663936 Sun Nov 01 14:52:11 -0800 2009 11 18 Manhattan 0 5147476 Does New York law allow taking an unfinished bottle of wine from the restaurant? We find the law to be different in different states and we almost always have about half a bottle left that we would like to take with us. Thanks for your help. Sun Nov 01 14:52:11 -0800 2009 89496 ddavis 1 5147500 You would be better off to review this..... http://www.abc.state.ny.us/frequently-asked-questions#public_info Sun Nov 01 14:58:48 -0800 2009 5147476 123497 fourunder 2 5147593 Thanks. There's lots of info there, but nothing specific to my question. It's interesting that it says you can take alcohol onto a licensed premise as long as you take your leftovers when you leave. Most states don't allow you to take it onto a place that's licensed to sell it. Sun Nov 01 15:38:07 -0800 2009 5147500 89496 ddavis 3 5147621 When relating to BYOB, or at least liquor brought in......any enforcement requires action on the shoulders of the establishment to complain. Most will not do so to avoid any potential hassles. In New Jersey, the official position is they want you to drink responsibly, so they do not encourage that you fully consume every drop of each bottle, and they allow you to take the corked bottle home, provided it is transported in the trunk of your car. Also in NJ, you may bring in a bottle to a licensed premise or BYOB.....but under both instances, it requires the permission of the establishment....if the premises are licensed, the establishment has the right to charge you a corkage fee. BYOBs cannot charge a corkage fee under any condition. FWIW, Chinatown is known to be BYOB for the most part. Any wine or liquor not completely consumed is corked and brought home by most patrons. I'm assuming your query has more to do with a bottle of wine purchased at the said restaurant. If I were you, I would just grab the cork when the bottle is opened, cork the bottle if necessary and take it with you when you go. I'll defer to others who know what the specific statute is in New York. Sun Nov 01 15:48:45 -0800 2009 5147593 123497 fourunder 4 5147638 Thanks again. Yes, I'm talking about a bottle purchased from the restaurant. Our situation is that my wife drinks; I don't. She likes really good wine and usually what she wants only comes in a 750ml bottle, which is too much for one sitting. She will generally have 2 or 3 glasses with dinner and then wants to cork the rest and take it home or back to the hotel when we are traveling Some states won't allow this. We don't want to waste half a bottle of expensive wine; nor do we want to get arrested! Sun Nov 01 15:57:02 -0800 2009 5147621 89496 ddavis 5 5147666 I suspect the waiter will always look the other way in the situation you describe. If you want to play it safe, bring your own bag specifically made for wine transporting, even if it is a simple canvas sack. Before ordering the bottle of wine at dinner, explain and ask if you can take the unfinished wine home with you. If so, you will decide to order a bottle...if not you will only order a glass or nothing at all. I would find it hard to believe your request would be denied by a server.....thus depriving him or her of increasing their check total on your bill....and in turn, the amount of their potential gratuity. The police have more important things to attend to im my opinion.....so fret not. Sun Nov 01 16:10:03 -0800 2009 5147638 123497 fourunder 6 5147676 dd, Read this thread.... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/543990 and this if you want to believe the comments from a user.... http://www.rubyjos.com/dining-out/if-you-purchase-a-bottle-of-wine-while-dining-out-can-you-take-home-the-unfinished-portion http://www.bevnetwork.com/monthly_issue_article.asp?ID=164 Sun Nov 01 16:15:34 -0800 2009 5147666 123497 fourunder 7 5147868 Thanks, again. As they say on St. Barth, "Everyone on St. Barth knows everything and no one on St. Barth knows anything." The obvious solution is to check it out with the restaurant before ordering. Then, if you can't take the bottle with you, have a couple of glasses and be done with it. Just so no one gets in trouble because of some bad info, I can tell you that is is illegal in Texas for anyone in the car to have an open bottle of beer or any other alcoholic beverage. Of course, true to our schizophrenic liqor laws in Texas, we do have drive-through margarita and dacquiri shops! Sun Nov 01 17:53:09 -0800 2009 5147676 89496 ddavis 1 5147884 If I remember this correctly, yes, but the place has to put some sort of a special cap on it Also re: BYOB in New York you can't do it unless the place has a license or has less than 20 seats but I've never hear of any enforcement of any of this. Sun Nov 01 17:59:45 -0800 2009 5147476 28577 Jack_ 1 5148700 In NYS, it is legal to take home an unfinished bottle of wine. But you need to check with the restaurant beforehand because not all may have the capability to seal it properly. We recently took some wine home from a restaurant. They put the cork on and sealed it in a plastic bag with the receipt inserted in it. Mon Nov 02 07:29:53 -0800 2009 5147476 10763 Miss Needle 1 5148909 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/543990 Here's a bulletin from the State Liquor Authority explaining the issue: http://www.abc.state.ny.us/system/files/bulletin588.pdf Also, the law itself is subdivision 4 of section 81 (Article 6) of the alcoholic beverage control law: http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS Btw, in the past few years of dining out up to 5 times a week I have never seen anyone leave a restaurant with such a sealed bag. Mon Nov 02 08:35:47 -0800 2009 5147476 19052 shane 2 5149385 I've gotten this crazy looking wine bag from Babbo. All sealed up. They followed the letter of the law. That was right after this legislation was passed. I've not encountered any problems taking home unfinished wine since then - official looking sealed bag or not. Mon Nov 02 10:48:07 -0800 2009 5148909 40587 rdnnyc