In Israel, there’s an underused practice that could save you a lot of money when eating out and drinking wine. In the United States and in Europe, it’s very common to be able to bring your own wine to a restaurant. The price you pay a restaurant for the privilege of bringing your own bottle is commonly called “corkage". It’s a great way of saving money as a diner and insuring that you have a wine you like with dinner.
There are some ground rules for corkage that you should understand before you try it for the first time. First, if you can, it’s best to call ahead to the restaurant to see if they have a corkage policy. As it’s less common in Israel than overseas, the waiting staff might not be familiar with it, so you might have to work your way on the phone to the manager or owner before you get a firm answer -yea or nay. The other reason for calling is to check how much they charge and to negotiate that in advance. You don’t really want to do it as you walk in the door. Additionally, you should check if they have the wine you’re bringing on the wine list. One of the reasons corkage is allowed is so you can have a wine you want that evening regardless of where you decide to eat. It is considered
ill-mannered to insist on bringing a wine that the restaurant already serves.  If you’re lucky, the restaurant has its wine list online, but that’s far less common in Israel than in the Diaspora.
Why do restaurants charge you at all for opening your wine? Well, they are running a business and their wine sales are part of how they pay their bills. There’s also a certain amount of glass breakage, and cleaning and polishing wine glasses is labor intensive. That being said, the restaurants in Israel that do have corkage policies tend to have reasonable rates. Typically, the average is NIS 25 to NIS 35 per bottle, with some being less and some being excessively more.
When I plan wine events throughout Israel, I first investigate the restaurants’ corkage policy to gauge how easy they might be to work with. If you plan ahead on Sunday through Tuesday, some restaurants will even waive corkage fees altogether if everyone drinking is ordering a meal. They want to fill seats on slow nights to pay the staff and cover other expenses. On busy nights, however, they’re not apt to waive corkage when there could be other people filling those seats who might even buy wine at their inflated wine list prices - though in Israel some eateries have far lower mark-ups on wine than in the U.S.
Sometimes, on a whim, I’ll grab a good bottle and meet up with friends in a neighborhood restaurant and just negotiate my way to no or little corkage on a slow night.  I have no expectations in Israel to get away with that on a Wednesday or Thursday night, the two busiest dinner nights in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, especially at kosher restaurants that aren’t open Friday night and open late, if at all, on Saturday night, an hour after Shabbat ends.
Some restaurants will have excessive corkage fees as a way of saying that you can bring your bottle but you’re going to pay through the nose to do it. They may charge NIS 50-100 a bottle, or even charge you by the person. This can really add up.  At NIS 50 per person, the corkage can cost you almost as much as your entree. At those prices I wish they would simply say they don’t allow corkage rather than insult people’s sense of fair play.
Another reason for corkage and why some diners do it from time to time is not only to save money, but to really make a dinner special. You might have been saving a particular bottle for a special occasion and don’t want to be limited to drinking it at your home or when invited to dine with friends. If such is the case, mentioning it to the staff is a way to soften or waive their fees if they’re at all hospitable - but they might be suspicious if you celebrate your birthday more than once a year.
So how much money can you save by bringing your own bottle out to eat?  A bottle that costs NIS 100 in a wine store might cost NIS 175- 250 in a restaurant. If you paid NIS 35 in corkage fees you would save NIS 40-115 per bottle, which could cover the cost of an entree or dessert for two. And although I enjoy trying new wines at festivals and wineries, trying new wines at restaurant prices is an expensive price to pay to satisfy my curiosity, when I’m concerned with just satisfying my appetite.

UPCOMING WINE FESTIVALS

Beersheva Wine Festival

September 14 & 15 (18:30 to Midnight)

Negev Museum NIS 50

15th Annual Israel Wine Fair

September 21 & 22

Eretz Museum

Ramat Aviv NIS 59

Raanana Wine Festival

October 26 & 27

Park Raanana NIS 60

Judean Hill Wineries

From November 3 onwards

Various Events

Kibbutz Tzora & elsewhere