Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
Antique Wine Company's employees take out a Melchior size bottle of Cos D'Estournel wine from its case.
I don’t think I’ve ever really been demanding. Perhaps those closest to me might say differently, but I think I’m reasonably flexible.
Most of the time.
Diane only contacted establishments in the city of Brandon about the bring-your-own-wine concept. But if any restaurants in surrounding communities -- or any additional ones in Brandon -- are allowing folks to BYOW, and would like to alert their potential customers to that fact, please drop her an email at diane.vinelines@gmail.com She'll be happy to print the names of the restaurants, and their corkage fees, in an upcoming column.
But there IS something I’m trying to encourage wine aficionados to demand, and I’ve been doing my best to lead the charge.
The last two Vine Lines columns have been dedicated to this topic, and while I’m sure I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, I simply had to get a few more words in about Manitoba’s new bring-your-own-wine amendment to the provincial Liquor Control Act.
I was pleasantly surprised when I polled some of the restaurants in town and discovered the majority of them were prepared to offer the BYOW option to their customers. But the places that weren’t said there really hadn’t been much demand for it thus far. So I have one request.
Demand, people! The good folks at The Keg said while they weren’t allowing bring-your-own-wine-for-a-corkage-fee just yet, if it turned out there WAS a demand for it, they’d likely revisit that decision.
Same goes for the 34th Street Bar and Grill at the Victoria Inn. They haven’t exactly been inundated with requests to allow folks to bring their own wine. But if people start asking, managers indicated they might reconsider.
Over at Montana’s Cookhouse, they’ve apparently had a fair number of people inquiring. So they’re offering the service. And the more that happens — the more people ask if they can bring their own wine — the more likely it is that other establishments will follow suit and allow the practice.
Now granted, if the corkage fee is outrageous, it’s not worth your while. There’s no point taking a $15 bottle of wine to a place that’s going to charge you $25 for the privilege. That’s counterproductive.
But the marketplace can dictate. And if one of the establishments will allow you to take your favourite wine for a reasonable fee, then I say visit that establishment. Often.
As I explained in last week’s column, I understand restaurateurs need to make a profit to make being in business worthwhile. And a standard 100 per cent mark-up on the products they offer or carry — charging $20 for a $10 wine, for instance — makes sense to me. Charging $40 for a $20 bottle is a little harder to take, but I can suck it up occasionally if I want something great to drink.
However, paying $45 or $50 for that $20 bottle is where I start to get my back up. And I back out. Of going to the restaurant, that is. I can make a decent steak at home. I can control the amount of fat and salt. And I can drink my $20 wine for $20, which really pleases me.
But while it’s nice to go out occasionally, I’m just not interested in paying through the nose to do so. And since dinner specials or discount nights are generally very popular, and often draw large crowds, that indicates to me that cost is a concern for many people.
So I think the bring-your-own-wine notion makes it easier for folks to go out. And they might even do so more frequently if they’re not paying exorbitant prices for alcohol.
One scenario that presented itself when I was doing research on the subject is how much of an impact the bring-your-own-wine notion might have on a restaurant that doesn’t allow it.
If, for example, six couples carrying their own wine go to a place for dinner, and they’re told the establishment doesn’t support the BYOW practice, and they, accordingly, choose to go someplace that DOES allow them to take their own bottles, how much of an effect does that have? Assuming a $25 per person food charge, does the business really want to lose about $300 in food fees, plus another $60 to $90 in corkage fees, because they won’t let people bring their own wine? Methinks not.
But I DO think the will of the people will dictate. If it matters to you to be able to have what you like (many restaurant wine lists are sadly deficient, in my opinion), where you want it, for a price you’re willing to pay, then insist on the service, or go elsewhere.
It’s really as simple as that. If you care about this, let your dollars do the talking. And if that doesn’t work, let your feet do the walking. Out of that restaurant and into a place where you can get a wine service you like, and want, and can now legally have.
It’s up to you. It’s up to all of us.
"You say you want a revolution, well, you know ..."
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition January 21, 2012
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I don’t think I’ve ever really been demanding. Perhaps those closest to me might say differently, but I think I’m reasonably flexible.
Most of the time.
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I don’t think I’ve ever really been demanding. Perhaps those closest to me might say differently, but I think I’m reasonably flexible.
Most of the time.
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