"the corking or uncorking of bottles," specifically in reference to a charge by hotel-keepers, etc., for serving wine and liquor not furnished by the house, 1838, from cork (v.) + -age.
Entries linking to corkage
cork v.
1570s, "to put a cork sole on a shoe," from cork (n.)). Meaning "to stop with a cork" is from 1640s. Figurative sense "to stop or check" is from 1640s. Meaning "blacken with burnt cork," especially the face, to perform in theatrical blackface, is from 1836. Related: Corked; corking.
-age
word-forming element in nouns of act, process, function, condition, from Old French and French -age, from Late Latin -aticum "belonging to, related to," originally neuter adjectival suffix, from PIE *-at- (source of Latin -atus, past participle suffix of verbs of the first conjugation) + *-(i)ko-, secondary suffix forming adjectives (see -ic).