What is a corkage fee?
A corkage fee is a per-bottle charge a venue adds for opening and serving wine a client brings in themselves, rather than buying from the venue's beverage list. It typically runs $15–40 per bottle and covers the pouring labour, glassware and part of the beverage margin the venue loses when guests don't buy on-site.
The name comes from the cork: the fee is charged for the venue "corking" — opening and serving — a bottle it didn't sell.
Why venues charge it.
Beverage sales are one of a venue's highest-margin lines. When a client supplies their own wine — a special vintage, a case from the family cellar, a bulk buy that beats the venue's markup — the venue still provides the service around it: chilling, opening, pouring, fresh glassware, and clearing. The corkage fee recovers that labour and offsets the lost sale. It is charged per bottle actually opened, so clients aren't billed for what stays sealed.
Rates vary by venue tier and region, but $15–40 per bottle is the common band; upscale venues at the top of it, casual halls at the bottom. Some venues cap how many bottles may be brought, or restrict it to wine only (no spirits or beer). Others prohibit bring-your-own entirely — either because they want the beverage revenue, or for liquor-licence reasons that make outside alcohol a compliance risk. And on larger bookings, corkage is often a negotiation chip: a venue may waive or discount it to win a high-value event, or fold a corkage allowance into a package.
A corkage fee is not the same as a bar package or a bar minimum. A bar package is the venue selling its own drinks at a flat per-guest or per-hour price; corkage applies specifically to alcohol the client supplies. The common mistake is assuming BYO wine always saves money — at $30 a bottle in corkage, a modestly priced wine can end up costing about the same as buying from the venue's list, so it only pays off for bottles the client genuinely values or already owns.
Example: A couple brings 24 bottles of a special vintage to their reception. The venue charges $25 corkage per bottle opened; 20 bottles are poured, so corkage is 20 × $25 = $500. The four unopened bottles carry no charge and go home with the couple.
- Bar package — the venue's own flat-priced beverage bundle, the alternative to BYO
- Cake cutting fee — the equivalent charge for an outside-supplied cake
- Service charge — how service overhead is billed on the wider event
- Full banquet & catering glossary
Corkage fee — common questions.
How much is a typical corkage fee?
Is corkage always allowed?
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