You may or may not know this, but New York State passed a law a year or so ago that allows you to take home wine (from a bottle) that you don’t finish at a restaurant.

Not many people know this — including many restaurants — so it’s important to get the word out.

 

There are, of course, conditions that must be met to avoid being in violation of NY’s open container laws, including:

• The
  wine has to be purchased with a "full-course meal"
• The restaurant must
  provide a dated receipt for the meal and the wine
• The bottle must be "resealed", which I’m assuming means the cork pushed back in…but wouldn’t you do that anyway?
• The bottle must be sealed in a clear
  plastic bag (you can bring your own if you know the restaurant doesn’ t have them)

(For a full list of the conditions, read Bulletin 588 from the NY State Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board)

 

If your favorite restaurant knows about these rules, there should be no problem…so get the word out.

And, tt least one company,
www.winedoggybag.com, is
producing "wine doggy bags" that restaurants (or you) can order, so ask your restaurateur to look into it if they
haven’t already.

I must say, even if Nena and I rarely leave wine in a bottle, it’s nice to be able to
consume part of a bottle of wine at a restaurant and then take the rest
home. There are several states that have adopted this policy as well, including Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington State.