Corkage fees shock diners

Diners wanting to take their own wine to a restaurant should check corkage fees first.

There is no industry standard for fees charged by restaurants to open and serve BYO wine.

Consumers Institute chief executive David Russell said he had been told about a party of wine-buffs who asked if they could bring their own tipple to a "very flash" Queenstown restaurant.

The restaurant agreed - and then stung them $300, or 10 per cent of the estimated value of the wine.

"There was an argument. These were extremely wealthy lawyers."

The restaurant reduced the charge, Mr Russell said.

"It may have been halved, but they still paid way over the top."

He said restaurants could charge what they liked for corkage, "but they aren't allowed to mislead".

If diners did not ask beforehand and there were no obvious signs or figures quoted on the menu, they might have protection under the Consumer Guarantees Act if the restaurant tried to charge, say, $10 to uncork a bottle of wine

"The price must be reasonable."

A quick survey by the Weekend Herald showed a wide variation. Smaller restaurants with only a BYO licence charged nothing or as little as $1 a bottle.

One Auckland city eatery bumps its $5-a-bottle fee up to $7.50 on Fridays and Saturdays.

One Auckland city restaurateur said corkage was about maintaining profitability.

"There is precious little profit left in selling food."

The man, who did not wish to be named, said he decided to enforce corkage rather than raise meal prices.

Alpers Seafood Bar and Grill chef Mike Singh said the restaurant sold its own wine, but the flat-rate corkage charge of $4 a bottle covered the costs of providing chilled buckets and glasses.

Alistair Rowe, the new chief executive of the Restaurant Association, admitted that charges varied quite widely.

He questioned the validity of charging a percentage of the value of wine supplied by diners, since prices would be difficult to assess.

Customers should find out when they made their booking what the charge for corkage was, he said.

"And be prepared to negotiate, especially if there is a large party."

But a $5 or $7 corkage fee was a small proportion of the total cost of a restaurant outing.

"Most people I know are more interested in the ambience, the quality of the food and service, and those sorts of things."

BYO charges

A sample of Auckland corkage fees:

Joyful Garden Restaurant, Pt Chevalier, BYO only - no fee.

Mamma Rosa, Kohimarama, BYO and licensed - $2.50 per head.

Der Metz, Kohimarama, BYO and licensed - $2.50 per head.

Thai Flame, Pakuranga, BYO and licensed - $3 a bottle.

Oh Calcutta, Parnell, BYO and licensed - $3 per head.

Alpers Seafood Bar and Grill, Newmarket, BYO and licensed - $4 a bottle.

Da Vincis, central city, BYO and licensed - $5 a bottle Sun-Thurs, $7.50 Fri-Sat.