Stories about 2009 Open That Bottle Night (page 5)

(from Kellie B., Virginia)

My husband and I and two other couples gathered for dinner on OTB night to toast the conclusion of ten years together as parents of once-junior kindergartners who will soon graduate from middle school to attend three different high schools. We had become friends while chaperoning our first graders' field trips, videotaping our third graders' school plays, transporting our fifth graders' science projects, cheering our eighth graders' basketball games, and sharing so many joyful moments in between.
 
We enjoyed several very good wines that evening, but the star was a Shafer Hillside Select 1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Clearly cultivated by loving hands to exacting standards (a Robert Parker 99-point rating), it was still young, but showed tremendous promise in years to come. It was perfect.

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(from John & Lori W. of Virginia)

Several years ago we learned of OTBN and this year my husband and I worked with one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants – Tuscarora Mill aka “Tuskies” in Leesburg, Virginia - to arrange a special OTBN for 32 of our friends.

Tuskies allowed our guests to bring in their special bottles of wine (Opus One, Silver Oak, Faust, Madrigal & Grgich Hills to name a few) to be shared while enjoying a wonderful meal starting with artisanal cheeses, followed by an organic salad, grilled filet mignon with jumbo shrimp in a bordelaise sauce - accompanied by garlic whipped potatoes and baby vegetables.
Stories were told about the significance of each chosen bottle and the night ended with a desert buffet and a drawing (using everyone’s corks) for a bottle of Karl Lawrence Cabernet signed by everyone.
We have attached some pictures from our evening and we are looking forward to OTBN 2010!

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You will find a great narrative and photos from Snooth's OTBN celebration at North Square Restaurant in New York City here.

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(from Charity C. and Marty P. of Florida)

We have been fans of [Dorothy and John's] wine column since [they] began writing for the Wall Street Journal; however, we never participated in OTBN until last Saturday.

We had a good excuse.  We are selling our home, which has a wine cellar, and moving to another state where we will not have a cellar.  We have many older reds that we need to open and too many to not invite our friends to join in the fun.

We invited two other couples to drink some of our more expensive wine—that offer in itself made them excited. Trying to cook a fabulous meal that would equal the wine was a little nerve racking, so we opted for simplicity rather than opulence, allowing the wine to be the showcase of the night. We grilled lamb and accompanied it with spinach salad and six grain saffron rice. One friend brought homemade chocolates, fresh Florida strawberries and a bottle of Dolce for dessert.  What’s not to like here!

It was a night of celebration as we toasted our friends who we have known for almost 20 years and invited them to visit us often after we leave. Of course, we know how difficult it is to get away with family and work obligations, but we hope that maybe at least once a year we can get together and celebrate with a special bottle of vino.

About the wine we opened:  Magnums were the showcase of the evening as we opened a 1997 Chateau St. Jean Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This held special significance as we purchased the bottle at the winery when we visited Napa Valley for the first time in 2001. Winemaker Steve Reeder also signed the bottle for us. In addition, we opened a magnum of 2001 Caymus Cabernet. We opened the St. Jean six hours prior to serving and it was delicious—full of fruit with a smooth finish.  We opened the Caymus and served it immediately and were surprised how rich and layered with flavors the wine was. We are a firm believer that a “big red” needs to breath—sometimes for hours—prior to serving.  We have had much success by doing so, but the Caymus proved that not all wine needs to have air.

We also opened a 1993 Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello that we had hand-carried back from a trip to Italy. We were nervous about how it might taste, so we opened it six hours before serving as well.  Throughout the afternoon, we tasted the wine to see how it was progressing and found about three hours after opening, it was horrible—the taste was thin and watery with an acid finish.  I had already written the wine off, but three hours later my husband said, “Try this.” The wine had blossomed into a smooth rich taste that was a wonderful surprise.  It’s at these times, we were glad we had some patience.

At the end of the evening, we all asked ourselves why we had waited so long to celebrate OTBN!

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For even more stories, please click here.

Please send your plans, stories and photos of Open That Bottle Night to OTBN@OpenThatBottleNight.com

 

You might indicate where you were, how many people participated, the significance of the bottles that you opened, and anything else that would show why the evening was special for you.

