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taiPei uncorkedBYOBTips for bringing your own wine“Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn,old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read”.- Francis BaconMark L. PetersonWe wine and food loverssometimes take BYOB( B r i n g Yo u r O w nBottle) for granted. Weknow what it means, but do we playby the rules? They are unwritten, butknowing and playing by them canget us bonus points at our favoritedining establishments. Just keep inmind that BYOB is a privilege, not aright, and like all privileges, they arenot created equally. Here are a fewtips to help us all become responsibleBYOBrs.Don’t Bring Plonk - Rememberthat whole privilege thing? Bybringing cheap generic wine to arestaurant, you are basically lettingthe restaurant know that you don’treally think much of them, theircuisine or their clientele for thatmatter. A lesser wine might fly atlocal eateries, but if you are dining ina decent restaurant, make an effortto ensure that the wine you bringis in line with the restaurant’s pricelevel but make sure you don’t bring awine that is on their wine list. Thatdoesn’t mean you have to spend aton of money, but remember you areSAVING money by bringing yourown wine. So, splurge a bit andat least get something that doesn’tadvertise you as a cheapskate,disingenuous or uncaring of theefforts of the establishment.Offer Your Server a Taste - Notall servers are interested in wine,but I have found that most are. Byoffering them a taste of your wine,perhaps with a few points aboutwhy you brought it, why it pairswith the food and why it’s drinkingwell, you can establish a rapportwith your server, and perhaps themanager or owner. That rapportgenerally pays rich dividends inthe form of reduced or ‘forgotten’corkage fees, the magical appearanceof better glassware, or discounts onor exclusive access to some hiddengems in the wine cellar. By provingthat you are an affable wine loverand anxious to share your wineexperience with the world, you cancreate the impression that you arebringing something to the restaurantwith each visit, whether it be staffeducation, your individual ambianceor introducing your friends asnew customers. The point is, therestaurant will begin to see you as anasset, not a liability.Don’t Be a Weekend-only User -Your favorite restaurant is doing youa favor by allowing you to BYOB,so why don’t you repay them oncein awhile? Restaurants are open onslow nights because they need themoney to pay the bills and the staff.Why not plan a nice BYOB dinnerout with friends during one of theslower nights of the week? Lookat it this way: you’ll have a morerelaxing evening without the rush ofa full restaurant. Your server willbe more attentive to you, and youcan reciprocate. Your generositywill stand out and be rememberedby the staff, and they are more likelyto ‘forget’ the corkage, or maybe afew desserts, that should have beenadded to the bill. My favorite nightsfor BYOB’s are Sunday, Wednesdayand Thursday evenings, when manyrestaurants are slow and the stafftends to be a bit less overwhelmed.Be Generous - I have a few favoritespots were I BYOB frequently. Somecharge me corkage irregularly, othersregularly do not charge me. What’sthe difference? Mainly the frequencyof my visits, but also the rules that Iplay by. When I BYOB, a restaurantpretty much knows they’re givingup that table for the night, and sodoes the service staff. I’ve come in,saved money by bringing my ownwine and taken potential tips off thetable. The only reasonable thing todo is to tip some of that cash backinto the waiters’ pockets. Everybodyis a winner in that case. Waiters willlove you because they’ve made themoney they expected to make withless effort than if they had to turnthe table. Owners love you becausetheir wait staff is happy to work onslower nights knowing the BYOBguy is coming in. And you’re happybecause you’re getting great service!I come from a restaurantbackground and worked the front ofthe house as well as the kitchen, yet Ihave not even mentioned the kitchenstaff. We frequently forget aboutthe staff working in one-hundreddegreeheat preparing our food forus. I regularly bring multiple bottlesof wine to my BYOB dinners. Oncemy group has shared the wines, Isuggest to the restaurant that thekitchen staff (and specifically thechef) might want to taste somethingspecial. It is a small gesture andgenerally refused, but you neverknow when the thoughtfulness willbe rewarded. It’s also the rightthing to do and builds a camaraderiebetween you and your favorite diningdestination.Mark loves to hear from you with all your questions concerning the world of wine andspirits. Feel free to email him at: mark.vinvinowine@gmail.com or visit his informative siteat www.vinvinowine.asia.16march 2012 www.communitycenter.org.tw