ifyou can afford those numbers for a bottle of wine, you can afford to tip the server based on the bottom line number..... no exclusions.....

It depends on a lot of things. The level of service being the most critical factor. I recently was at the Ritz in Half Moon Bay.  Had a $17 martini and tipped the bar tender $20.  He was over the top amazing.  Sometimes I just feel the need to add a little something to someone's day. 

I think 'your cheap' is showing. I thought it was on the total bill period. 

Fred Griffin Yes, the tip is based on the total amount of the bill.

I'm not a tipper.  I'll never understand the concept.  2 waiters bring 2 plates of food to 2 tables side by side.  One table has surf & turf and the other has burgers.  Why should one waiter earn twice the amount of the other simply for what we had a taste for that day? 

If I wanted the champagne or koolaid, my waiter should still be paid the same.  Ok, you can yell at me now!

I am not a connoisseur...

If I am going to splurge on a whole bottle of wine, it will be at home and the dogs will get to smell the cork...no tip needed.

Eve

Barbara Todaro gets my vote - I don't do wine anyway

Cheers to the answer by Barbara Todaro.

I've never broken out part of the bill versus another. I agree that the tip is based on the service rendered.  

To those who think they shouldn't tip more because they spend more, do they accept a higher commission on a more expensive house?  

I tip 20% across the board.  You may want to check to see if there is a corkage fee. Some places charge that.

What Barbara Todaro said...

I've never thought of it as a separate line item for a tip. It's just 15-20% of the total bill depending on the venue and quality of service.

I always base the tip on the total bill and it depends on the quality of the service, 15-20%.

Bite the bullet and tip on the whole bill. If your standard is 15-20% don't chinch just because you were extravagant on your drink.

Tip should be on the total amount of the bill.

I always tip big.  Those servers work HARD.  Plus my wife makes a lot of money, so we're good.  

We don't go flat rate...It really depends on the server and the real service.  If they are not on their game and we have to wait for long periods... that will be taken into consideration.  but we always go off of the total bill

My dad always excluded adult beverages before figuring a tip.  Not me.  I worked too many years waiting tables.  I tip a percentage of the total check.  

Barbara Todaro has a good answer.

I still tip 20%

Another great reason I drink BEER!

I have no clue, as I've never had an expensive bottle of wine.

It likely depends upon the establishment as well as the country.

Hi Fred - I have been taught that it's the whole bill, but I've never ordered a bottle so expensive that I had to worry about that.

Yep, on the bill total...

You play, you pay...Or, as Bernie says: "Spread the wealth..."

Actually you are already, it's on the tab.

I think you tip based on the service experience, just as with everything else.  I don't go by hard % numbers.  If things are good, smooth, and service is friendly without impeding on my meal, 20%.  If great, 25%+, if "meh", 15%, and if worse....I speak with management.

In the world of wine...separate rules apply. This world escapes me thank you

In December went to dinner with a couple after a closing at a high end steak house, and we had a few bottles of wine with the 6 of us.    We tipped on the full ticket.

I am so glad to see the responses here. And I tip like Kathleen Daniels. I love going into a place and making someone's day when they've done a great job. 

Depends.  That's what I'd need to be wearing if I'd ordered a bottle that expensive.

If the meal is $500.00... and a single bottle of wine is $10,000.  No, I'm not typing 20% on the $10,500.00 tab.  I would tip 20% on the $500.00, and perhaps a crisp hundred-dollar-bill on the bottle.  If the $10,000 wine tab represented ten $1,000 bottles, I'd probably up the ante ('cause it's a lot more work for the server to decant 10 bottles, refilling glasses as needed)... I might increase that wine tip to $250.00-$500.00 depending on the quality of the service.

Good question but I think I would adjust the tip down based on what you are asking, sort of like a corkage fee.

Your tips are your personal decisions.

Tipping on a bottle of wine is something that I do not foresee ever happening, not likely to ever buy one.

Fred Griffin - the standard is a standard is a standard, isn't it?

Out here tips are done on food only.  You tip seperately on beverages, if at all.

Example:

1) Sit down dinner - you do not tip on water, sodas, teas.  You do not tip on alcohol.

2) If a coctail waitress or the bartender is ordered from directly (example: night club, concert venue, etc.) - You tip on the food as normal and drinks are tipped seperately.  Usually $1-$2 per drink, more if they make it strong or you want to build a relationship to get priority service in the future.  In my drinking days I would usually "tip the tab" (and then some).  I could be at the back of a crowd and the bartender would call me up and have my drink ready.  If there were "extras" leftover from a drink mix, I'd get called over and get it for free.

this is an interesting question.  I am not a fancy wine drinker, but can see where it might be ridiculous

Tipping on the bottom line is classy.

I totally agree with Barbara Todaro 

Many years ago in a restaurant, I was sitting next to someone who was entertaining a client. It seems like they were having a great time as they had been drinking at the restaurant for quite a while and were getting very happy.  As it turned out,  the client ordered a $5,000 bottle of wine when the other went to the mens room. Unfortunately, this brought the bill over expense account limit and the person had to use personal credit cards to cover. However, no tip was given due to lack of funds. 

I love the question.

Fred,

20% of the whole bill, and if a bottle is in the price range you illustrated, I would not order it...A

Did you bring the bottle in?

Did the waitstaff open the bottle?

Did they pour the wine into glasses they provided and not onto your lap?

Did they lurk about to keep the wine flowing?

Sounds like they effectively up-sold and will reap corresponding benefits.

Maybe instead of the high roller 25 you do 20.