As wine enthusiasts and gourmands alike know, the right bottle can significantly enhance a dining experience. While many restaurants offer extensive wine lists, sometimes you may wish to bring a particular vintage from your own collection. This is where the concept of Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) comes into play.

However, bringing your own bottle to a restaurant isn&#39;t as simple as just walking in with it under your arm. There are certain etiquettes that need to be followed &ndash; after all, you wouldn&rsquo;t walk into an eatery carrying your own chicken! Here&rsquo;s everything you need to know about making the most out of BYOB while respecting both restaurant policies and good manners.

1. Call Ahead or Check Corkage Policies:

Before planning on bringing your own bottle, call ahead or check online if the restaurant allows it at all. Many establishments have their corkage policy listed on their website; also check the CorkRules app as we&rsquo;ve begun collecting that information.

2. Understand What Corkage Entails:

Corkage refers to the fee charged by restaurants when guests bring their own wine bottles instead of purchasing from them directly - essentially charging for opening and serving someone else&#39;s beverage within their establishment.

This cost varies widely depending upon location and type of venue but typically ranges between $10-$75 per bottle.

3. Look at Wine List Beforehand:

One unwritten rule about BYOB is not bringing something already available on the restaurant&#39;s menu &ndash; this can be perceived as disrespectful towards their curated selection.

Therefore always look over an establishment&rsquo;s wine list before deciding what you will carry along. If the wine you are brought is on the list, buy the wine from the restaurant.

4. The Age Factor Matters:

Typically older wines which have been aged appropriately are preferred when opting for BYOB because they might not be readily available in most restaurants due its high storage costs involved in ageing wines properly.

5. Bring a Bottle, Buy a Bottle:

A polite way to approach BYOB is by also purchasing a bottle from the restaurant&#39;s list. This not only supports their business but can lead to an exciting opportunity for pairing different wines with your meal. You could also consider pre/post cocktails as well.

6. Don&rsquo;t Bring Cheap Wine:

While there&rsquo;s no need to break the bank, it&rsquo;s generally considered bad form to bring very cheap wine when opting for BYOB. The idea behind bringing your own bottle is usually about sharing something special that isn&#39;t readily available in most restaurants.

7. Share Your Wine:

If you have brought along an exceptional or unusual vintage, consider offering a taste of it to the sommelier or chef if they are interested. They will appreciate this gesture and may even provide additional insights into its characteristics.

8. Tip Generously:

When calculating gratuity at the end of your meal, be sure to tip as though you had purchased the wine directly from them assuming service was good. After all, staff still took time and effort serving and attending on your brought beverage just like any other drink ordered off their menu.

&nbsp;

BYOB offers patrons an avenue through which they can personalize their dining experience while enjoying some of their favorite vintages in new settings. However remember - with privilege comes responsibility; therefore always ensure that you&#39;re being respectful towards both establishment policies and general etiquette when deciding on bringing along your own bottle! #drinkwhatyoulove

As wine enthusiasts and gourmands alike know, the right bottle can significantly enhance a dining experience. While many restaurants offer extensive wine lists, sometimes you may wish to bring a particular vintage from your own collection. This is where the concept of Bring Your Own Bottle (BYOB) comes into play.

The Art of BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) to Restaurants: Etiquette, Tips and Guidelines

Wines from grapes grown in higher altitude areas with cooler climate has become quite the trend recently. This specific growing environment gives intense flavor but elegance and freshness to the final wines. To highlight and champion these conditions more and more winemakers are starting to use alto as a marketing and labelling term to show their grapes were grown in high altitude vineyards.

Decoding the wine label: Alto

Brut is a word often seen on labels for different kinds of sparkling wine. As you may have discovered when drinking these wines, it indicates that the wine is dry, meaning there is no perceived sweetness in the wine. But how about Extra Brut or Dry, what do they mean and are they the same as Brut?

Decoding the wine label: Brut

Semi-sweet Riesling, a type of wine falling out of style. It’s a shame, since these wines are perfect to pair with flavorful cuisines like Asian or Mexican, or simply drink as they come under the summer sun. The higher level of sugar left in the wine also means that the alcoholic fermentation was stopped before finishing, providing a wine with lower alcohol level and therefor easier grabbing a second glass of.

Decoding the wine label: Spätlese

Have you ever heard the word Xinomavro? Most have not. It is however a word on many sommeliers’ lips today, as it happens to be considered the grape variety with the highest quality in Greece, and one that is trending at the moment. The fact that Greece have been making wine for a long time comes as no surprise, but they have never exported an amount to make sure wine lovers around the globe tried it. With the growing wine tourism many have discovered these wines and are serving them in wine bars and restaurants in many countries today.

Decoding the wine label: Xinomavro

Chianti Classico, Valpolicella Classico, Soave Classico… Why do all these Italian wine regions have the Classico addendum and what does it mean? What is the difference for wines labeled as Classico?

Classico is a wine term in Italy seen on a few wine labels and it indicates that the wine’s from the historic center of the region, the heart. Using Chianti and Chianti Classico and their Sangiovese-based red wines as an example, Chianti is a rather large wine district within the Tuscany region. Chianti Classico is located withing Chianti as the central part and the one that originally existed. Back then this smaller region was actually called Chianti, but as the region grew the quality of the wine plummeted and the well-known characteristics of these red wines were watered down. The reputation took a hit and sales diminished. Eventually this led to the creation of Chianti Classico, which would be drawn from the original Chianti borders to recover the typicity of these wines. Today the quality of both Chianti and Chianti Classico have risen a lot due to modern techniques and knowledge about pruning, planting and temperature control in the winery.

