Rhode Island lawmakers are considering letting restaurant patrons take home a leftover bottle of wine, as long as it's put in a locked glove compartment or the trunk.

02:57 PM EST on Tuesday, January 10, 2006

BY SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
Journal State House Bureau

For years, diners have been able to get a doggy bag for their unfinished veal parmigiana, shrimp scampi or chicken teriyaki.

Soon, they might also be able to take home their leftover Chardonnay, Shiraz or Bordeaux.

Legislation working its way through the State House would allow anyone who eats a "full course meal" at a restaurant to carry home a resealed bottle of wine purchased with the meal.

Supporters say patrons are more likely to buy a bottle of good wine if they know they won't have to leave half of it on the table. And others might not feel compelled to finish their wine, leading to less drunken driving, they say.

"Maybe people might not want to drink the whole bottle of wine and yet at the same time, they've already paid for it," said Rep. Matthew J. McHugh, D-South Kingstown, sponsor of the so-called "Merlot to go" bill.

Under his measure, restaurants would have to reseal the unfinished bottle, place it in a bag and staple a dated receipt for the meal to the bag. The bottle would have to go into a locked glove compartment or trunk.

A full meal is defined as "a salad or vegetable, entrée, and bread," something McHugh took from Florida's law. The bill would take effect upon passage.

There are about 1,365 establishments across the state that serve food and wine, according to the state Department of Business Regulation.

Thirty-three states allow diners to take unfinished wine home, according to the National Restaurant Association.

Gabrielle Abbate, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving of Rhode Island, said her group will not oppose the bill. Abbate said the state's open-container laws already prohibit people from drinking in a car and MADD is just looking for a good process for resealing bottles. She said there is no data showing this either curbs or increases drunken driving.

Peter T. Brousseau, president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association and West Warwick police chief, said the association will probably remain neutral.

He said there are enough safeguards in the proposed law to seal the bottle and place it out of the driver's reach.

"It's not like somebody's going to have a bottle of wine in their lap as they're driving down the road taking a drink from it," Brousseau said. "I don't see an issue with it."

Dale Venturini, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association, said her group is drafting its own version of the bill.

Such legislation is in the "best interest of our customer," Venturini said. "If they want to purchase a nice bottle of wine, they don't have to feel compelled to finish it."

"Naturally," she added, "we're going to make sure that the packaging . . . will be sealed and you'll be able to tell if somebody opened it."

Customers who try a new wine and like it, Venturini added, would also be able to take the empty bottle to a liquor store to buy more.

"Often people will enjoy a very expensive bottle of wine and really hate to leave it," said Phyllis Bedard, owner of Trattoria Simpatico in Jamestown, which offers about 90 selections of wine.

This bill, she said, would hopefully make people more comfortable in purchasing a bottle.

Bedard said it would also make it easier for the wait staff -- if they observe somebody who has had too much -- to stop that person from drinking any more by offering to package the wine.

The Alcoholic Beverage Wholesale Dealers of Rhode Island is not taking a position at this time, said the group's lobbyist Brian A. Goldman.

"When it comes to loosening the laws on getting alcohol, we're always cautious about that and we take a critical look," Goldman said. "We need to discuss this a bit with everybody else in the industry."

smayerow@projo.com/ (401) 277-7513

SURVEY: How would being able to take unfinished bottles home affect your wine-ordering habits?

http://projo.com/winesurvey