B.Y.O. Wine in Raleigh Restaurants

B.Y.O. wine…that’s ‘bring your own wine’ which is not a new concept. But it’s one that is being embraced in Raleigh restaurants and  especially in this economy.  And just so you know us North Carolinians are special…you can’t do this in some other places like our neighboring state of Virginia.

The first time I personally experienced the modified BYOB concept (bring your own wine) was years ago in Cape May, New Jersey. Every night we were there, we went out and brought our favorite bottle of wine. And at the time we liked Kendall Jackson Chardonnay which is a very common wine they sell everywhere in grocery stores. No problem!…at Cape May restaurants it’s an open rule that you can bring your own wine and they will chill it, pop the cork for you and pour it in their glass. That’s what I’m talking about! And by the way, they have some great seafood restaurants up there. My favorite seafood dish of all times was served at a restaurant called Tisha’s. They even gave us as a parting gift, a really nice canvas wine bag with their artwork and logo on it that I’ve kept all these years as memory.

Where can you bring your own wine in Raleigh? Almost every restaurant. But you want to call in advance just to make sure. Most will just charge you a corkage fee like $10-$25. Keep in mind to only bring wine they don’t serve at the restaurant. Because if they serve it, they obviously won’t let you bring your own.  Chances are that wouldn’t happen with the thousands of wines out there being corked daily… but don’t say I didn’t tell ya!

What’s the value?  The cost of wine at a restaurant can easily start at $30 a bottle. For me a nice bottle of wine costs around the $15 mark. So if I bring my own, that’s saving half right there. And if you have guests in your party then you’ll probably have several bottles opened, so the savings is even greater.  A regular size bottle of wine usually serves 3-4 glasses so one bottle is really only enough for 2-3 people.

If you’re like many scrambling to get your taxes done, and even better are due a return, this would be a great way to celebrate!

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Category: Raleigh Restaurants