Decoding the wine label: Classico

In the rarefied world of fine wine, where bottles can command prices equivalent to luxury cars, authenticity is everything. Laurent Ponsot's gripping memoir "FBI: Fake Bottle Investigation" reads more like a high-stakes thriller than a traditional wine book, chronicling his relentless pursuit of one of the wine world's most infamous counterfeiters, Rudy Kurniawan.

From Burgundy's Vineyards to the FBI's Most Wanted: A Winemaker's Quest for Justice

Chablis – one of the more popular styles of wine today and a region known by many. Most are familiar with the word Chablis and the light, fresh white wine with a touch of minerality it brings. Even though it’s a renowned wine, few knows what it really is.

Decoding the wine label: Chablis

Many grape varieties around the world of wine have names local to the region or country they’re grown in, even though they’re exactly the same. The most famous example would be Syrah in France where the same grape is named Shiraz in Australia. Another variety with two names is Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Gris.

Decoding the wine label: Pinot Grigio

Have you ever seen the term sur lie on a wine label? It’s not a grape and not a wine region, but a winemaking method used to give certain styles of white wine a rounder texture and a more complex flavor profile.

Decoding the wine label: Sur lie

Electric Lemon

Grace Hood

Electric Lemon

RT: Hello and welcome to CorkRules! A podcast where, in each episode, we will review a wine list from your favorite restaurants. I&rsquo;m your host Robert Tas along with Grace Hood, wine educator and certified sommelier. Hello Grace, it&rsquo;s great to have you!

GH: Have wine will chat!

RT: Hahaha totally Before we jump in, let&rsquo;s talk about CorkRules. We created CorkRules to demystify wine list&rsquo;s because we know from experience, that sometimes when we get that list handed to us, well&hellip; it can be intimidating, and even a little daunting. Our aim is to help prepare you to navigate that list, find those hidden gems, or value wines or that special bottle that will take your dining experience over the top.

So, sit back and listen as we review your favorite wine list. So, Grace today we are chatting about Electric Lemon, located in the Equinox hotel - initial thoughts?

GH: Totally! So, their whole thing is American cuisine celebrating the mid-Atlantic. I was interested to take a dive into this concept!

RT: Love it! So where do we start on the wine list?

GH: So, one wine that caught my eye on the sparkling list was this Brut Rose from the island of Tasmania in Australia! Now you might be thinking - Grace, Tasmania? Like the devil? HA! But on the real Tasmania makes lovely wine - they&rsquo;re so far down south that they produce lovely cool climate wines.

RT: Wow I wouldn&rsquo;t even guess that small places like that produced wine. Another great geographical lesson. Now, what are you thinking for whites?

&nbsp;GH: On the whites, if you want something on the lighter side, I would go with the 2016 Eric Morgan Savineires, which is chenin blanc from the Loire valley. Going to be a fun alternative to Loire&#39;s other famous white grape, sauvignon blanc. Chenin blanc will still have that nice acidity to it but have some more lush citrus elements to it. And then if you wanted to go with a richer style white, I would do the 2017 Lingua Franca Chardonnay from Willamette Valley, which is made by the legendary producer Larry Stone, known as the king of pinot noir! I got to meet him at a wine lunch in Vail a few years ago and he was just so sweet and humble.

RT: Life&rsquo;s tough when you&rsquo;re Grace Hood!

GH: Hahaha it&rsquo;s true I do get to meet some incredible people in my line of work, including you, Robert!

RT: Oh, you flatter me Grace. Now, what are you thinking for reds?

GH: Oooo so one red that really stuck out to me was this 2011 Figli Ruigli Barolo, which is Nebbiolo made in north Italy. Being a pinot noir fan also means that I&rsquo;m a big Nebbiolo girl, as they both are fabulous lighter style reds. And an 11-year-old Barolo is going to be oh so delicious. Now if you were wanting a heavier red, I would go with the 2007 Cain Five Vineyard red blend from Spring Mountain. In Napa, you basically can divide where the grapes come from in two categories - valley floor fruit and mountain fruit. Valley floor fruit are going to be those vineyards you see when you&rsquo;re driving around Napa - smack dab in the middle of the mountains, getting tons of sun exposure and therefore leading to a more tannic and structured wine. As opposed to mountain fruit which is grown up in the hillsides under the brush and the trees aka in a lot more shade which will give you a lusher so` rounder mouth feel. I personally prefer mountain fruit because I like a rich, inky, velvety, sexy style of red.

RT: Oh wow what a great point. Valley floor versus mountain. Totally makes sense. Now Grace what are you thinking for some budget wines and some baller wines?

GH: For whites, I&rsquo;m giving y&rsquo;all two white Burgundies! Budget burg is going to be the premier cru chablis from Daniel Dempt, and the baller burg is going to be the Pouilly-Fuisse from Domaine Leflaive. And then on the red side we&rsquo;re staying in France - and I&rsquo;m recommending the 2019 Bourgogne from Domaine Michel Gros, and then you&rsquo;re special occasion wine will have the 2005 mouton Rothschild!

RT: Amazing! Thank you so much Grace for helping us navigate the Upland wine list. To our audience, thank you all for joining us here on CorkRules. If you would like us to review one of your favorite restaurants, please send us email to: Info@corkrules.com or visit our web website where we have a request form available and we will do our best to get it in the queue as quickly as possible. We are looking forward to being with you on another CorkRules episode soon.

In the meantime, please check out our website for other episodes of your favorite restaurant wine lists. Follow us on social media @corkrules and @wineswithgrace.

&nbsp;And finally, drink what you love and please make sure you drink responsibly.

Thank you.

End

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CorkRules application allows you to discover wines at your favorite restaurants, learn with friends and be confident with price transparency. Order wine with confidence at restaurants and retailers. Get personalized recommendations. #DrinkWhatYouLove

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