So, when you bring a bottle to a wine dinner, does it count if t's not drinkable

[Loren_Sonkin]

I try to have a backup. But what do you do if its your only bottle that fit’s a theme? Bad bottles happen. If I am drinking with friends I don’t worry about. Just had a first growth tasting. Luckily all sound bottles, but if one were corked, I doubt most brought a back up that fit the required vintages etc. We all would have mourned the bad bottle and moved on.

[David_Bu3ker]

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

Is there really any reason not to check out the wine beforehand? I never bring anything to a local gathering I haven’t at least checked out , if not cleaned and aerated.

I do understand if you’re flying…that might change things a bit…but…flying/shaking shortly before serving can’t help a wine show well at any rate.

Technically it is illegal in most places to travel with an opened container, and in many other places to bring in an opened container.

[Stuart_BeauneHead_Niemtzow]

well…is a bottle that is opened, cleaned and the cork push back in to the same place it was (the top of the bottle lip) an “opened container”? admittedly the foil is gone, but…otherwise, unless it’s illegal to travel with foil-less bottles or bring them in, I wouldn’t be afraid of getting arrested or cited.

I’ve never seen that be an issue, though I do know about such technicalities.

[Bruce_Leiser_owitz]

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

well…is a bottle that is opened, cleaned and the cork push back in to the same place it was (the top of the bottle lip) an “opened container”? admittedly the foil is gone, but…otherwise, unless it’s illegal to travel with foil-less bottles or bring them in, I wouldn’t be afraid of getting arrested or cited.

I’ve never seen that be an issue, though I do know about such technicalities.

Some restaurants will object if you bring in a bottle that’s already been opened. If you’re in California, make sure any previously-opened bottle is secured in the trunk rather than in the passenger compartment.

Bruce

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

@Craig G

I suppose it’s nice to have a backup, but I hope we aren’t really keeping score. I haven’t been to one yet where we had too little wine.

Agreed. It all averages out in the end. It’s not like someone knows it’s going to be corked. I prefer the “He didn’t make it, he just brought it” line. I have never been at a wine dinner where there was not enough wine.

[David_Bu3ker]

@Bruce Leiser_owitz

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

well…is a bottle that is opened, cleaned and the cork push back in to the same place it was (the top of the bottle lip) an “opened container”? admittedly the foil is gone, but…otherwise, unless it’s illegal to travel with foil-less bottles or bring them in, I wouldn’t be afraid of getting arrested or cited.

I’ve never seen that be an issue, though I do know about such technicalities.

Some restaurants will object if you bring in a bottle that’s already been opened. If you’re in California, make sure any previously-opened bottle is secured in the trunk rather than in the passenger compartment.

Bruce

This^

Connecticut as well on the open container thing. It doesn’t matter if we think it’s a problem. The law and the restaurants get to decide.

[andy_velebil]

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

well…is a bottle that is opened, cleaned and the cork push back in to the same place it was (the top of the bottle lip) an “opened container”? admittedly the foil is gone, but…otherwise, unless it’s illegal to travel with foil-less bottles or bring them in, I wouldn’t be afraid of getting arrested or cited.

I’ve never seen that be an issue, though I do know about such technicalities.

Considering most laws consider the original seal being broken as “open”, then yes it does matter quite a bit.

[AAgrawal]

I bring backups for white burgundy but nothing else. If it’s a red, I’ll decant at home and make sure it’s not flawed. I’m a big fan of the theory that it all evens out in the end, and that we’re all friends and not just wine friends.

[Arv_R]

@Ed Murray

@Dusty Gillson

To me, requiring or expecting everyone to bring backups is a bit much.

If it is a new(er) vintage of a wine, the chances of something being wrong with it seem lower, so I wouldn’t expect backups.

If it is an old and/or rare wine, I typically feel bad for person who opened it, and would feel worse by pressuring them into another equal bottle.

Does it make a difference if the bottle is corked or just isn’t any good (over the hill, bad storage, etc.)? I guess my point is that I may bring a backup, or others may bring backups, but I would always consider that a bonus, not a requirement. I would be more likely to brink backup if I had doubts about the first bottle I brought for one reason or another. Ultimately they brought something and opened it to share, maybe it is your fault if you don’t want to drink it. . .

I agree with this.

In general, I don’t like drinking with people who keep score.

+1

And as a practical matter, it seems like people tend to bring too much anyways. When dining out, at places that charge corkage by the btl, it can be a bit of a waste paying fees on stuff that is barely touched. (One reason to try to negotiate a per person fee if its a larger group, with a known inability to bring only 1 btl per person…)

[Chris_Seiber]

I sometimes bring a backup, particularly if I have reason to suspect that the wine is more likely to have problems (e.g. White Burg, or very old bottle), but I find that most of my wine gatherings are (a) friendly occasions where nobody is really keeping score on who brought what, much less whether what they brought turns out to have been corked or something, and (b) have too much wine anyway and it doesn’t cause a problem in the least when it turns out one or two of the bottles on the table aren’t good.

