BRING YOUR OWN WINE to the restaurant

Bring your own bottle of wine and open it in the restaurant? Now you can, thanks to the "Cork Fee" concept. Bring Your Own ("BYO") is the name of a curious practice that has recently appeared in the wine and food service world. The idea? To sample your own wine in the restaurant, with the restaurateur's agreement. Started in Australia, and very popular in the UK, the BYO concept has landed in Belgium. Throughout the country, some 40 restaurants have already converted to the system. The customer can therefore bring their own wine to the table.

In return, you pay the restaurateur a cork fee of at most €15. A bargain for both parties. Certain establishments set the bar much lower, or even authorise this alternative free of charge.

The list of BYO restaurateurs, which will probably lengthen in the months to come, can be found on the http://www.droitdebouchon.be/ website.

A website that, for each restaurant, provides a detailed description and a broad range of advice for matching the wine to the dishes served at that restaurant.