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There are so many issues floating around on this discussion. The original question was how much to tip when alcohol is involved. The restaurant (including managers and owners--not just the wait staff) assumes that, at a minimum, 15-20% of the total bill will be left as tip. For example, let's say you book a party for 30 people, you pick a menu, you pick your wine (whether it's a $50 or $1000--it has been marked up anywhere from 250% to 1000%, give or take, depending on the cost at which that particular wine was purchased, how rare/desirable/allocated, or what is motivating the sommelier, e.g. protecting the vertical or holding it to allow for further maturation, trying to move it, etc. More on factors affecting restaurant wine prices later on or on another thread if need be), you and guests eat and drink, at the end of the night, the bill will reflect the total plus gratuity on the ENTIRE bill, not just for food. They do not assign one rate of gratuity to food and another rate to beverages.

Just a suggestion: everyone who ever considers dining out should work at least a week in the restaurant business. A server is actually a servant. You will know what it's like to have to sweat for your bread, to be blamed by everyone for problems that usually aren't your fault (and you can frequently do nothing about), and how astoundingly rude, careless, and selfish many people really are.

@lilpkstar - As you said, sales tax is a LAW. Tipping is (usually) voluntary. Also, dolts and idiots couldn't care less about a servers tax problems. If the government assumes you average 10%, perhaps that is the amount of tip that should be automatically added to the bill and we could all just forget about tipping any higher.

Wow.. not to ruin the mystique a little, but a $50 bottle of wine and a $1000 bottle of wine are VERY different.

For one, the wine director of a restaurant that would sell bottles that expensive has to do the research to even have such a selection. They have to secure a good distributer to purchase bottles from, and trust that each bottle is up to quality. Even the chef can taste the caviar before plopping it onto your plate, but a bottle of wine is sealed.

Then there's the matter of storage, which would involve proper light and temperature control, (costing the restaurant money in electricty and knowledgeable designers). Accessability for the wait-staff.. a $50 bottle might be easy to grab behind the bar, but a $1000 bottle is under lock and key.. the waiter has to search out the manager to retrieve the key. Also, rarely does someone order that bottle without at least some description from the waitstaff or sommelier, who are trained to know the details and what it would taste great with.

I'm not saying the waiter in the original post didnt do his job by coming back to pour and keep the ice cold, but it's all bottles are NOT the same.

Actually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor the following is the case:

"An employer may pay a tipped employee not less than $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equal at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages of at least $2.13 an hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference."

For New York City (where I live), the minimum they must meet is $7.25 an hour. That means that even if the server does a horrible job and receives no tips, the restaurant must make up the difference so he/she will be entitled to a federal minimum wage no matter what. That means that the tip you give will contribute to that, but also increase his wage. Why would I want to increase a person's wage that does a horrible job? If the person is putting forth minimum wage type of work, that is what he/she deserves (not an extra pat on the back).

So while you may be right in that the tip is part of their pay, they will receive the minimum wage no matter what. If they want to make anything above that, they should obviously be good at what they do.

" Is it a little ridiculous to get paid $200 for opening a bottle of wine? Of course! But if the customer doesn't want to pay gratuity, they shouldn't have ordered the wine."

bullshit!

In the restaurant industry, the cost of the service is not "baked into the price of the product" as it is in other industries. The restaurant is only paying the server half of minimum wage because gratuity is considered a part of that server's pay. Like I said, it's not a gift. It's their pay. That's why I said it's a problem with the industry. To not live a tip would be like expecting to pay half for a DVD - to use your example.

@sushiburger - True, one does not tip waitstaff to enhance the life of their server. It's not a gift. Gratuity is payment for the full service, which is determined by a percentage of the full bill not just whatever part of the bill the customer decides they want to pay. Is it a little ridiculous to get paid $200 for opening a bottle of wine? Of course! But if the customer doesn't want to pay gratuity, they shouldn't have ordered the wine.

@presenttense, among others: the tip isn't (usually) going to the restaurant though; it is going to your server. Just because you feel cheated by the wine mark-up, you shouldn't take it out on your poor server.

Your tipping percentage is based on the server's efforts, but your tip is ultimately decided by your bill. It might not seem right, and it might not seem fair, but that is the way it is. It is not about the difficulty in uncorking the wine bottle, the pouring, the choosing. Your server doesn't prepare your food for you either, but your tip is still based on what you are ordering. You would end up tipping more if you got steak instead of chicken, so you tip more if you buy expensive wine than if you don't.

Yes, it is a problem that servers aren't paid realistic wages, but withholding a tip isn't doing anything to solve that problem.

wine is already prohibitively priced in restaurants in NY, with the majority marking it up by 400%. should someone choose to lash out on an expensive bottle why doesnt the restaurant owner slip the waiter some cash for upselling the customer to a more expensive bottle? the customer has already shelled out the 400% mark-up - adding an additional 20% is ludicrous. some of the best restaurants i have eaten at around the globe cap wine mark ups once you get over about $300 a bottle to a set $$ amount, i.e. instead of incurring the standard % mark-up they will only apply a set $$ amount. This encourages consumers to trade up on their wine purchase, and would you believe it but most people find that a great bottle of wine actually enhances the whole dining experience, promotes positive word of mouth and ultimately brings people back again and again.
Opening an old bottle is not that hard that it warrant's an exhorbitant tip - and if it has been stored correctly the cork should be in good condition and not require any additional effort than a younger bottle. How about screw-caps? they are starting to appear on expensive bottles now, that blows the argument of 'being hard to open'completely out of the water.
I agree with previous poster's who point the finger at the restaurant industry, changes need to be made, the hourly pay rate is a joke and on par with sweatshops.

I have never been a waiter or a bartender, but from what I understand, it is industry standard that both positions are paid half of the state's required hourly minimum wage, which on average turns out to be about $3.62 per hour. This is a restaurant industry issue, for sure, and yes, the waiters and bartenders choose to apply for these positions, but that means a tip of at least 15% (the standard minimum) is a part of their pay in order to insure a living wage. In Europe, waitstaff and hospitality professionals are considered just that - professionals. And they are paid a living wage, unlike here in the US. Customers in Europe are also not expected to tip, the actual cost of paying the waitstaff is reflected in the bill.

That said, I knew someone who worked as a waiter at a five star restaurant in a major US city. His thought was that if you're going to wait tables, go for the high-end - the higher the professionalism, the higher the bill, the higher the pay. I've never been to Nello's, but I would think the level of training is substantial. In any other field, if you're at the top of your game, you get paid for it. Why should waiting tables be any different? Sure a customer could bring their own corkscrew, open the bottle and pour for themselves. They could also learn to change the oil in their own car, give themselves a facial, sell their own real estate, etc. but that's not the point. The customer chose to go out and pay to be served, rather than dine in and serve themselves.

If a person can afford to spend hundreds or thousands on an absurdly marked-up bottle of wine, they should be able to pay at least 15% gratuity.

The whole idea of tips being calculated on the dollar amount of the bill is ridiculous. Time spent at the table, number of diners, how much "running" your table put the waitperson through, are much better guidelines. I do tip 20% when the service is satisfactory, but I resent the hell out of anyone telling me what the "rules" of tipping are.