Do you have a bottle of wine that you’ve been saving for a “special occasion”? What about a wine that you just can’t seem to find the right moment to open it up for, the right meal to pair it with, or the right person to drink it with? Whatever the excuse, it is time to finally dust off that bottle, take it out of your wine cellar, fridge, or closet, and open it because this Saturday is Open That Bottle Night (OTBN)!
Created in 1999 by Dorothy “Dottie” J. Gaiter and John Brecher, the former writers of the Wall Street Journal’s tastings column, OTBN encourages wine lovers from all over the globe to stop putting off opening up that special bottle of wine and just drink and enjoy it already! The event was first held on a Saturday in 1999, and has been held every year since on the last Saturday of February.
I LOVE this idea! I truly believe that every day is a reason to open up a bottle of wine and celebrate life. On the other hand, I am also the queen of putting off opening certain bottles for whatever possible reason I can come up with at the moment. So I am excited to finally have a “reason” to open up one of those bottles I’ve been saving.
The wine you chose to open does not have to be expensive, old, or rare, it should just be something that has meaning to you, something you’ve been putting off drinking or have been holding onto for too long.
For me, my most expensive or rare bottles are ones I buy with the intent of opening on a specific date (an anniversary, birthday, etc.), so they rarely get left by the wayside. It is the bottles in the mid-range of price and quality that I put off drinking, the ones that I purchased directly from the winery, or on a special trip, or given to me by a special person. It is those bottles that hold special meaning to me since their presence reminds me of that trip or person I bought them with. Those are the ones I want to cherish and thus procrastinate opening. And it is one of those very bottles I intend to open this coming Saturday.
Which specific bottle will I open?
While I haven’t quite decided which bottle I will open yet, I have narrowed it down to less than a handful of candidates. Perhaps one of the few remaining bottles I brought back from a trip to France back in 2008. Or maybe one of the Oregon Pinot Noirs from my first trip to the Willamette Valley that made my husband and I want to move there. Maybe even something that reminds me of when I lived in San Francisco and started falling in love with wine in the first place. I’m thinking it will be whichever bottle I’ve been putting off opening the longest… You’ll have to wait and see!
So for all of you out there who are holding on to a specific bottle, for whatever reason, I encourage you to celebrate this event and liberate yourself once and for all. Invite some good friends over to bring a bottle and do the same, or just enjoy it intimately with another person, or heck, even enjoy it by yourself! But just open it and create some new memories!
If you would like to participate live globally, then I encourage you to check out the Palate Press website to share your experience with others. According to Palate Press:
"Dottie and John will host Open That Bottle Night live, on February 26, 2011, from 7 pm to 10 pm Eastern, only on Palate Press: The online wine magazine. Join us on OTBN to chat with Dottie and John. Tell us what you opened, with whom you are sharing it, and the story behind the bottle. This will be the first time Dottie and John have ever hosted OTBN live, so join the conversation and make it special."
You can also tweet about the event using the hashtag #OTBN.
There are also many restaurants, wine shops, and groups planning events in honor of OTBN. For more information check out this link for a running list of participants to see if there are any in your area.
I will probably be absent from too many online events as I plan to enjoy my bottle with the hubby over an awesome dinner at home, with no technology involved.
So, are you planning to participate in OTBN?
If so what bottle are you planning to open?
If you’re not planning to participate, why the heck not???
For more information on OTBN check out Palate Press Magazine, or this interview with Dottie and John from last years event.
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