Maine

another alcohol-related post--venue's restrictions

FI and I are having trouble getting to a good spot with alcohol for our reception.  Our venue is an inn with a restaurant (but in a ballroom, not the restaurant itself).  They said that they can get us whatever wine we want as long as there is a distributor in Maine that sells it.  Now they are saying that they can still do that, but they will charge us for everything they have to buy (versus if we go with their wines, it's consumption-based), and they are not able to give us the leftovers because they don't have a package license. 

We have tried their house wines, and they're not great.  I don't think we're being bratty and insisting on certain wines, we just want something that will taste good and not be a ridiculous price.  We will try their more expensive wines, but it's frustrating because there are plenty of inexpensive wines that we like that would be inexpensive even with the inn's mark up.  Plus, they charge what they would charge guests in their restaurant for wine, even though there's a bartender fee included in our package, which is an added frustration that I don't think we can do anything about.

I would love if someone had ideas about how Maine liquor laws actually work (I want to make sure they're being honest in what they're telling us).  Have you had a similar experience with your venue?  Sorry that this post is also part vent/rant.

Re: another alcohol-related post--venue's restrictions

  • edited December 2011
    I have no idea about the liquor laws in Maine, sorry.  What about ordering a certain amount of the wine you like and when it runs out, the house wine will be served?  This way you get the wine you want and don't have to worry about paying for wine you don't drink.  You could also put the nicer wine on the tables and serve house at the bar.  Once people have had a few glasses I bet they won't notice the difference. 
    Married 9.4.11
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maine_another-alcohol-related-post-venues-restrictions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:98Discussion:23aa0741-3b16-4702-aea5-05f76e0d4750Post:b2b52f83-c438-4edc-aa4f-f50b95a6b72b">Re: another alcohol-related post--venue's restrictions</a>:
    [QUOTE]I have no idea about the liquor laws in Maine, sorry.  What about ordering a certain amount of the wine you like and when it runs out, the house wine will be served?  This way you get the wine you want and don't have to worry about paying for wine you don't drink.  You could also put the nicer wine on the tables and serve house at the bar.  Once people have had a few glasses I bet they won't notice the difference. 
    Posted by chrispygal[/QUOTE]

    Yes, that's a great idea, thanks!  FI actually just sent me an email suggesting the same thing, so I think we will ask about doing this, and hopefully the inn doesn't have some reason why it won't work. 
  • LHB2011LHB2011 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My caterer told me that she was only allowed to serve alcohol if she provided it.  If we wanted to buy it on our own, we had to hire a separate bar tender to do so. I don't know if that's useful - it's just the only part of Maine liquor laws that I know :-)
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • plato79plato79 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Not sure how the ease of navigation is, but this looks like a site with all the liquor laws on it: http://www.maine.gov/dps/liqr/laws.html 

    I think it's a great idea by Chrispygal (she's full of good ones!) to buy a set amount, then let people drink house wine later. Great idea and seriously, not many people have the pallette (sp?) to differentiate after the first few glasses.

    Good luck!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker June 3, 2011!
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maine_another-alcohol-related-post-venues-restrictions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:98Discussion:23aa0741-3b16-4702-aea5-05f76e0d4750Post:22a307f2-09aa-4030-9551-af9c838a1f18">Re: another alcohol-related post--venue's restrictions</a>:
    [QUOTE]Not sure how the ease of navigation is, but this looks like a site with all the liquor laws on it:  <a href="http://www.maine.gov/dps/liqr/laws.html" rel='nofollow'>http://www.maine.gov/dps/liqr/laws.html</a>   I think it's a great idea by Chrispygal (she's full of good ones!) to buy a set amount, then let people drink house wine later. Great idea and seriously, not many people have the pallette (sp?) to differentiate after the first few glasses. Good luck!
    Posted by plato79[/QUOTE]

    <div>Yeah, FI and I looked at ME liquor laws, and from what we can tell, the venue is right (or at least has a conservative interpretation of ambiguous parts, and we can't really fault them for that).  We are going to talk to the distributor and see if the venue can return unopened cases of wine (which is illegal in some states, but we didn't see anything about it here), and, if that won't work, we'll buy a set amount such that there will be no leftovers, because I think you're right, after a few glasses, they won't know the difference.  </div>
  • edited December 2011
    Awesome!  Let us know what you end up doing.  Glad we could help.  Smile
    Married 9.4.11
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards