WINE CHAT: Open That Bottle Night!

It's been a busy month, and the big day has snuck up me.  That's right, it's the tenth annual Open That Bottle Night (OTBN).  I haven't had much of a chance to even think about what I'll open, let alone write an article, so I'll reprise a bit of the info I shared last year.

Dreamed up by Wall Street Journal writers Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, the premise is that anyone with any interest in wine has at least one bottle that has long been languishing for that "special occasion" that never seems to arrive. Well, OTBN gives you permission--go ahead, open it tonight!

I'd have to say if you're going to invent a holiday this sure beats Festivus.

Last year we took a slight different tack on OTBN here at our house. When I buy a special bottle of wine, I usually figure out an occasion appropriate to open it in relatively short order. For many holidays and birthdays, we save money by cooking a special meal at home which also prompts us to open a special bottle.  So there doesn't tend to be wine that languishes a long time in our cellar.

But I did find a Cote du Rhone that had been aged for a few years, waiting for that "special occasion".  Well, OTBN 2008 proved to be said occasion.  Unfortunately, what the holiday taught me is that my cellar conditions are probably not ripe for long term storage!  The wine was definitely off by the time we opened it, I suspect one summer things got a bit too warm down there.  Lesson learned--only bottles I'll keep long term down there will be in the temperature controlled wine fridge!

So I've shied away from long term storage, posing the question of what to open for OTBN.  We've been planning an Italian dinner for tonight, not aware it was OTBN, so perhaps the Nebbiolo I got this fall could be opened.  Or perhaps that special bottle for the night is still sitting at the wine shop.  Stay tuned and find out what we go with, and share what you plan to or choose to open!