The Corkage Phenomenon
Brandon MarcFor those of you who aren’t familiar with the concept of `corkage´, allow me to explain… If a restaurant or even a bar allows corkage, it means that patrons of the locality are allowed to bring their own bottle/bottles of wine with them paying a small fee per bottle opened.
Growing up and living most of my life in South Africa, I always assumed the rather genius idea of corkage was a global one. I was wrong. Just recently I discovered to my dismay that here in Sweden the concept of corkage does not exist! I started wondering if Sweden was just a rare anomaly, or if South Africa was one of the only countries that support this wondrous idea?
There could be no better way to find out than to ask YOU. So I put the question to the global online community: Where else in the world is this phenomenon of corkage found? Please post your answers as comments below for all of My Wine Cellar to see!
Cheers!
Brandon Marc
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Comments
Brandon Marc (Who am I?) Hi Geozel!
The short answer is that screw caps can be very practical and in many cases do keep wine for longer than natural cork… but for more info read my article entitled ‘Put a Cork in it!’
http://www.brandonmarc.com/put-a-cork-in-it
Brandon Marc
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Corkage is possible in the UK but not common primarily because restaurants make such a huge profit (markup 200% 300%+ of retail price.
Some small restaurants without license to serve alcohol welcome it, but trying to find a decent restaurant allowing corkage is an ongoing problem when we want to have an offline.
South Africa is very generous with corkage; I doubt there is anywhere else so welcoming of it or who charge so little (or nothing)
Really great to visit a winery, buy a wine and be able to have it with dinner that evening in a restaurant.
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Brandon Marc (Who am I?) Yes, it does seems like South Africa is rather generous when it comes to corkage. My friends here in Sweden still laugh at me when I explain the concept to them!
And you said it Peter, there is nothing quite like selecting a bottle of wine (which you have personally tasted and approved) straight from the cellar and sharing it (the wine and perhaps even the experience) with friends over dinner!
I certainly look forward to being in the land of corkage at the end of the year!
Brandon Marc
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How do you feel about screwcaps? Is it true that they can keep wine for longer?