Wine Peeps is an independent wine blog dedicated to helping you get the most bang for your buck in wine. We do this through blind tastings of wine from around the world and calculations of 
Wine Word of the Week: Corkage
By Kori ~ August 28th, 2008.
This week’s Wine Word of the Week is corkage.
Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Corkage is the charge customarily levied in a restaurant for each bottle of wine brought in and consumed on the premises rather than bought from the restaurant’s own selection. The term is derived from the fact that the number of corks pulled represents the number of bottles consumed. There is considerable variation in the amount charged, and the grace with which the practice is accepted.
Layman’s terms from Kori:
Corkage is the fee charged by a restaurant when a patron brings in their own bottle to consume instead of ordering off of the restaurant’s wine list. Whether the practice is allowed and if so, the amount charged, varies from restaurant to restaurant. Be sure to call ahead before bringing a bottle to a restaurant to verify their policies. Even for restaurants that allow patrons to bring their own wine, only wines that are not already on the restaurant’s wine list will be allowed.
Filed under: Wine Word of the Week