 

Stories about Open That Bottle Night (page 5)

(from Kellie B., Virginia)

My husband and I and two other couples gathered for dinner on OTB night to toast the conclusion of ten years together as parents of once-junior kindergartners who will soon graduate from middle school to attend three different high schools. We had become friends while chaperoning our first graders' field trips, videotaping our third graders' school plays, transporting our fifth graders' science projects, cheering our eighth graders' basketball games, and sharing so many joyful moments in between.
 
We enjoyed several very good wines that evening, but the star was a Shafer Hillside Select 1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Clearly cultivated by loving hands to exacting standards (a Robert Parker 99-point rating), it was still young, but showed tremendous promise in years to come. It was perfect.

---

(from John & Lori W. of Virginia)

Several years ago we learned of OTBN and this year my husband and I worked with one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants – Tuscarora Mill aka “Tuskies” in Leesburg, Virginia - to arrange a special OTBN for 32 of our friends.

Tuskies allowed our guests to bring in their special bottles of wine (Opus One, Silver Oak, Faust, Madrigal & Grgich Hills to name a few) to be shared while enjoying a wonderful meal starting with artisanal cheeses, followed by an organic salad, grilled filet mignon with jumbo shrimp in a bordelaise sauce - accompanied by garlic whipped potatoes and baby vegetables.
Stories were told about the significance of each chosen bottle and the night ended with a desert buffet and a drawing (using everyone’s corks) for a bottle of Karl Lawrence Cabernet signed by everyone.
We have attached some pictures from our evening!

---

You will find a great narrative and photos from Snooth's OTBN celebration at North Square Restaurant in New York City here.

---

(from Charity C. and Marty P. of Florida)

We have been fans of [Dorothy and John's] wine column since [they] began writing for the Wall Street Journal; however, we never participated in OTBN until last Saturday.

We had a good excuse.  We are selling our home, which has a wine cellar, and moving to another state where we will not have a cellar.  We have many older reds that we need to open and too many to not invite our friends to join in the fun.

We invited two other couples to drink some of our more expensive wine—that offer in itself made them excited. Trying to cook a fabulous meal that would equal the wine was a little nerve racking, so we opted for simplicity rather than opulence, allowing the wine to be the showcase of the night. We grilled lamb and accompanied it with spinach salad and six grain saffron rice. One friend brought homemade chocolates, fresh Florida strawberries and a bottle of Dolce for dessert.  What’s not to like here!

It was a night of celebration as we toasted our friends who we have known for almost 20 years and invited them to visit us often after we leave. Of course, we know how difficult it is to get away with family and work obligations, but we hope that maybe at least once a year we can get together and celebrate with a special bottle of vino.

About the wine we opened:  Magnums were the showcase of the evening as we opened a 1997 Chateau St. Jean Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This held special significance as we purchased the bottle at the winery when we visited Napa Valley for the first time in 2001. Winemaker Steve Reeder also signed the bottle for us. In addition, we opened a magnum of 2001 Caymus Cabernet. We opened the St. Jean six hours prior to serving and it was delicious—full of fruit with a smooth finish.  We opened the Caymus and served it immediately and were surprised how rich and layered with flavors the wine was. We are a firm believer that a “big red” needs to breath—sometimes for hours—prior to serving.  We have had much success by doing so, but the Caymus proved that not all wine needs to have air.

We also opened a 1993 Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello that we had hand-carried back from a trip to Italy. We were nervous about how it might taste, so we opened it six hours before serving as well.  Throughout the afternoon, we tasted the wine to see how it was progressing and found about three hours after opening, it was horrible—the taste was thin and watery with an acid finish.  I had already written the wine off, but three hours later my husband said, “Try this.” The wine had blossomed into a smooth rich taste that was a wonderful surprise.  It’s at these times, we were glad we had some patience.

At the end of the evening, we all asked ourselves why we had waited so long to celebrate OTBN!

---

For even more stories, please click here.

Please send your plans, stories and photos of Open That Bottle Night to OTBN@OpenThatBottleNight.com

 

You might indicate where you were, how many people participated, the significance of the bottles that you opened, and anything else that would show why the evening was special for you.