501840 Sat Mar 22 20:00:33 -0700 2008 12 22 Quebec (including Montreal) 0 3518533 Do any of you make use of this service? Do many restaurants in Montreal offer this service? What it is is basically a fee a restaurant will charge you for letting you bring your own wine, that they will then serve to you (decant if needed etc..). I think it's a great idea, when you have some nice bottles of wine at home that you would like to enjoy with a good meal in restaurant - because of restaurant markups you usually end up saving a bundle - of course depending on the value of the wine and the corkage fee. Sat Mar 22 20:00:33 -0700 2008 118582 maisonbistro 1 3518563 Restaurants that sell wine are forbidden from serving wines they haven't bought from the SAQ; in other words, Quebec law prohibits their charging or comping corkage. Some restos will do it under the table for people they know, but they risk steep fines and possible loss of their license. IIRC, the law makes an exemption for private parties that completely occupy a separate room. Am aware of only one BYO that charges corkage: Apollo. Sat Mar 22 20:14:10 -0700 2008 3518533 10520 carswell 2 3518820 I believe Maison Bistro was referring to a BYO charging a corkage fee. if this is the case, there is no specific menton of a service fee being prohibited. Referencing the regulations of the Regis des Alcools, des courses, et des jeux, it is clearly states..... "Service permit. 28.1. A restaurant service permit entitles its holder to serve to his patrons or to allow them to consume alcoholic beverages which they bring into his establishment for consumption on the premises at a meal, provided such beverages are not alcohol or spirits. 1986, c. 96, s. 18; 2002, c. 58, s. 10." There is no mention in the regulations of any restriction prohibiting an establishment from charging a service charge for corkage or any other fee relating to serving client provided beer or wine. Please check for yourself if you are convinced otherwise. http://www.racj.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=67&L=1 Sat Mar 22 23:08:58 -0700 2008 3518563 96721 fedelst1 3 3519166 Where does maisonbistro specify that she's asking only about BYOs? Her reference to restaurant markups indicates otherwise. As for your legal sleuthing, you've quoted a section of the Act Respecting Liquor Permits that pertains to restaurants with a serving permit, popularly referred to as a BYO permit. Such restaurants may only serve, may not sell, alcoholic beverages. They are not forbidden from charging corkage, though few do. Restaurants with a sales permit are prohibited from selling or even having on the premises wines or spirits from bottles that do not bear the special SAQ "stamp" affixed to all bottles sold to sales permit establishments. See sections 83 and 84 of the Act Respecting Offences Relating to Alcoholic Beverages. Saying that bottles without the stamp are forbidden in such establishments is tantamount to saying that corkage is not allowed. And the Régie takes the business very seriously, has even been known to go through restaurant waste bins in search of stickerless bottles. Sun Mar 23 07:17:01 -0700 2008 3518820 10520 carswell 4 3519333 Whoa - I didn't mean to start a war. I had read in, I think it was February's Wine and Food, about corkage fees in the US, and how great it was to be able to drink a great bottle of wine in a restaurant without paying the inflated price they charge. Later on, when dining in a semi fancy restaurant I asked the waitress if she knew of restaurants in Montreal that have corkage fees and she told us that many had. When I called to make reservations at Decca 77 about a month ago for my husband's birthday, the guy on the other end thought I was insane. So, I thought I would ask here - but I never really took into consideration the whole BYOB aspect. Sun Mar 23 08:52:09 -0700 2008 3519166 118582 maisonbistro 5 3519429 The sticker thing is intended above all to prevent bars and restos from selling bootleg spirits and was instituted long before corkage became popular in the States. Unfortunately, wine corkage is collateral damage. It'd be great if the government revised the law to make an exception and allow patrons to bring the occasional bottle to a licensed establishment, especially since few if any BYOs serve food that's worthy of a fine, rare wine, but I wouldn't count on it. Sun Mar 23 09:29:33 -0700 2008 3519333 10520 carswell 4 3519861 Exactly, I referenced the BYO permit info in the context of a BYO charging a corkage fee. Which it is entitled to do. As for a Restaurant license, the restaurant can not serve patron provided product under any circumstance. The regulations are all on the site, The label issue sees to be a big one forhtem as it is mentioned multiple times in the regulations. Sun Mar 23 12:49:21 -0700 2008 3519166 96721 fedelst1 1 3518566 because of the "alcool" laws, bylaws and all that jazz, except for BYOW, you cannot have your own bottle at licensed restaurants. Sat Mar 22 20:15:20 -0700 2008 3518533 11828 Maximilien 1 3518581 Les Deux Fours on Bélanger ( which I found on apportezvotrevin.com) charges a $2 corkage fee for a 750ml bottle of wine! I took issue with the waitress on this. I would hate to see this practice spread in Quebec. 'Apportez Votre Vin' in Quebec means no corkage fee! We must enfore it! Sat Mar 22 20:21:38 -0700 2008 3518533 108246 Fatfrank 2 3518773 "I took issue with the waitress on this..." Next time take it up with the manager. The waitress, who I hope informed you in the most professional manner possible, is not responsible for the corkage fee! Sat Mar 22 22:16:53 -0700 2008 3518581 154232 montrealwaitress 2 3519064 Having bragged to people about "no corkage fees in Quebec" in the past, I would share your sense of loss if the practice spread. But from a practical point of view, there's really not much difference between a BYO charging a small corkage fee and one charging slightly more (than a comparable, fully-licensed establishment) for the food. It's just a matter of form. Sun Mar 23 06:12:58 -0700 2008 3518581 10715 rcianci 2 3519229 The last time we went to Les Deux Fours we were charged a corkage fee for our beer. Sun Mar 23 07:45:36 -0700 2008 3518581 48563 mainsqueeze 3 3519355 ...But our bottle of beer did have a cork, though. Sun Mar 23 09:01:39 -0700 2008 3519229 18488 SnackHappy