In New Zealand, the culture for BYO is primarily to save cost and the wine supplied by the customer is often under the $10 mark.

OPINION: To BYO or not to BYO, that is the question.

The plethora of articles and opinions currently in the media around our drinking culture often add nothing new to the debate.

It took seven years for Otto Groen to convince the powers that be that restaurant customers enjoying a glass of wine with their meal would not be the end of the world.

MAARTEN HOLL/FAIRFAX NZ Mike Egan in the kitchen of his Monsoon Poon restaurant in Wellington.

From that landmark decision way back in 1961 until now, we have seen significant changes in attitudes towards drinking as well a number of legislative changes which have both liberalised and demonised the industry.



1989 saw the relaxing of laws that enabled a proliferation of small bars as the duopoly of the breweries was broken up.

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Up until then, to get a drink after 11pm on a Friday or Saturday or 10pm Monday to Thursday you had to go to one of the few nightclubs in town which had strict dress codes and a door charge.

These new rules allowed small bars to open and cater to a specific market.

Before these changes, the number of pub licences was restricted and there were only huge pubs in the city such as the 1860 Tavern in central Wellington, which in the early 1980s was turning over $140,000 every week ($400,000 in today's money).

These huge pubs could be very violent back then as your customer base was too varied and often it was a powder keg-like atmosphere - especially on a Saturday night with rival sports teams coming into town after pre-loading at the clubrooms.

Checking ID was merely a matter of asking someone their date of birth and if they recited it confidently, you were in - not so good if you had a stutter.

Now with mandatory photo ID and controlled police purchase stings as well as punitive fines and potential business closing infringements, everyone is much better at helping reduce the harm of over indulging in alcohol.

However, there is one group of licensed premises that seems to have been bypassed, and that is the BYO - or Bring Your Own.

It's now common for young people to use inner-city BYO restaurants to get around the liquor ban.

By taking in bottles of wine and buying a couple of menu items to share, patrons can pre-load at supermarket prices then head to party bars to finish off the night.

BYO restaurants don't seem to bother to ask for proof of age. I assume they think the young customer was already asked for this when they bought the wine.

The restaurants also don't seem to be too worried about intoxication or monitoring consumption - how could they? The advent of screw caps means you can just pull out bottle after bottle from your bag.

In New Zealand, the culture for BYO is primarily to save cost and the wine supplied by the customer is often under the $10 mark.

Overseas, BYOs enable guests to bring a special bottle of wine to enjoy with the cuisine of the restaurant.

In Los Angeles, the corkage is often $30-$35 a bottle with a limit of around two bottles per table. When you add tax and tip no one is going to bring a bottle of "eight-buck chuck".

If we are serious about minimising the harm of alcohol then maybe it's time to challenge the way some inner-city BYO restaurants seem to tolerate behaviour that would not be permitted in fully licensed premises.

Stopping customers having full control over their own supply of alcohol and upping minimum corkage rates could encourage BYOs to join the rest of the industry already on board with positively changing New Zealand drinking culture.

* Wellington restaurateur Mike Egan is the President of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.

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