OPEN THAT BOTTLE!
By Leslie-Ann Sheppard
Do you have a special bottle of wine you've been saving for just the right occasion?

Many wine consumers have a selection of wines at home. Some folks buy wine by the case, not only to enjoy a customary case discount, but also to have a small collection on hand from which they can select an appropriate bottle for any occasion. Pizza night calls for an inexpensive Italian red. Thai food sings with a French rosé. A romantic dinner for two may deserve a favorite, better bottle. A cocktail party requires easy-going, uncomplicated crowdappeal. Then there are the other bottles in the collection - the one or two that begin to get dusty, even moldy. These are the very special bottles, the ones that we're saving for the right occasion.

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher are two columnists for The Wall Street Journal who have created such an occasion. The duo, a husband and wife writing team, focus their column, "Tastings," on reviewing wines. Each edition has a specific focus, such as "2005 White Burgundy" or "Good Value Cabernet Sauvignon." They have a user-friendly writing style coupled with good wine knowledge and have certainly inspired many readers in their years of writing about wine.

In 2000, Gaiter and Brecher invented a kind of "wine holiday" that they named "Open That Bottle Night" (OTBN). It is a creation intended to give wine lovers a reason to open a special bottle of wine they've been saving. Apparently the columnists were motivated by stories of their readers writing to them about these precious bottles of wine. Readers from all over the United States had written to them, stressing out about the rare bottle or two that they couldn't ever bring themselves to open. No occasion ever seemed right enough to uncork the saved bottles.

The popular movie "Sideways" illustrated this situation brilliantly. The main character, pinot-noir obsessed Miles, spoke about a bottle of prized 1961 Cheval Blanc (an extremely rare Bordeaux) he'd been hoarding in the bottom of his closet. Desperate and down and out later in the movie, he cracks open the bottle at a cafeteria-type restaurant and drinks it alone out of a Styrofoam cup. I'm sure my cringing was the standard reaction!

As a solution, Gaiter and Brecher initiated OTBN, and designated it to fall on the last Saturday night in February each year. I'm not exactly sure why they picked February, but I like it. It's the dead of winter, and what a great impetus for a get together - whether with one special someone or a group of wine enthusiasts who all have at least one bottle they've been saving. Then, the sort of mundane, non-descript last Saturday in February becomes the occasion.

Now, I know our last Saturday of February has come and gone, and many, many people around the U.S. enjoyed OTBN. It has become well-known enough to have Web sites dedicated to bloggers' accounts of opening their special bottles, and evidence of OTBN leaking into popular culture can be seen in the fact that OTBN was a recent "Jeopardy" answer.

But for those just learning about OTBN, I have the perfect solution. This is a leap year, and isn't leap day the ultimate day to create your own OTBN? It even falls on a Friday.

The main point of OTBN is that wine is meant to be enjoyed. There are many stories of waiting too long to open that bottle; as a result, that great bottle is past its prime. It never gets opened, never enjoyed, and then what's the point of storing it for so long? Open it!

If you don't happen to have an old, precious bottle of wine that you've been obsessing over, why not shop for an extra-special bottle? After all, sharing special wine has been the impetus for

creating many great memories! I

Leslie-Ann Sheppard is the owner of The Cellar, a seasonal wine and cheese shop on Surfside Road. The Cellar will reopen in early April for its fourth season.