Originally Posted by
cbn42
In the context of the question, open container laws prohibit carrying alcohol in the passenger area of a car, on the ridiculous assumption that if the bottle is open, the driver must be drinking it. I have never heard of these "wine doggy bag" laws, although they seem to be a good idea.
The first post mentioning open container laws did reference them relative to driving, but the same types of laws in the US do very much apply to people on foot in public spaces such as sidewalks. Try walking back to your home or hotel with a half-finished bottle of wine in your hand, and in many jurisdictions the police can cite you for an infraction. It's not always their highest enforcement priority, of course, but if you are doing something else that attracts police attention in a negative way they can and will use the violation as a way to stop, question, search, cite, and possibly arrest you.