Five Tips to BYOB

1. Bottle should be a limited-release, hard-to-find or otherwise “special.”
2. Bottle should not be on wine list.
3. Tip as if a wine was purchased from the list.
4. Verify restaurant’s policy on BYOB and leaving with unfinished bottles.
5. If possible, buy a bottle off the list as a courtesy, especially with four or more diners.

Your Restaurant; My Bottle
Celebrating a special occasion a restaurant, but want to open that bottle you’ve been cellaring all these years? Once upon a time, this situation would have put you at odds with the restaurateur, who, after all, is the business of selling wine. But as diners become more enthusiastic about their wine choices, customers increasingly want to bring their own bottle.

Nearly 550 restaurants in the Atlanta metro area, out of 2,351 surveyed by www.GoBYO.com, allow patrons to bring their own wine. That’s 23 percent of all restaurants and puts Atlanta seventh on the list of the 10 cities surveyed, ahead of Boston, Washington, and Dallas. Leading the list at nearly 60 percent is San Francisco.

We visited six area restaurants that allow guests to bring bottles and asked them for their views on BYOB. We also requested a signature dish and a wine pairing that’s noton their list.

Muss & Turner’s
1675 Cumberland Pkwy., S.E., Smyrna
770-434-1114
Eclectic Southern
Lunch/Dinner, Tues.-Sat.
$15 corkage fee

With a selection of 50-plus wines with everything from Washington State silvaner to Brazilian pinot noir (most in the $25 to $45 range) co-owner Ryan Turner give diners every reason to explore the multi-faceted world of wine at his restaurant. But he understands when people want to bring in their own wine—or beer for that matter.

“Typically, the people who bring their own bottle want to have a great food and wine experience,” Turner said. “A lot of times, they want to share the wine with me and/or the server….It is not so much they want to negate the tab.”

Signature dish: House-cured charcuterie plate with meats from River View Farms in Ranger, Ga.

Wine pairing: 2006 Linne Calodo, Sticks & Stones, Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah, Paso Robles, Calif.
A perfect combination of fruit, acid and tannins allows you to drink it all night with a hunk of finnochiona or guancalie.

Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails
780 Mayfield Road, Alpharetta
770-817-0161
Southern/New American
Dinner, Daily
$5 corkage fee

“Our job is to make our guests happy,” says manager Jimmy Carter. “Ours is an experiential-type dining. Having them bring in the bottle of wine that’s special to them is really what we’re all about in building the experience.”

In fact, Carter, who is a bit of a wine-hound, enjoys getting a taste of what his customers bring in, but there’s also a practical side to tasting new wines. “We ask that they reserve the manager just a small taste just to see if it is something we might want to bring in the future if our guests are enjoying it.”

Signature dish: Blackened Scallops with pimento-cheese grits topped with tomato and red onion salad tossed in ginger-basil vinaigrette.

Wine pairing: 2008 Trivento Torrontés, Mendoza, Argentina
The crispness and cleanness of this wine not only cuts the creaminess the cheese, but it also melds nicely with the vinaigrette and balances out the blackening of the scallops.

Panahar
3375 Buford Hwy N.E, Atlanta
404-633-6655
Bangladeshi
Dinner, Daily
No charge for corkage

Mirza Chowdhury not only encourages his guests to bring their own bottle, he has no choice. His restaurant does not serve beer or wine.

“The main reason guests like bringing in their beer and wine is not economic,” said Chowdhury. “It is about choice. Even if there was a wine list here, I’m sure there would only be limited choices. This way they are drinking exactly what they like regardless of the cost.”

About two-thirds of Panahar customers bring in their own bottles, said Chowdhury, who often helps customers with their selections over the phone. “I like to suggest food-friendly reds, like malbec, or for whites a chilled [gewürztraminer or a simple liebfraumilch goes with this type of food.”

Panahar re-corks unfinished bottles and puts them sealed bags so patrons can secure it in their vehicle’s trunk, per Georgia law.

Signature dish: Fish Dopiazza—a boneless fish filet sautéed with ginger and garlic, topped with chopped cilantro and grilled onions

Wine pairing: 2006 Gascón Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina

This malbec does not overpower the taste of the fish. In fact, it has flavors that compliment all foods. It has a little has a bit of spiciness and the acidity gives the food a bit of an oomph.

Parish
240 North Highland Ave., Atlanta
404-681-4434
Cajun
Dinner, Daily
No charge for corkage

Parish in Inman Park does not charge a fee for guests to bring in their wine. “We want [guests] to be happy and comfortable and if that means bringing in their preferred bottle of wine, so be it,” said manager and wine buyer Justin Amick.

The drawback to no corkage fee, Amick said, is that about half of the customers do not adhere to the unspoken guideline to tip their server as if they did buy a bottle the from the restaurant.

“The servers are not as excited as I am about the zero corkage, but I like to see what wines they’re binging in, even if it is an inexpensive bottle,” said Amick, who gets a better sense of what diners enjoy with Cajun food.

“Not [every customer] is aware that they are not tipping on the sale of the wine, but on the service, like when special glassware is needed or if the wine needs to be decanted,” Amick said.

Signature dish: Creole Steak—Filet mignon with Pernod creamed spinach, smoked tomato béarnaise and roasted tomato relish.

Wine pairing: 2005 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France
This wine, especially this vintage, has great fruit structure and spicy, herbaceous and licorice tones that go well with the Creole spices. Its moderate tannins and great acidity also cuts through the richness of the spinach, steak and potatoes.

Aria
490 E. Paces Ferry Road, N.E., Atlanta
404-233-7673
American
Dinner, Mon.-Sat.
$25 corkage fee, limit one bottle

Gerry Klaskala wants you to enjoy your time at his restaurant, Aria. If that means bringing in a bottle that’s special for you, then he’s fine with that. He also wants you to know, however, that he has spent years putting together Aria’s wine collection and it is worthy of consideration.

“We put a lot of thought into selecting wines, choosing bottles that pair well with our food and that are not easily found around town,” says long-time Atlanta restaurateur Klaskala. “We think that our wine list is as important as the menu when it comes to our guests’ experience.”

Signature dish: Lobster salad in a creamy tarragon vinaigrette with fennel, green apple and lime

Wine pairing: 2006 Didier Dagueneau, Pur Sang, Pouilly-Fumé, France

This brightly flavored dish pairs incredibly with the structured, rich and creamy palate of the single-vineyard sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley. Citrus notes match the green apple and lime. Its acidity cuts through the creamy tarragon.

Gilbert’s Café & Bar
219 10th St., N.E., Atlanta
404-872-8012
Mediterranean
Dinner, Daily
$10 corkage fee

Gilbert Yeremian and his brother, Sean, welcome guests with their own bottles, but much of his clientele leave the wine selection to the two owners.

“We spend hundreds of hours working on our wine list,” Gilbert Yeremian said. “We encourage our guests to bring their own wine, if they have a special reason, but at the same time they know they’re going to find something on our list that they like.”

The only type of wine the Yeremians don’t carry are those that hold great sentimental meaning. “We actually get a lot of proposals made right here,” Gilbert said. “Bringing in a wine [to commemorate] something like that makes sense.”

Guests at Gilbert’s get a lot for their $10 corkage fee. “We are on the casual level, but if the wine is special or significant, I do have a second-tier of glassware that we are happy to bring out.”

Signature dish: Grilled Lamb tenderloin with herb-roasted red potatoes and sautéed vegetables

Wine pairing: 1997 Opus One, Oakville, Calif.

A classic combination of lamb and a Bordeaux-style blend.