Sharing Wine with the Kitchen

[Raoul Duke]

Occasionally the little woman and I get dinner out, and since we're in a wine producing area, we take a bottle, or two, with us. Generally good stuff. I frequently have wine remaining after dinner, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, that for the sake of driving do not want to finish. I usually send this to the kitchen staff. Is this in bad taste or is it appreciated? Mind you this is beyond the tip for service. I have second thoughts about doing this sometimes, but write it off as my paranoia. I'd like to hear opinions on this.

Raoul

[andrewB]

Occasionally the little woman and I get dinner out, and since we're in a wine producing area, we take a bottle, or two, with us.  Generally good stuff. I frequently have wine remaining after dinner, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, that for the sake of driving do not want to finish.  I usually send this to the kitchen staff.  Is this in bad taste or is it appreciated?  Mind you this is beyond the tip for service.  I have second thoughts about doing this sometimes, but write it off as my paranoia.  I'd like to hear opinions on this.

Raoul

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it's always appreciated in the kitchen...

[naes]

Occasionally the little woman and I get dinner out, and since we're in a wine producing area, we take a bottle, or two, with us.  Generally good stuff. I frequently have wine remaining after dinner, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, that for the sake of driving do not want to finish.  I usually send this to the kitchen staff.  Is this in bad taste or is it appreciated?  Mind you this is beyond the tip for service.  I have second thoughts about doing this sometimes, but write it off as my paranoia.  I'd like to hear opinions on this.

Raoul

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I'd say it's almost expected.

[Marky Marc]

I can't think of many people in the industry that would turn down free booze.

[DutchMuse]

I often take wine to a restaurant for those that allow BYOB. Frequently, we will share with both the server and the chef(s)/kitchen staff. Why not?

[The Muther Shucker]

Most servers or cooks that I know would a) appreciate it and b) make sure you were always treated especially well.

[cdabney]

The kitchen loves it! And we always remember the guest on their next visit. In most cases the guest comes back to the kitchen to deliver the goods and visits a bit...almost always appreciated unless we are in a hurry to get home.

[Busboy]

Waiters love it, too. One of the best dinners I ever had was when a delightful couple got too liquored up to finish their Stag's Leap Cask 23 (which I don't think you can even buy in DC any more, even at the suggested retail price of $175/bottle) so they gave me a half-bottle to sneak out of the restaurant after my shift. To make the evening perfect, the kitchen hadn't sold out of the extraordinary brioche they made, and I got a half a loaf of that. Toasted brioche and Cask 23 -- best shift meal ever.

[pupkinpie2]

Many people of the kitchen staff have a great appreciation for wine. But rarely will they spend $200 on a bottle of wine, so even if you have a glass left, send it to the kitchen staff as a thanks. You might even get special treatment the next time you come in if they remember you.