May 18, 2013
There's a new law in town...
The state of Alabama has recently passed a law that allows for re-corking of wine in restaurants and restaurant owners in Dothan are thrilled.
"Oh my gosh! We are so excited!"
"I am very, very excited about it!"
"We're so thrilled! It's gonna be great for business. It's gonna be great for everyone that enjoys wine. It's gonna help customers be a little more adventurous. It's gonna help them enjoy more of the wine they love more frequently. They can take it home and introduce it to friends if they really love it and it's just gonna be great for the wine community in Dothan."
The new law allows consumers to re-cork and take a bottle of wine home from a restaurant.
Many believe this will promote responsible consumption and increase sales for businesses.
"They'll pay more money to get a bottle that they love which in turns means more revenue for us."
Prior to its passage, consumers were not allowed to take home un-finished portions of wine ordered at a restaurant.
"It's really disappointing to tell your guests that they cannot take home a bottle of wine that they've purchased."
"Well, they couldn't take it home with them because it was against the law to have an open bottle so if you were one person that enjoyed a specific kind of wine and it was only served in a bottle you had to buy the bottle, but if you could only drink two glasses, then the bottle had to stay. So it was a waste of money and a waste of good wine.”
But some say they should have been told sooner.
"If we had the ability to do this in May, when the law was passed, what a great benefit that would have been."
"I'm very disappointed that we are just now finding out about it and it was passed back in May......that's five months."
"It's kind of dropping the ball in our neck of the woods so to speak."
Now that this law is passed, Alabama joins more than 30 other states that have enacted similar re-corking legislation.