I guess if you didn’t have that level of comfort and repeat attendance (for example, you attend a WB offline with people you haven’t met before or something), you could be more cautious with prior testing or bringing backups. But even in that context, am I really going to look at someone who brought a good wine that happened to be corked and feel as though somehow he didn’t pull his weight? Absolutely not.

I did attend a tasting dinner with friends, with a theme of new and old world Rhones, and I brought two bottles that were both corked. An older Chapoutier La Sizeranne Hermitage and a Lillian Syrah. It was annoying, but again, there was more than enough good wine for everyone and it really didn’t end up making much difference. I’m certain nobody looked at me askance for my bottles having been corked.

[Alan_Rath]

@J a y H a c k

@Craig G

I suppose it’s nice to have a backup, but I hope we aren’t really keeping score. I haven’t been to one yet where we had too little wine.

Agreed. It all averages out in the end. It’s not like someone knows it’s going to be corked. I prefer the “He didn’t make it, he just brought it” line. I have never been at a wine dinner where there was not enough wine.

My position as well. Our Peninsula group has adopted this attitude in order to allow one of our members to continue to attend - since most of his bottles are corked. Hmm, maybe we need to look a little more closely at that.

More seriously: bringing a fine wine to a dinner is not without cost. Most of the bottles we bring are not insignificant investments, often exceeding the price of the meal itself (very often). I just consider bad bottles to be part of the shared group risk, not looking to penalize the guy whose bottle happens to be corked or premoxed.

[Stuart_BeauneHead_Niemtzow]

@andy velebil

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

well…is a bottle that is opened, cleaned and the cork push back in to the same place it was (the top of the bottle lip) an “opened container”? admittedly the foil is gone, but…otherwise, unless it’s illegal to travel with foil-less bottles or bring them in, I wouldn’t be afraid of getting arrested or cited.

I’ve never seen that be an issue, though I do know about such technicalities.

Considering most laws consider the original seal being broken as “open”, then yes it does matter quite a bit.

so, if the foil’s not there…the “seal [is] broken”?

[Paul_Jaouen]

I was bringing a back-up but most of the time I wouldn’t want to carry it back so I would open it whether or not the first one was bad. Now I usually open in the morning to check on it so I don’t have the hassle of carrying more than one bottle.

[Ian_Sutton]

@Craig G

I suppose it’s nice to have a backup, but I hope we aren’t really keeping score. I haven’t been to one yet where we had too little wine.

^ This ^

[john_stimson]

Bringing a back up is a good idea, but the problem for me is that the majority of tastings seem to involve wines that need to be aired for 2-3 hours, or more. the not uncommon scenario is you open the wine–underwhelming, but not clearly off. It’s not until you arrive at the tasting that it becomes clear that it’s corked. then if you open your back up, the wine often never gets a chance to really show it’s stuff. If you decide to open a back up because the wine is not showing ideally when first opened, you’d have nearly everyone bringing 2 opened bottles and way too much wine. so I think in most instances, we just chalk it up to the luck of the draw. there is almost always more than enough wine.

[andy_velebil]

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

@andy velebil

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

well…is a bottle that is opened, cleaned and the cork push back in to the same place it was (the top of the bottle lip) an “opened container”? admittedly the foil is gone, but…otherwise, unless it’s illegal to travel with foil-less bottles or bring them in, I wouldn’t be afraid of getting arrested or cited.

I’ve never seen that be an issue, though I do know about such technicalities.

Considering most laws consider the original seal being broken as “open”, then yes it does matter quite a bit.

so, if the foil’s not there…the “seal [is] broken”?

Ok, sorry let me lay this out there for those that can’t figure it out on their own (being sarcastic ). If the original cork has been removed it’s been opened. Does that make it easier for you to understand?

[Stuart_BeauneHead_Niemtzow]

no…because the cork can easily be put back in so no one can tell it was ever removed. And, if you use the same cork, “the original cork” is in place.

the only detectable difference is that the foil is gone.

[Josh_Schwartz]

If the cork has been put back in place (without the foil) to the point where it cannot be removed again without a corkscrew I can’t see it as being a problem. If the bottle cannot be readily accessed then I find it hard to believe it would be an issue. If concerned, put it in the trunk so it’s not accessible in the passenger compartment.

[Stuart_BeauneHead_Niemtzow]

That’s why the idea of bringing a corked or spoiled bottle of wine anywhere always mystifies me. Why wait to find out? To say nothing of the need to remove sediment, etc…or aerate.

[Craig_G]

@J a y H a c k

@Craig G

I suppose it’s nice to have a backup, but I hope we aren’t really keeping score. I haven’t been to one yet where we had too little wine.

Agreed. It all averages out in the end. It’s not like someone knows it’s going to be corked. I prefer the “He didn’t make it, he just brought it” line. I have never been at a wine dinner where there was not enough wine.

I have to admit I brought an oxidized wine and no backup the only time I met Jay, but in my defense I was coming off a plane and those NYC Berserkers were already hammered by the time I arrived.