Corkage fee - is it appropriate to negotiate?

Our venue charges $20 per bottle if we bring our own, but if we bring a case, fee goes to $10. You could ask if they have a volume discount.

I've seen corkage fees a lot with brought in alcohol. It's almost way more affordable to let them supply. I would definitely try to talk them down, I don't see the harm.

If you're still searching for venues, look for one that just lets you bring in your own alcohol. You can save a ton of money that way.

Corkage fees cover many things.....

1) They lose the sale of the wine on their list

2) Their staff still pour the wine that they are not selling

3) The wine will be served in their glassware which will need to be washed and some may get broken or disappear

4) The wine brought in, from outside, will still need to be covered under their liquor liability policy

You can ask if they are willing to negotiate the price, but they have set their price based on their costs of doing business.

Hi everyone -- thank you for your input! I wish we could find a venue that lets us bring our own alcohol in, we certainly have tried.

I will ask if there is a discount on the fee for bringing in by the case, that is something I never thought of, thanks Natalie.

Kathy -- excellent points, I totally understand and respect a corkage if you're not buying their wine, but in this case I am buying their wine but drinking mine instead

We will be paying for a hosted bar the whole night (fee per hour, per head, not a consumption bar) so we're already paying them for their wine, to cork it, to pour it, etc, but we would not even be using theirs! It seems like they should waive the corkage in that circumstance but the places we have talked to so far don't see it that way.

I am confused by the statement that you are paying them for their wine, but not using it...using what you bring instead.

All you can do is ask. They , then, have the option of saying yes or no.

If I pay for the hosted bar, I am paying for the house wine for my guests, along with vodka, beer, etc. The fee I pay includes unlimited alcohol for my guests. Therefore, I am paying for the wine. However, my guests won't be drinking that wine, since they will drink the wine I bring instead, but I am still paying the same fee per person for open bar, even if no one drinks from it. Does that make sense?

Yeah, that makes some sense. I still do not see them waiving or reducing the corkage fee, but you won't know unless you ask. :-)

Have you selected the wines that you want to serve, yet? I am in the wine business so I am always interested in what wines people are enjoying.

My best friend did this at her wedding - they were specific about the wine they wanted - so they brought it. They spent quite a bit on the wine, and then full corkage fee - even though they had paid for open bar for the night.

They also had to pay an upcharge for the use of a separate keg of beer - they didn't like the beer choices the venue had - so they asked, and ordered their own, and then paid a premium for the bar to "use" the beer they bought over the venue beer...

Wedding prices and expectations can be strange - but if you ask - the worst they can say is no.

Why don't you see if they'll purchase the wine you're looking for and then serve it? I work PT for a wedding caterer and we do that all the time!

We have some Wines from a winery in paso robles (Booker) that our friends and we really enjoy that we want to have, a Chateau Neuf for the father of the groom and his wife, and maybe some bottles from wineries we are members at that don't sell to distributors (Carhartt in Los Olivos, or Seal Beach Winery). We asked another location if they could get Borsao Tres Picos Grenache for us to use as the house wine (cost is about $12 per bottle, and is distributed by Henry Wine Group) but they said they tried and couldn't get it so they would take the corkage down to $10 at that location, unfortunately they were out of our budget and we couldn't book with them. Great idea to ask them, thanks Remdgmillionaire!

Odd that they couldn't get the Borsao, but Henry Wine Group may be out and waiting for their container to arrive. Alas, that does happen.

I have not heard of Booker...I will have to check them out.

Love a good Chateuneuf. Gigondas is also nice. Neither are cheap, but oh so good.

The things we do for our parents

Booker is fabulous, definitely check out! We had their Vertigo (a GSM blend) on our first date, and so we will be having a bottle of that at our table!

Cool, I will definitely check them out.

I can understand your frustration and certainly think it is worth asking for a discount for cases. We are providing all local wine Central Coast wine for our wedding. We are members at Carhartt and Refugio Ranch in Los Olivos and were able to negotiate deals on wine through them, luckily we do not have a corkage fee.

Ali where is your wedding going to be?

It is not inappropriate to negotiate. You might not get anywhere, but it doesn't hurt to try.