Bring Your Own Bottle: Can you bring your own wine to the restaurant?

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What is common in other countries such as the USA and Canada is relatively rare in Switzerland. We’re talking about BYOB, or Bring Your Own Bottle, which is exactly what it means. For a small fee, also known as tap, guests can bring their own wine when visiting the restaurant.

So why not order a wine from the wine list? The reasons for bringing your own bottle can be varied: Maybe the wine list is limited, or you want to drink your favorite wine that’s not on the wine list.

Your own wine in the restaurant

Among wine enthusiasts, tastings are also possible where each person brings a bottle of wine with a particular theme (e.g. Bordeaux of the 1982 vintage). Another reason may be the excessive prices on the wine list, where guests prefer to bring their own wine.

Fees from Swiss restaurants that already allow BYOB are typically between 25 and 40 francs per 0.75-litre bottle. For all other restaurants, it’s worth calling ahead to see if you’re allowed to bring your own wine bottles and, if so, how much the tap fee is.

Even if you can bring your own bottle of wine to the restaurant, it’s still good manners to order something small from the wine list. For example, a glass of white or sparkling wine as an aperitif. Another nice gesture is to offer the cook a small glass of the wine you brought with you.

Source : Blick