Wine question

Good question! To be honest, I don't think we've ever ordered a bottle at dinner and had any leftover :) so I haven't dealt with it from a leaving a restaurant perspective, but I know that it is extremely common for shops to sell "takeaway" drinks. I've never had anyone give me a strange look if I buy a bottle of wine and ask them to open it for me so I can take it to drink at a nearby park, city square, etc. Especially in Italy, it is very common for people to bring their own wine or beer and drink it on the church steps in the evening. I would guess you won't have any issues, but I'm sure someone else here can answer your question more definitively.

I guess I am with the previous poster, not usually an issue for me; but the answer is yes, you may take the bottle with you. I would suggest popping the cork back in as far as you can get it.

Simply carrying a bottle of wine is fine, drinking as you go might raise a few eyebrows, but in general there are many fewer "rules" around alcohol. Certain areas may ban consumption (same with food), but you may very well see people sharing a bottle of wine in public spaces, and bars will typically spill out into the street at busy times. For the most part though, what you will not see is the rowdy abuse you see with "public" drinking that you see in the US.

wine or beer and drink it on the church steps in the evening

Just for the record, this is the quickest way to drive italians older than 20 mad, to be labelled as a jerk by the elderly living there (that church is their Parrish!) and to be fined by the first local cop passing by.

Not because of what you are drinking, drinking is not a sin in Europe. Because you should never camp on monuments and churches in Italy.

Don't drink on church steps

I was wondering the same thing! Though we always finish the whole bottle of wine when dining out, I'll keep this in mind just in case. But yeah, there's gotta be someone who'll drink the remaining wine for sure!

Be sure to ask the server for the cork after opening bottle. Unlike the US, it seems the cork is not left on the table (at least in Italy). Or try the house wine which is less expense and you can order 1/2 L (2/3's of a bottle). 1L tends to be too much for two of us during dinner. Not sure about Spain, but Italian house wines are good.

Many restaurants also have half bottles (375ml instead of 750ml). They can be a good option if you want something other than house wine but don't feel like drinking a full bottle.

Great tips upthread. Sometimes we will order a small carafe of house wine in Italy. That said, if we open a bottle of wine and don't finish it, I bring my favorite bottle stopper. I recommend "Lilypad Bottle Stopper" by Charles Viancin. BPA Free, and food grade silicone. It is lightweight and keeps wine fresh if you want to finish it the next day. Makes a nice gift as well! Available on Amazon. I have also found them at kitchen stores, and Ace Hardware.

Never had the 'problem' of leftover wine. IF it should ever happen I think I would pour the leftover into the empty water bottle in my day bag.

Less weight than a glass bottle and easier to keep it discrete.

Especially in Italy, it is very common for people to bring their own wine or beer and drink it on the church steps in the evening.

Must be something VERY recent. Never saw any such thing when in Italy

We were just in the Naples area.
The pizza restaurant (the cheep place) had expensive wine.
The fine dining restaurant had a very good house wine that was served in a carafe and was only about 3 Euro. Wonderful.

I encourage you to heed Dario's advice. No sitting on church steps, drinking or otherwise.

You can order a carafe of house wine of various sizes in most restaurants (1/4 liter, 1/2 liter, 3/4liter, 1 liter). If you order by the bottle, they also have the half bottle (375 ml). So I see no reason to have leftover wine (never happened to me).
But yes, the restaurants will let you take the leftover bottle and there are no laws against open bottles. Actually in Italy you can also carry an open container of alcohol and even drink alcohol in a moving car, as long as the driver is not intoxicated with an alcoholic level of 0.5g/l or more.

In Bellagio when we haven't finished the bottle we get the cork and paper bag and take the bottle back to our hotel where we usually finish it on the patio.

Apologies Dario! In the past we have seen others do it, but we will certainly fix our behavior going forward!

I had read on the forum that Italy is cracking down on people eating/drinking on the streets. Can I get some clarification on where its acceptable to picnic or have a glass of wine (other than cafe/restaurant) I'm assuming, benches? parks? wall (like a retaining wall or similar)

This is a little off topic so please excuse.
One of the great pleasures of being in Italy is not just the food but where you eat it. I admit, once I've found a place that puts smiles in all the right places, I tend to be a faithful customer from year to year. For me, the smaller, family owned/run places with no tourist menu are pretty consistently what I'm looking for. That includes the wine - I order a decanter of the house red. I was told that you have a better chance this way of getting what the family drinks, what the family makes, what the area is most proud of. I've yet to be disappointed. So, for the past 16 years I've avoided the bottle in favor of: un' mezzo di vino rosso, della casa. La dolce vita!!!!

A lot of off-topic responses. And only one or two mentioned the key thing, you need to make sure the cork or screw-cap is retained at the table if you want to take the bottle back to your hotel. It's a great way to enjoy the rest of your wine later and make you feel better about buying a nicer quality wine (as you'll know you will drink all of it).