corkage fee

Editor's Note: $50 to open a bottle of wine? Monthly columnist Evan Dawson tries to broker a deal between restaurants and consumers, and elicits some interesting comments from both sides of the debate. –Tom Mansell, Science Editor

Imagine dining at an incredible restaurant with a group of friends. You peruse the wine list—and then you notice your friend smirking as he pulls a bottle out of a brown paper bag. He didn't warn you that he was going to bring his own and pay the corkage fee. That might be annoying enough, but then you notice that the bottle is Two Buck Chuck.