On July 1, Virginia’s new corkage law took effect. It is now legal to BYOB to restaurants that at minimum hold an on-premises license for beer sales. An important caveat is that the law is voluntary. Restaurants can therefore choose whether and when their patrons can bring in their own wine as well as how much of a corkage fee they will charge for the privilege.

Although several states and the District of Columbia have corkage laws on the books, the laws vary dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Sen. Jeffrey McWaters (R-Virginia Beach), the bill’s sponsor, is hopeful that the law will be a boon to the state’s wine industry and that it will help Virginia restaurants located along state lines recapture some business from North Carolina and District of Columbia establishments, where corkage laws were already in effect.

However, early restaurateur reaction to the law is mixed. As the Roanoke Times reports, some are justifiably afraid that the law will negatively impact restaurant wine sales. Others liken the law “to allowing customers to bring their own food” to a restaurant. Some are hopeful that the loss in wine sales will be made up by additional food sales and the corkage fees, and that it may offer an incentive for more frequent dining out by wine enthusiast clientele.

For those interested in some BYOB etiquette, blogger Frank Morgan at DrinkWhatYouLike.com offers some common sense tips, including calling ahead to a restaurant to check its policy before toting in your entire wine collection. To read more etiquette tips, click here. For more on the Virginia corkage law, visit the ABC Facebook page.

Clarendon Best Cellars Closing

In other wine news, ARLnow.com reports that the Clarendon Best Cellars will be closing its doors July 16 after seven years in the neighborhood. As a friendly place to pick up an affordable bottle of vino on the way to a party or for a week night dinner, I know that I will miss the Cellars. In order to clear its inventory, the store is currently offering a 25% discount on wine and food items, and 20% on beer. Stop by one last time!

Best Cellars
2855 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 741-0404

-Johnisha M. Levi

Tags: ARLnow, beer discount, Best Cellars, Clarendon, corkage fees, corkage law, DrinkWhatYouLike, Gut Check, Jeffrey McWaters, Johnisha M. Levi, Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine, NoVA, Virgina ABC, Virginia wine industry, Washington Post, wine discount, wine inventory sale