a part of their business as preparing the food. Many patrons don't really appreciate the cost of the glassware, labor and breakage, too. One local restaurant told me that they spend $300 per month in glasses and decanters, though that sounds pretty high.

A few places have poor lists or grossly overpriced wines, but most have a wide range, and most have some in the $20’s, which I think is reasonable for almost any meal out above the level of a pizza (and most pizza places have perfectly acceptable cheaper wines, like the Bogle Petite Sirah at Pizza Azzurro).

Wine pairings are becoming increasingly common, and frankly, I can’t imagine not doing so with the special prix fixe meals unless you have enough people to buy a number of bottles. Ken Frank says that two-thirds of his customers at La Toque choose pairings, and I’m one of them.

I do think it’s appropriate to take a truly special bottle to a restaurant, but never one on a wine list. I realize that many vintners like to take in their own wines, but I think a better practice is to buy your wine off the list and support the restaurant (as Michaela Rodeno of St. Supéry does), or even buy other wines but make it clear where you work and that you are supporting the restaurant (as John Williams of Frog’s Leap encourages his staff to do).

Most people find markups high on bottles, however, though some restaurants set limits. Market charges $14 over standard retail; the Wine Train adds $15. Bistro Fumé charges twice its cost rather than the typical 3 times, Hurley’s 2.5 times, sometime 1.5 times. Carneros Inn charges 1.7 times wholesale on selected wines. More typical is 3 times wholesale, which is about double retail. Most cut that for more expensive wines, however.

The real rip-off is wines by the glass, where restaurants may charge the retail price of a cheap bottle for one glass – five times mark up! It would be worthbuying a whole bottle or paying the corkage charge just to avoid paying $12 for a glass of wine for an aperitif, and surely for two.

I didn’t ask about prices by the glass for this survey, but will do so later. In the meantime, I welcome any restaurants that have reasonable wines by the glass to point it out to me and I’ll highlight them.

Free corkage

Some restaurants waive corkage all the time, however, while others do on quiet nights during the week to encourage local patrons. I do consider it appropriate to take your wine in this case, and some places like Foothill Grill really encourage it.

A few places that waive corkage aren’t really wine oriented anyway, like Compadres Rio Grill, where a Margarita or Tecate makes more sense, but some are fine places serving food as good as other restaurants in the valley. In most cases, they find their cocktail, appetizer and dessert sales rise when people bring in a bottle of wine. At Rutherford Grill, for example, general manager Don Wetherell says that’s true, so the table tab is actually higher when the patrons bring a bottle.

So my suggestion is to feel free to take wine to places that offer free corkage, and especially patronize the places that have special no-corkage nights. But don’t take wine unless it’s special to other places just to save a few bucks, and expect them to make fun of you if you take in the equivalent of Two Buck Chuck.

Some places, like Redd and Bistro Jeanty, really don’t want you to bring in bottles, but if you can’t find a wine you like there, you’re in the wrong place.

 

No corkage at least on first bottles

 

 

* None for first, then $10; + None for 2, then $10

 

Some free corkage

 

Restaurant	City	Conditions
Ubuntu	Napa	Waive Monday night
Bayleaf	Napa	Waive Monday and Wednesday for Napa County residents
Fumé Bistro	Napa	Waive Tuesday night
Market	St. Helena	Waive Tuesday night
Cuvée	Napa	Waive Wednesday
Cc Blue	St. Helena	Waive Wednesday for locals.
Julia’s Kitchen at Copia	Napa	Waive Wednesday or for members
Napa General Store	Napa	Local if they ask.
Napa Valley Grille	Yountville	Waive on Napa and Sonoma wines
Napa Valley Wine Train	Napa	Waive for Napa County residents
Uva Trattoria	Napa	*Waive for regular customers and if bought at a tasting room downtown.
Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant	St. Helena	Waive for ‘regulars.’

 

Corkage policies of Napa Valley Restaurants

 

Restaurant	City	Corkage for 750 ml bottle	Cheapest wine (not white Zin)		* Waive corkage if buy bottle
Ad Hoc	Yountville	$20	$20, $29
All Seasons	Calistoga	$15	$28	*
Angéle	Napa	$20	$20	* even halves and carafes
Auberge du Soleil	Rutherford	$30	$29, $30	*
BarBersQ	Napa	$15 up to 2	$27 $29
barVino	Calistoga	$15	$18 $24
Bayleaf	Napa	$12	$28	* even halves. Waive Mon and Wed for Napa County residents
Bistro Don Giovanni	Napa	$20	$24, $28	* maximum 6 bottles
Bistro Jeanty	Yountville	$15	$19
Bleaux Magnolia	Napa	none	$28
Boonfly Café at Carneros Inn	Napa	$15	$24
Bosko’s	Calistoga	$10	$18, $21
Bouchon	Yountville	$20	$30, $35
Bounty Hunter	Napa	Not allowed	$15 $13
Brannan’s	Calistoga	$15	$18 $24	*
Brix	Yountville	$15 up to 2	$20, $22	* Corkage equal to difference in price if wine is purchased in Wine Shop.
Caffe Cicero	Napa	$10	$25
Calistoga Inn	Calistoga	$15	$23	*
Cc Blue	St. Helena	$10 up to 2, then $15	$28 $32	* No corkage Wednesday for locals.
Celadon	Napa	$15	$25 $28	*
Checkers	Calistoga	$15	$18 $24	*
Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen	St. Helena	$15	$30	*
Cole’s Chop House	Napa	$15 $25	$29	*
Compadres Rio Grill	Napa