Originally Posted by
robyng
I don't understand bhrubin's logic in this regard - and perhaps he can explain it to me. Alcohol is often 25-50% of our total bill. We had an anniversary dinner at a local restaurant this week - and it did an excellent "special menu" for us that the chef brought us personally - course by course. We had a somewhat expensive bottle of champagne - which our server served a little at a time - making sure it was always correct temp. And then my husband switched to red wine (new glasses). Don't see why service of beverages should be treated differently than service of food.
When we dine out, we normally either bring our own wine (we have an extensive cellar, and we have a wine suitcase permitting us to travel with up to 6 bottles) or we most often order a wine pairing with a tasting menu--and the nicest possible wine pairing available. When we order such a wine pairing with tasting menu, we tip on the total bill (less tax).
In the less common examples when we order a bottle or two of wine specifically, we don't normally tip on the price of the bottle (since we often buy premium bottles) but on the price of the cheapest bottle of that type of wine on the menu--since good wine service shouldn't cost more in tip in our opinion just because the bottle is more expensive.
We always tip on other alcohol (cocktails, etc) as if it was just another part of the meal/bill, whether it be at the restaurant or at the restaurant bar before dinner.
We are pretty generous tippers, so our tip is less about the alcohol/wine and more about the overall quality of service--and for us, about how engaging and friendly that service is. When we have tremendous service, as I did at Geranium, I tip well above what is expected--and the server has occasionally commented on it.