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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2006 > March > 04 > Entry
Should Ohioans be able to take leftover wine home from restaurants?
A Saturday grab bag of goodies:
— First up, this intriguing little bit of news out of Massachusetts that wine drinkers can now legally take their leftover wine home from restaurants. Ohio law prohibits this practice, which makes no sense to me. Wouldn’t the ability to take home potentially expensive leftover wine from a restaurant actually encourage moderation? Especially coupled with safeguards (pretty elaborate ones in Massachusetts) that the wine won’t be swilled on the way home from the dining establishment?
Is this something Ohio lawmakers should consider? Do you think it’ll ever happen?
— The best piece I’ve read on the re-creation of the historic 1976 Paris tasting that shocked the world and put California wines on the international map comes from our very own Miami Valley alumnus Peg Melnik, writing for the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Ca. What do you think is going to happen this time around, as panels of tasters evaluate a series of 33-year-old wines and newer vintages of French vs. Americans? How many California wines have you sampled that you think could stand the test of time to the tune of more than three decades? This should be quite entertaining ….
— Check out what the Cincinnati Post thinks about the wine wars going on in Ohio and Kentucky over the shipping and distribution of wine. Here’s the radical thought that the Post puts forth: “Small wineries should be free to ship their product themselves, and price it as they see fit. And customers should be able to buy from them as well, either on location or via a catalog or the Internet. It’s not the business of government to artificially inflate the price of consumer goods.”
Pretty radical, huh?
— The “Open that Bottle” night held Thursday at The Winds restaurant in Yellow Springs was a smashing success. It drew about 30 people and a gaggle of fascinating wines that were shared amongst the group. The wines included Caymus Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon (and it wasn’t corked!), Cain 5 (a three-liter bottle), Chave Hermitage red, Rausan-Segla from France’s Margaux region (another three-liter), and a couple of wines fermented and bottled only a few miles away in the cellars of former Wright State education dean James Brandeberry. The “small” plates weren’t so small and included oysters, shrimp, salmon, lamb, saffron risotto and a rich, wine-friendly beef daube made from tenderloin. Suffice to say, no one left hungry.
Enjoy the weekend, and cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Comments
By jens at cincinnati wine
March 6, 2006 9:47 PM | Link to this
Of course, yes! It makes no sense to “encourage” patrons to chug the last glass before getting into their car. Cork it and take it home. Duh!
By Darrin
March 6, 2006 12:40 AM | Link to this
I believe we will see it — hopefully sooner than later. It does make complete sense, and putting the bottle in the trunk is a perfect concession to prevention. Some states make the restaurants “seal” the bottles before leaving. (visions of special contraptions that re-cork then wax seal the bottle come to mind!) One list of States’ status is http://www.winedoggybag.com/statelaws.htm Re: Corking fees…unfortunately, last I’ve heard, it’s still illegal to bring bottles in, even though some restaurants even advertise a corkage fee…hopefully that will change as well — even if the evil 3-tier system doesn’t anytime soon!
By Nancy Bentley
March 6, 2006 12:01 AM | Link to this
Re open bottle legislation… every winery we brought it up with a strong supporter. We strongly support it. In other states where it’s gone through, it hasn’t received that much opposition from any group, it’s just inertia in the state of Ohio that keeps it from being done. We’re glad to see the press is beginning to report on direct shipping in Ohio and Kentucky. Other legislation is also in play. We support House Bill 306 and Senate Bill 159 because they don’t hurt retailers and benefit consumers greatly by making wine less expensive and more available. We have put some Questions and Answers about this on our Direct Shipping Link on our web site, www.KinkeadRidge.com.
By mel
March 5, 2006 11:02 AM | Link to this
A salute to Mass. for their thinking, but as usual the bureaucrats went too far with the clear-bag idea. Consumers should be able to just put the bottle in the trunk till they get home.
By Cynthia Hauck
March 5, 2006 9:12 AM | Link to this
Patrons should definitely be able to take home leftover wine! I would almost always prefer to order a fresh bottle of wine rather than a glass of whatever’s been open for who knows how long. Good for the restaurants, good for the patrons, good all the way around! As for the safeguards for driving home with an open bottle, good grief! Wine folk aren’t likely to swill out of the open bottle while driving down the highway, and it’s better than if we drink the entire bottle at the restaurant before the drive home. Are the laws different if I bring my own wine to a restaurant and pay just a corking fee? I’m sure not going to leave wine behind that I brought myself!
By wine-o
March 4, 2006 10:21 AM | Link to this
This is a no brainer. It encourages moderation yet will increase sales and revenue at the same time. How many things can you say that about, that it gives while you take, no pun intended. NY, MA and even the stinky MI have all passed this law within the last year. What is OH waiting for, and how do we get it on the agenda? All this HB 306 nonsense and this was never brought up once, even though it would benefit all aspects of the wine industry. Give me my doggy bag, or give me death.
By Denise Hall
March 4, 2006 10:08 AM | Link to this
I agree this is a no-brainer. It doesn’t matter if I paid $20 or $100 for the wine. I’m not leaving a paid drop behind. If we could leave some wine undrunk and take it home, I might be inclined to have a cocktail before dinner or an interesting after-dinner drink. More money for the restaurant.