Tired of the mark-up

I have a general question: I've read lots of complaints about the markup on wine in restaurants, but can't ever remember seeing a complaint about the markup on beer or liqueurs or other alcoholic drinks.

Those markups are generally the same and often much, much higher than on wine.

Why are people more upset about the markup on wine?

Regards, Bob

Bob,
You are just on the wrong board. If you want rants on beer and whiskey there are other boards that I am sure will accomodate you. Another issue is that restaurants have been marking up whiskey forever. Wine is a fast growing beverage of choice and as we gain knowledge these issues surface. I am fortunate to live in an area where BYO and a reasonable corkage is the norm. The answer to no BYO or excessive corkage ($20 or more) is to never go back to the restaurant.
Walt
Walt

Dave
wrt the theory about pricing glass price vs. wholesale bottle price, then I'd be happier to accept it if they offered a sharp price for the bottle (e.g. $8 a glass or $18 the bottle). If they want to use that justification, then they need to back it up with an attractive per bottle price IMO.

While I think the glass pour rationale is defensible, due to the spoilage issue, the bottle prices I see around town often seem like a gouge to me. For current release wines, $10 or $15 over retail seems reasonable to me, assuming the restaurant uses decent glassware and has a reasonably well-trained server. Of course a lot of places don't even provide that level of service, so a $10 corkage often seems steep to me.

While I think the glass pour rationale is defensible, due to the spoilage issue, the bottle prices I see around town often seem like a gouge to me. For current release wines, $10 or $15 over retail seems reasonable to me, assuming the restaurant uses decent glassware and has a reasonably well-trained server. Of course a lot of places don't even provide that level of service, so a $10 corkage often seems steep to me.

Speaking of service, the restaurant I went to that had white zin for $10 a glass and a VERY extensive wine list (by the glass and by the bottle) needs to spend a little more time training their staff. Our waitress didn't even know what viognier was.

I often find the same wines in the grocery store for 1/3 less or even cheaper! What a rip off!

Ronica, I think this was the source of the initial confusion between you and Jenise. What you said here was that a bottle of wine priced in the restaurant at $30 you could find in the grocery store $20 - 1/3 less. By most standards, as Jenise said, that's considered more than fair and a restaurant with such an enlightened wine pricing policy should be applauded - and visited often. From the subsequent discussion, it sounds like you meant something different than what you actually wrote, though.