Georgia Senate Bill 55 has passed. Perhaps you know it by its street name: the Merlot to Go law. The new law means that you can go ahead and order that bottle of wine, even if you don’t intend to finish it with your dinner, because now you can take it with you! If you have purchased a bottle of wine with your meal and consumed a portion of the wine with your meal, you may ask the restaurant staff to reseal the wine bottle and securely repackage it with the receipt “to go.”The tamper-evident package must then be stored in your locked glove box, trunk or behind the very last seat in your car for a hands-off ride home. We know of several Atlanta restaurants that are ready to help you cork up and re-package your “Merlot to Go” in resealable bags: All Fifth Group Restaurants®, Aria, Aqua Blue, Dogwood and VITA. Thanks to the passage of S.B. 55 and the packaging skills of these restaurants, you can go ahead and order that bottle of wine without feeling as if you must consume it all in one sitting before driving home. Have a glass with dinner and by all means, take it with you to enjoy later at home!
