There are a number of benefits to being able to bring your own (B.Y.O.) wine into a restaurant with a primary food licence, according to Paul Rickett of the Bowen Island Beer and Wine Cellar. One of them is that customers can take along a bottle of a wine they are particularly beholden to but that might not be on the menu. "Bringing your own bottle gives you a greater number of choices in wines," he says. "That is especially true for restaurants that don't have an extensive wine list or for people who want to choose a specific wine or champagne for celebrations."
Rickett recalls taking his wife out for her birthday and not finding a suitable sparkling wine on the menu. "One of the options was a cheap quality [sparkling wine] and the other was marked up significantly," he said. "We didn't order sparkling wine that night but if B.Y.O. had been available, I would have considered bringing a bottle."
Rickett thinks that B.Y.O. is not going to be a massive trend but that there are some occasions when it will make it easier for people to go out and drink something they know they are going to enjoy. And in some cases, it's more than the taste that makes a wine special. "Some people might want to bring a bottle of the same champagne that was served at their wedding and drink it at a special anniversary," he said, adding that others might have purchased a bottle of wine at the birth of their child and want to crack it open when he or she reaches an important milestone.
Rickett said that B.Y.O. simply adds a convenience for the customer. "Many restaurants in Vancouver have endorsed the concept and a website [vancouverfoodster.com/corkage/] lists the venues and corkage fees," he said, explaining that corkage fees are considered to be a convenience charge for the restaurants serving B.Y.O. wine. "There are very few restrictions that are imposed around it. One of them is that the bottle has to be unopened and commercially purchased. But there are no rules on who has to participate and how much should be charged for corkage."
Rickett thinks that the lack of rules encourages restaurants to be creative. "It's not an uncommon thing for restaurants to offer [B.Y.O.] on special days of the week," he says. "Some restaurants even charge lower corkage fees on B.C. wines."
"Certain restaurants may be concerned that people will bring in their own cheap wine to consume with the lovely food and there is this perception that this can diminish the dining experience," he said, making it clear that he does not share that concern.
"The second common objection is that B.Y.O. will impact profits," he explains. "But part of this can be offset with corkage fees depending on the prices of the wines on the wine list. The third concern I've heard relates to tipping. When the bill is lower, customers tip according to the total and don't take the price of the wine into account."
And while Rickett acknowledges the concerns, he doesn't think they will lead to problems as the benefits of bringing a bottle of wine purchased elsewhere is greatest in venues that have a limited or uninteresting wine list and lower wine sales as a result.
"But it's worth to check the corkage fee," he says. "If they ask for $20, that might bring your total for the wine to $50 while you could order one for $30 from the menu."
"The average restaurant marks up a bottle by 2 1/5 times," he said. "That's due to the fact that restaurants have to purchase their wines from the store at the same cost as the customer. They don't get any discount so the wine at restaurants tends to be expensive."
And the difference is going to be more pronounced with expensive bottles. "If you're having an anniversary and want to open a bottle of Dom Perrignon, you can pay the shelf price of $225 which is more affordable than a price tag of over $500," he said. "And there are around 11,000 wines available in B.C. so bringing your own bottle gives you a much wider range of options."
But Ricketts doesn't think that buying a bottle of wine and taking it to a restaurant to save money is a good idea. "You can't buy a bottle of wine in B.C. for less than $9. So when you pay something like $20 for corkage to drink cheap plonk, that doesn't make any sense," he says.
On Bowen Island, restaurants with a food primary licence include the Tuscany, Artisan Eats, the Snug, Leftbank, Miksa and the Cup Cutter.
Rickett has been in contact with the owners and managers to find out whether they will participate. He will post the details on his blog at bibws.wordpress.com/about/.
