People who order a bottle of wine at a restaurant but fail to finish it before their meal ends are now allowed to put a cork in it and bring it home.
The law permitting the transportation of unfinished alcohol in Quebec came into effect on Tuesday.
This means that restaurant and bar patrons who order bottles of wine and do not finish their drinks can close the bottle and bring it home. The bottle must be airtight and cannot be re-opened before being brought home.
The law does not change for beer or spirits -- transporting open bottles of those is still illegal.
The measure was approved by the National Assembly earlier this month as an amendment to part of the provincial budget.
The Gazette's fine dining critic Lesley Chesterman said it's a chance to try out wines you might not normally purchase.
"People don't think about this, but in so many of Montreal's top restaurants, or even lower-level restaurants, we're seeing really interesting wine lists, and wines that you can't buy at the SAQ. So this is actually a golden opportunity to order a bottle where you just have one glass, and this is a bottle you wouldn't be able to get otherwise," she said.
Chesterman said she's heard some restaurateurs worry about the new law and how it will affect them, but also feels it's very possible establishments will end up making more money, because some diners may order a second bottle for a table, knowing they can bring it home.
