BC Wine Lover talks BYOW on Public Eye Radio, Sunday 8:45am

Restaurants allowing patrons to bring their own wines is kicking off a public debate

Allowing restaurant patrons to bring their own bottle of wine is just another in a series of hot debates happening around BC's antiquated liquor laws. On Sunday morning, BC Wine Lover has been invited to discuss this issue on the weekly political chat program on CFAX 1070 Radio in Victoria, hosted by Sean Holman.

To listen to the program online, go here.

In addition to our news summary posted yesterday, the Vancouver Sun has added its own report. In "B.C. considers uncorking restaurants with BYOB" we learn that bringing your own wine to a restaurant can result in a hefty corkage fee, in some cases as high as $60 per bottle.

When asked what a reasonable corkage fee would be, (BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association president) Ian Tostenson said the average he's observed in the US is $15-20 per bottle.

Although Tostenson supports the practice, the restaurant industry is split on BYOW, according to Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Atlantic vice-president Luc Erjavec.

"Some really like it, some don't like it at all," he said.

Restaurants can outright refuse patrons who ask to bring in their own wine, even if it is legal. Restaurants that are not fans of BYOW may set higher corkage fees — upwards of $25 per bottle, said Erjavec — to discourage people from bringing their own wine. Other restaurants that favour the practice may use corkage as a marketing tool.

"If it's a slow Tuesday night in February, people will say no corkage fee on bring your own wine to get people into [their] restaurants," said Erjavec, who said the average corkage fee in Canada is $10-15 per bottle.

In Ontario, where BYOW was introduced in 2005, corkage fees can range from nothing up to $60 per bottle.

Mike Bernardo, the sommelier at Vij's restaurant in Vancouver, said he thinks BYOW is "a great idea," especially for patrons who are celebrating a special occasion. However, Bernardo said there are some practices he would want to avoid.

"You could bring something in as long as it's not available on our wine list," he said. "We'd (also) want to avoid having people come in and say 'Oh, here's a $10 bottle of wine because I didn't want to spend much money on it.'"

Bernardo said he would consider charging approximately $30-$50 corkage fee per bottle, although he stressed Vij's would need to look into the matter before setting a fee.

Clearly, there is a lot of discussion to happen yet, including on what constitutes a fair corkage fee for bringing your own bottle.

– post by Mike