Corkage charges

[Innkeeper]

Hi Janeykd, and welcome to the Wine Board. In America corkage fees are usually set firmy by the management. The reason is that have to provide glasses, opener, napkins, etc (known as setups); all of which have to be cleaned and/or laundered. I have been to restaurants from Hawaii to Maine that do not charge corkage, and even provide setups. We don't need the setups as we usually tote our wine tote. These places, though, are admittedly quite rare.

As far as negociating the corkage, it would be best to do this while making a reservation. Once you walk into a place with the known corkage, you are stuck with it. Never and I mean never (a term rarely used) bring a wine into a restaurant that is on their wine card.

All the above refers to restaurants and I guessed you were talking about hotel restaurants. As far as your room is concered, they may still be charging for setups. Avoid this by getting your own wine tote with all the accessories in it.

Please don't go away with one question. We love to answer questions here.