You’re out to a nice dinner with a friend or family member. You both want wine with the meal, and consider it might be more economical to order a bottle rather than get separate glasses.
But what happens if you don’t finish the bottle?
Can you take a bottle of wine home from a restaurant in Delaware even after it’s been opened or partly consumed?
As a matter of fact, you can take home the bottle of wine you haven’t finished drinking at a restaurant.
The answer is yes, according to the Office of the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner.
The Commissioner establishes rules and regulations to control the manufacture, importation, distribution, sale, and dispensing of alcohol in Delaware.
A law was passed several years ago, allowing wine “doggie bags.”
Customers of an establishment with a liquor license who purchase a bottle of wine or spirits for consumption on the premises may cap the unfinished bottle ‒ or the establishment’s staff will do it for them ‒ and take it with them.
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Customers may not take open containers of alcohol that cannot be resealed in their original containers.
As long as the bottle is properly sealed by the establishment, it is not considered an “open container” and can be legally transported in a vehicle.
An open or unsealed container of alcohol in a motor vehicle is illegal in Delaware.
Part of the reason for the law was to prevent drunk driving. Previously, some customers, who didn’t want to waste money, would down leftover wine rather than leave it behind. Now, they can take recorked bottles home and consume the beverage later.
What about to-go alcohol?
Restaurants, taprooms, taverns, clubs and other businesses with a valid on-premises license also may sell alcohol in to-go containers. Alcohol to-go must be sold in a container sealed by the manufacturer or in a container that is securely closed.
To-go alcohol purchases are limited to no more than two bottles of wine (750 ml), six servings of beer, and mixed cocktails prepared by the establishment. (This does not include canned cocktails in factory packaging.)
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“Securely closed” means a container with a tamper-evident lid or cap, sealed or secured with tape, that is designed to prevent consumption without removal of the lid or cap (no sipping holes or openings for straws). They must not be made of paper or polystyrene foam.
The container must include a label in a conspicuous place legibly indicating the name of the licensee; and the words ‘contains alcohol.”
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: I didn’t finish wine at a Delaware restaurant. Can I take it home?
Dining and Cooking