BYO Natural Wines to Restaurants?
Not all restaurants offer natural wine. If you’d like to pair your meals with natural wine, one way is to bring your own bottles, which is acceptable at most restaurants. Here are some standard corkage rules when you BYO:
- Corkage Charges ranges from $30 to $70 per bottle
- 1 for 1 – order a bottle at the restaurant and bring a bottle of your own for free
We recommend going for the second option if the restaurant has a bottle that is decently priced. For example, Culina at Dempsey Hill charges $50 for corkage and also accepts 1 for 1. In that case, it makes more sense to purchase a bottle of Gamay at $57 and bring your own bottle for free.
Natural Wine with Sushi
Most people think that natural wine does not pair well with sushi. We beg to differ. If we have to choose a category of natural wine that matches with all kinds of sushi, we would recommend *orange wine (skin contact wine). Its strong flavours complement raw fish but it is also light enough to not overpower the palate.
- Gintonic – Milan Nestarec
- Podfuck – Milan Nestarec
- Poetry of Silence – Anders Frederik Steen
In Singapore, it is reasonable to bring your own wine to a high-end sushi restaurant. On average, these restaurants tend to serve wine at $50 per glass and $300 per bottle while the retail cost of the wine is $100. If you pay $50 for corkage and BYO, the price would be lower and you get to enjoy your favourite bottle.
*On top of sushi, skin contact wine also matches like a dream with Peranakan food or Indian curries. Please try it!
