Rhode Island Passes Merlot-To-Go
On Tuesday, our neighbor Rhode Island passed a merlot-to-go bill similar to the one here in Massachusetts. It will allow diners to take home unfinished bottles of wine. Considering the House approved the bill 62-1, Gov. Don Carcieri will likely sign it. RI now joins 30 other states that have recorking laws. 2 more states have pending legislation.
Interestingly, Mothers Against Drunk Driving didn’t take a stand on the bill, as there is no statistical evidence to indicate whether it reduces drunk driving or not. However, I can’t see how it could possibly increase drunk driving.
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:31 pm
Maybe it can reduce drunk driving. People may not feel pressured to finish the bottle if they know they can take it home.
I think some restaurants might even be able to sell some higher-priced wines because of it as well. Throw a little Argon in there with a disposable plug and people may drop some extra cash on a bottle.
June 23rd, 2006 at 3:14 pm
I tend to agree with you that it’ll likely reduce drunk driving, though it’d be nice to see empirical evidence supporting this.
I hadn’t thought of the bottle thing, though I imagine that you’d be allowed to take home an empty bottle regardless as a keepsake. I don’t see much of a point in taking home a quality wine, as once it’s open, it’s gone anyway. I think of it as more a way to reduce waste.
June 23rd, 2006 at 4:13 pm
Good wines that are opened then vacuum pumped or use an inert gas (such as Argon) to fill the bottle then re-sealed can retain their initial flavor for a week or more. So, it’s definitely not gone once it’s opened. So, I can buy a $200 bottle and enjoy it for a few days, something I may not do if I know I won’t be drinking the whole bottle on the night I order it.
June 23rd, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Ah, I missed the keyword “argon”. Yeah, that’d be awesome, though I wonder if any restaurants are actually doing it. My impression is they’re simply sticking the cork back in and putting the bottles in tamper-proof bags. It certainly wouldn’t be all that expensive, especially considering the markup on wines. In fact, I have a bottle of inert gas I use at home.