BYO scheme hits London

A new club targeting wine lovers has persuaded some of London’s best restaurants to let its paying members bring their own bottles to dinner.

Under the Bring Your Own (BYO) Wine Club’s terms and conditions, members will be able to bring a bottle of their own wine or Champagne to carefully selected restaurants that have agreed to participate.

Members will also benefit from partnerships with online grocer Natoora and wine retailer Nicolas, which will be offering wines with an in-store bottle neck promotion called “take me to dinner”.

The BYO Wine Club was created by husband and wife team Christopher and Khadine Rose when they realised that often people are prepared to spend generous amounts on their meal, but not always quite so much on the wine to accompany it.

Khadine Rose admitted that the concept had been a hard sell as many restaurants are so averse to the idea of BYO.

However, she said that several venues embraced the idea quickly, seeing it as a chance to entice new customers through the door and encourage them to return.

Rose said: “With BYO Wine Club, restaurants can target wine enthusiasts – a high-spending restaurant-going audience – rather than indiscriminately offering concessions to all of their patrons.  

“This enables them to continue to enjoy gross profit margins on wine sold to regular customers while selectively using BYO to attract and retain new, quality diners.”

So far over 45 restaurants have signed up to the scheme, from Michelin-starred venues such as Tom Aikens and Rasoi to smaller ones including Cambio de Tercio on Brompton Road and Wodka in Saint Alban’s Grove.

Rose said: “Our list is about quality, not quantity. As we do not charge the restaurants for listing on our website, we can afford to be selective about who we invite to join. The litmus test is whether the restaurant is a place we are enthusiastic about dining at.”

Rose stressed that the arrangement with the restaurants was a privilege and was not to be abused. There are a number of guidelines laid down by both the club and restaurants with regards how members are expected to use the system.

Chief among these is how each restaurant allows the BYO scheme to work. Some only allow members to bring their own wine to dinner on weekdays and lunch at the weekends.

Many of the restaurants currently on the list have decided to waive corkage charges, which were fixed between £5 and £15, for a minimum spend per head instead.

Members themselves will be expected to book ahead and forewarn the restaurant they are members and will be bringing their own wine, taking in to account that particular venue’s rules. The website has a list of common sense “dos and don’ts” for its members to follow.

Nonetheless, Rose concluded that the scheme was meant to be a fun and different way for those interested in food and wine to approach dining out and encourage them to visit new places they may not otherwise consider.

She said: “If you could bring a bottle of your own wine from your own cellar, there is no greater pleasure than drinking the wine with friends over a delicious meal. And someone else gets to do the dishes.”

Annual membership will be £100 with a special start-up price of £75. For more information visit the website at www.byowineclub.com

Rupert Millar, 08.06.2010