bringing wine to restaurants

[dfried45]

I have an bottle of Chateau Latour that I want to bring to a restaurant. I would like to decant it first, and either replace the cork with a stopper or bring it in a decanter. Is that appropriate?

[hotwine]

Welcome to the board, dfried. Strongly recommend you speak with the maitre 'd or sommelier and describe what you want to do. Many restaurants allow corkage (payment of a fee for serving a bottle that they didn't sell the patron), but many don't, under any circumstances. But if you tell them you want to bring in a decanted wine, ask what they recommend, as to whether you should re-cork it, or bring it in a decanter.

Your local law enforcement could pose a problem.... in many locales, an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle can constitute a DUI violation. Know the law before you take off to the restaurant with that prized bottle, and expect to pay corkage of $10-$25.

[winoweenie]

Hi Defried aand welcome to the board. You didn't give your hometown so can't offer any more than HWs' advice. Most better retaurants have decanters and people who know how to use them. WW

[Capocheny]

Dfried,

What vintage is your Latour? If it's an old bottle... you may want to consider decanting it at the restaurant instead of decanting it at home and, then, taking it to the restaurant. The reason I'm suggesting this is because older wines may not last very long after being decanted. If time is required for the wine to breathe (assuming that it isn't going to be hours and hours) buy a bottle from the restaurant to drink while waiting. They'll really appreciate you doing this! [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

I would concur on the recommendation that you speak with the Sommelier at the restaurant you're dining at. Get his/her opinion on how long the wine should breath prior to consumption. Secondly, ask about the corkage charge too. Some restaurants really want to discourage people bringing in their own wines and, therefore, they charge quite outrageous corkage fees!

Hotwine makes a really valid and important point about transporting opened bottles of wine in your car. Without exception, LE will look at opened bottles in the vehicle with a justified disdain. So, unless you're walking to the restaurant... I don't think I'd be carrying an opened bottle in my vehicle.

Cheers