Open That Bottle Night
This holiday was created in 2000 by writers Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. It is held on the last Saturday in February each year.
The two journalists, who are married, wrote the “Tastings” Column for the Wall Street Journal. They had often been contacted by people who had a special bottle and asked them, when should I open this?
People are afraid to open those special bottles. They are precious, and we try to save them for the perfect occasion. Of course, you can wait too long. The wine can pass its prime, or you can no longer have that special someone in your life to share the wine with.
Dorothy and John determined that a holiday would encourage people to seize the moment, open those bottles, and make memories with them. They named the day “Open that Bottle Night,” known by practitioners as OTBN!
A bit about Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher
Dorothy and John, are extremely well respected journalists. The two met and fell in love right out of college when they worked at the Miami Herald in 1973. Their careers collectively and separately took them through well know publications, like the New York Times, The Herald, Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. Passionate about wine when not writing, they were asked in 1998 to do a column for the Wall Street Journal, in addition to their regular jobs at the publication, John was the Page One editor and Dottie edited the Urban Affairs section of the paper. No one expected the wine column “Tastings” to become so popular. Eventually it became their focus at the Journal.
Dorothy and John are still active writing for The Grape Collective! You can find their latest articles there.
Find a bottle and join us, the collective OTBN crew.
You’re one of us! You know you are!
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Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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The goal is to make your mouth water and encourage you to create your own “Tempting Spoonfuls.”
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