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General discussion

How about a doggie bag for that wine?

Dec 10, 2003 3:00AM PST

BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - French restaurants have started offering diners a "doggy bag" for any leftover wine to stem a drop in sales as drunken-driving laws get tougher.

Wine sales in French restaurants have dropped by 10 percent to 15 percent in the past year as the conservative government cracks down on bad drivers, said Bordeaux wine council CIVB, which launched the initiative.

Some 500 restaurants across France are now offering to repackage any unfinished wine bottles by recorking the wine using a special pump to extract air, ensuring it keeps for several days, and slipping the bottle into a discrete bag.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=3970321

Angeline
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

Discussion is locked

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I hope it catches on here ...
Dec 10, 2003 7:55AM PST

I sometimes like wine with dinner when I eat out, but I almost never drink more than one glass. Most restaurants have fewer selections 'by the glass' than they do 'by the bottle' and the 'by the glass' wine may or may not be all that great, depending on when the bottle was opened.

I think it would be splendid to choose the wine I want and take the 'leftovers' home in a non-oxidizing container.

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I do too...and I wonder a couple of things...
Dec 10, 2003 8:35AM PST

1. Would the recorking pass muster with "open container" laws for driving, and

2. Could I have the second glass at home the next day and recork the same way again.

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Re:I do too...and I wonder a couple of things...
Dec 10, 2003 2:44PM PST

1. as long as you don't have a cork screw in the car?
2. i believe you can buy the kit for recorking at home

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Open Container Laws and Recorking
Dec 10, 2003 3:16PM PST

I could always put the bottle in the trunk (do you call it a boot?) of the car, but I don?t think recorking in any way will qualify it as unopened.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has criteria for Open Container Laws:

An ?open alcoholic beverage container? is any bottle, can, or other receptacle that contains any amount of alcoholic beverage, and that is open or has a broken seal, or the contents of which are partially removed.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/OpenContainer/open_container_criteria.htm

?

hmmm, I may look into a re-corker kit, but I imagine they?re a bit pricey. I really can?t drink more than one glass of wine a day, and buy jug wine (Carlo Rossi?s Burgundy is the only one I like) because it keeps well unrefrigerated. It would be nice to buy a nice bottle of wine once in a while.

Thanks for the idea. Happy

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Re:i found this
Dec 10, 2003 6:46PM PST

On a more practical note, a cork partially
reinserted by hand will do fine for keeping wine
in the bottle under most conditions.
Also note that unfortified wines will not keep
long exposed to air, even the air in a half-full
recorked bottle. About a day is all you can expect,
even then you may not be happy with the results.
The best solution is to find an airtight container
for the balance of your wine and fill it up to
the top. A plastic 12 or 16 oz soda bottle
with screw cap will work. (you just squeeze out the air and screw the top on)

and then i remembered a trick used by a friend eons ago....
he was a keen photographer and had a spare "concertina" bottle that he used in the dark room, sterilised it and used that....

jonah

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Re: i found this
Dec 10, 2003 9:46PM PST

Hi, Jonah.

Fancy systems use nitrogen to replace the air over the wine, preventing oxidation.
-- Dave K.
Speakeasy Moderator
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

The opinions expressed above are my own,
and do not necessarily reflect those of CNET!

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NT *hic!* that explains why i laugh when i drink.....:-)
Dec 10, 2003 9:51PM PST

.

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Oh, dear me!
Dec 11, 2003 12:23AM PST

I always just stick the cork back in the bottle, and lay it on it's side in the refrigeraor. Nothing leaks out. I suspect this might not work with a sparling one.

Of course, I admit to not being a wine connoisseur, but I enjoy it to the last drop. Happy

Only once do I recall being able to appreciate the difference in a very fine wine- A Beajolais that was suggested to us in a Five Star restaurant overseas. We kept the bottle - empty, of course.

Angeline
click here to email semods4@yahoo.com

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Another alternative for home use ...
Dec 11, 2003 8:44AM PST

I have started drinking boxed wines a lot of the time. I'm still experimenting to see which varieties and brands I like best, but they keep quite well and my impression is that they are mostly a bit higher quality than the jug variety.

I still like a nice bottled wine from time to time, but I've never wanted to invest in one of the recorking systems and some of the better wines deteriorate before I get through the bottle.

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I'm with you there..but you'll have to tell me...
Dec 11, 2003 9:08AM PST

Which boxed wines you like. I can't handle sweet wines, and do like the Carlo Rossi burgundy (in 4 Liter bottles). It also keeps well.
I've tried a couple of others in the same category (Paul Masson in a carafe), but didn't care for them.

What have you found that you like?

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I can't remember some of the names ...
Dec 11, 2003 9:38AM PST

I'm terrible at remembering names and such. I'm currently finishing a box of Merlot from Peter Vella. It's OK but not great. I liked the last one better. I think it was also a Merlot but I can't remember which winery! I think I'll recognize the box when I go to the store, but at this point I'm still trying to buy a different one each time. I did mention the first box I tried back on the "old forum" but unless somebody happens to remember what it was (seems unlikely) we're out of luck.

The problem is that these boxes have 3-5 liters each, so it takes a long time to finish a box. It will take months just to sample a handful of wines.

I haven't tried any of the jug wines in a while since I didn't expect them to keep any better than bottled wine. If they do keep OK it might be worth trying them for comparison.

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(NT)Ok, you gotta set up a spreadsheet of name, price, and quality (chuckling)
Dec 11, 2003 9:43AM PST
Wink
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Better yet ...
Dec 11, 2003 10:01AM PST

I could invite everybody I know over to a tasting party, buy one of every brand of jug or box wine I can find, and have a grand tasting.

The catch is that most of my friends don't drink enough wine to amount to anything.

My glass a day puts me at the high end of the consumption range in my crowd.

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Re:I can't remember some of the names ...
Dec 12, 2003 7:07AM PST

I consider any wine with a screw top a "jug wine" and meant to keep longer. Carlo Rossi doesn't have a Merlot, but I like their Burgundy, and their website mentions a Cabernet Sauvignon that I may look for.

Sizes: Rossi comes in 1.5, 3, and 4 liter bottles, and I could find all of those in California. However, here in Massachusetts, I've only seen the 4 liter size (but I haven't looked around a lot--limited to "package stores" here).

I've also tried Livingston Cellars screw tops, and didn't like it as well.

I like the idea of wine in glass better than in plastic.

Happy hunting!

Happy

Paula