Once upon a time I set out to see if any local restaurants offer a “bring your own beverage” service (read: something other than wine). And I can’t find a single one.

Does this exist in Charlotte? If you know, shoot me an email. I need to know more.

What I did find is a lot of BYOW (bring-your-own-wine) policies, a.k.a. corkage fees. This simply means that while these restaurants do allow you to bring in your own bottle(s) of wine from the outside, you’ll mostly likely be faced with a fee to drink it. This fee is typically to cover profits lost by diners not purchasing wine off their in-house list. Fair enough.

I’m no wine drinker, but if you have your own bottle of merlot you’re dying to enjoy, shop your corkage fee options using this list.

Corkbuzz

4950 Ashley Park Lane

Corkage fee: None
Rules: No bottle limit, within reason. All wines welcome.

Sea Level

129 E 5^th Street

Corkage fee: $20
Rules: No bottle limit. All wines welcome.

Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen

2104 South Blvd

Corkage fee: None. Bring your own wine or beer while you cook. (Sign up for a class first!)

Ilios Noche 

8426 Park Road and 11508 Providence Road

Corkage fee: None for first bottle, $10 after that.
Rules: No bottle limit. Prefer that guests not bring wines on their list.

Maverick Rock Taco

1513 Montford Drive

Corkage fee: None for first bottle, $10 after that.
Rules: No bottle limit. Prefer that guests not bring wines on their list.

Nolen Kitchen

2839 Selwyn Avenue

Corkage fee: None for first bottle, $10 after that.
Rules: No bottle limit. Prefer that guests not bring wines on their list.

300 East

300 East Boulevard

Corkage fee: $10
Rules: All wines welcome.

Vapiano

201 S Tryon Street

Corkage fee: $10
Rules: No bottle limit.

Cajun Queen

1800 E 7^th Street

Corkage fee: $10
Rules: All wines welcome. No limit, within reason.

Foxcroft Wine Co.

7824 Fairview Road and 1235 East Blvd, #1

Corkage fee/rules: No outside wine allowed. All bottles priced below $30 purchased in-house have a $10 corkage fee. For wines above $30, there is no corkage fee.

Dogwood Southern Table & Bar

4905 Ashley Park Lane, Suite D

Corkage fee: $15 for 750ml bottles
Rules: No bottle limit. Prefer that guests not bring wines on their list.

Vivace

1100 Metropolitan Avenue, Building E, Suite 100

Corkage fee: $15
Rules: No bottle limit. All wines welcome.

Gallery Restaurant

10000 Ballantyne Commons Parkway

Corkage fee: $15
Rules:  No bottle limit. All wines welcome.

Dressler’s

1100 Metropolitan Avenue, #125 and 8630 Lindholm Drive, 1A

Corkage fee: $15 for 750ml bottles
Rules: No bottle limit. Prefer that guests not bring wines on their list.

Heirloom

8470 Bellhaven Road

Corkage fee: $15
Rules: One bottle per person at the table. All wines welcome.

Kid Cashew

1608 East Boulevard

Corkage fee: $15
Rules: No bottle limit. All wines welcome.

The Cellar at Duckworth’s

330 N Tryon Street

Corkage fee: $15
Rules: No bottle limit and no value stipulation. Bring-your-own-wine selections cannot be wines that are already on the Cellar’s list.

Carpe Diem

1535 Elizabeth Avenue

Corkage fee: $15
Rules: 3 bottle limit. Bottle cannot be over 750ml.

FORK!

20517 N North Street, Cornelius

Corkage fee: $20
Rules: No bottle limit. Bring-your-own-wine selections cannot be wines that are already on their wine list. If you bring in a bottle but still purchase one from that list, the corkage fee is waived.

Zebra Restaurant

4521 Sharon Road

Corkage fee: $20
Rules: No bottle limit. All wines welcome.

Blue Restaurant & Bar

206 N College Street

Corkage fee: $20
Rules: 5 bottle limit. Bring-your-own-wine selections cannot be bottles that are already on Blue’s wine list.

Fiamma

2418 Park Road

Corkage fee: $20
Rules: No bottle limit. All wines welcome.

Reid’s Fine Foods

2823 Selwyn Avenue and 4331 Barclay Downs Drive

Corkage fee/rules: No outside wines allowed. You may purchase a bottle of wine from their store and enjoy it in the restaurant, so long as the bottle costs $25 or more (no corkage fee).

Customshop

1601 Elizabeth Avenue

Corkage fee: $25
Rules: 750ml bottles only. Bring-your-own-wine selections cannot be bottles already on Customshop’s wine list. No bottle limit, within reason.

Sullivan’s Steakhouse

1928 South Boulevard, Suite 200

Corkage fee: $25
Rules: No bottle limit. Prefer that guests not bring wines on their list.

Chima Charlotte

139 S Tryon Street

Corkage fee: $20 per 750ml bottle
Rules: No bottle limit. Bring-your-wine-selections cannot be wines that are already on Chima’s list.

Stagioni

715 Providence Road

Corkage fee: $25. Magnums are $50.
Rules: 2 bottle limit. Bring-your-own-wine selections cannot be bottles that are already on Stagioni’s wine list.

The Summit Room

1531 East Boulevard

Corkage fee: $25
Rules: 750ml bottles only. All wines welcome.

Passion8

1523 Elizabeth Avenue

Corkage fee: $25. $30 during the holidays and Restaurant Week.
Rules: All wines welcome.

Bentley’s

201 S College Street, #27

Corkage fee: $30 per liter
Rules: Bring-your-own-wine selections cannot be bottles that are already on Bentley’s wine list.