How to price for wine and alcohol?

Hi Cheftalkers! I'm a newcomer to the site and love reading all your insight on each other's posts.

To the point: I'd love your suggestions on how to build in the price of alcoholic beverages to my clean, FLAT per person fee structure. My base fee is $125/person for a 4-course meal. I'd like to charge additionally for the drinks -- in the same flat fee format.

• Do I charge, say, $25/person additionally to offer 2 cocktail options? What is my cut-off point for how much people can drink to maintain profitability (say, as long as the one bottle of vodka lasts) -- and this is even the right way to approach the limit?
• How do you treat wine? Do I charge a corking fee if the client buys their own wine? What service fee to charge to provide the wine myself? How to deal with a particularly expensive brand requested by the client?

Any input on how you deal with high-end services would be greatly appreciated! thank you!

Some background on my business:

I'm in the process of launching my catering/party planning business for high-end intimate dinner parties (5-15 guests). The service is offered at the client's home and features gourmet, seasonal 4-course meals along with gorgeous presentation (from the meal and plating to the table settings and decor/props). Think of me as something in between a personal chef and a party planner.

My goal is to simplify things for both me and my clients by offering a very clean and simple pricing structure. I charge $125/person for a 4-course meal -- and this includes everything from the ingredients to my time to the transport fee of doing on-site service. (There is an additional fee of $25/hour for an assistant if the party goes beyond 6 people).

 

Thanks Ed! Do you ever cater private dinner parties?