• On the surface, Maryland leaves it completely up to each town/city, whether licenses are required to allow the consumption of wine in a restaurant and whether BYO would be allowed or not.
  
  
• However, strictly interpreting Article 2B, 12-107(b)(1) of the MD Annotated Code, BYO is not permitted in an unlicensed restaurant unless specifically allowed by the County.
  
  
• BYO is apparently permitted in licensed restaurants, provided the wine brought in is covered by the restaurant’s license.
  
  
• Only the following counties allow customers to bring their own bottles of wine to a full-service restaurant that DOES NOT have a liquor license:

• Caroline
• Charles
• Frederick
• Garrett
• St. Mary’s
• Baltimore (City & County)
• Calvert
• Howard
• Prince George’s
• Queen Anne’s
• Talbot – Except the Town of Easton, which has an Ordinance prohibiting customers from
  bringing their own wine into a non-licensed restaurant
• Carroll
• Kent: Each restaurant can determine its own policy

• Whether or not a person can take wine BYO into a restaurant while they’ve applied for a license depends on the local city and town authorities.
  
  
• However, strictly interpreting Article 2B, 12-107(b)(1) of the MD Annotated Code, BYO would not be legal in such cases unless specifically allowed by the County. The only exception to this law might be those Counties where the authorities have no control whatsoever over non licensed restaurants
  
  
• In the following Cities & Counties, the liquor board has no authority over non-licensed restaurants:

• Baltimore City
• Calvert
• Howard
• Prince George’s
• Queen Anne’s

• Baltimore County specifies that a person bringing wine may not be under age of 21.
  
  
• Even otherwise, the legal age for drinking is 21. The person must be 21 years of age to consume alcohol or to handle, transport, or sell alcohol.

• The restaurant must follow the legal drinking age law and must not serve alcohol to anybody under 21.
  
  
• Alcohol may be consumed only in the areas designated by the restaurant’s license, however, the
  customer may take back home a partially consumed bottle of wine, ordered with the meal.

• Licensed restaurants can store and use the wine brought in BYO, provided they follow laws related to storage and retain the original receipt. However, they may not set off any portion of the bill against the price of the leftovers.
  
  
• Unlicensed restaurants may not store and use wine brought in BYO

• Customers may take a partially finished bottle back with them. Maryland does allow re-corking by law, but a number of experts feel that the liability issues around letting consumers have re-corked bottles of wine back are still unresolved.