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Photo by Jim Graham
Learn how to get the most out of toting your own wine to BYOB restaurants around Pennsylvania and Delaware.
On most Saturday mornings for the past 25 years, Ed Reznick has taken a bottle of northern Italian red wine from his home cellar (most likely a fine Nebbiolo) and met a few friends at Sovana Bistro in Kennett Square. All amateur oenophiles, they enjoy lunch while discussing the merits of each other’s selections. The ritual began in the 1990s, shortly after Sovana opened as a BYOB. “Owner Nick Farrell, who was in the kitchen at the time, came out and looked at our wines and said, ‘Do you mind if I cook for you guys today?’” recalls the retired banker. “And he did—a wonderful meal.”
Earlier this year, Eric Miller arranged for about a dozen members of his wine-tasting group, the Barrel Heads, to have dinner in a private room at Dolce Zola in downtown West Chester. The former co-owner of Chaddsford Winery presided over an evening of tasting that involved several Valpolicella wines from Italy’s Verona region the members had jointly purchased. When he and his family moved from New York to Pennsylvania in 1982 to start Chaddsford Winery, Miller was delighted to find that the region had literally dozens of BYOBs. Indeed, Brandywine Valley newcomers are often amazed to find so many places to eat where they can bring their own wine—including some, like Sovana, with their own wine lists.
“Taking my bottle of choice is guilt-free at a BYOB—and I can have the wine of my choice,” Miller says. “Today, my cellar is thin, but it’s still broader than most wine lists.”
Philadelphia area restaurateur Aimee Olexy owns one of the most famous local BYOBs. Even after 18 years, Talula’s Table in Kennett Square remains one of the most coveted reservations, with just two tables available each evening for a dinner featuring a set menu. Once you do land a table, part of the fun is deciding on wines to match Olexy’s work in the kitchen. “Every night, groups arrive with a very planned wine experience,” she says. “We serve hors d’oeuvres plus eight courses and mignardises [mostly one-bite sweets] at the end. Guests generally bring dozens of bottles to line up with five to eight pairings. I recently had a gentleman who was curious about our white-wine recommendation for a pork dish. He called me to learn more, and I suggested he pair a certain red and a certain white side by side. He had so much fun with it in the end.”
Olexy recommends “bubbles to begin,” plus a dessert wine to end the evening. “[Dessert wines] are often forgotten in the world of dining,” she says. “And they’re so memorable and surprising.”
Why are there so many more BYOBs in Pennsylvania than in Delaware? First, liquor licenses for Pennsylvania restaurants are limited and quite expensive. And in Delaware, restaurants can’t have their own wine list and allow diners to bring their own for a fee, as they can north of the border. If you’re not sure whether a restaurant is a BYOB, we recommend calling in advance.
Most BYOBs charge a corkage fee for providing glasses, opening the bottle and sometimes serving the wine. As markups for wines in restaurants are usually quite pricey, bringing your own is much less expensive. In places that have a wine list but also allow BYOB, sometimes guests may still buy a bottle or two, especially if it’s a large party. “But when a fair corkage is asked—about $25 these days—I’m not so guilted into buying something,” Miller says.
If a restaurant is particularly busy, some diners open bottles in advance or bring along corkscrews. Most restaurants are OK with this, but others aren’t. One attentive member of the wait staff at West Grove’s Twelves Grill & Cafe likes to personally line up glasses and bottles tableside and do the opening and pouring before taking food orders.
The Haven Social in Landenberg has a beautiful bar but no liquor license (the prior owner sold it). But they still offer wine and cocktail service. “People bring the liquor, but we have all the other ingredients and will make cocktails for them,” says Mary Bolt, one of the owners.
Many wine lovers become so enthralled by a good bottle that they want to share it. Doing so makes service more complicated and could negatively impact revenue at the restaurant. But sharing with the staff—ah, that’s another matter. At Sovana, Reznick’s group would regularly offer wine to a young server eager to learn more. That young waiter is now Sovana’s sommelier and manager, Adam Junkins.
“If I thought of it, I always tried to get our wait staff to try the wine—if it was OK with management,” Miller says. “If they drink, they need to know that part of service. It’s also more satisfying to share than keep wine a secret.”
Related: Wine Cellars Are Trending in Brandywine Valley Homes
