After twelve years and 579 articles, husband and wife wine writing team Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher wrote their final Tastings column for the Wall Street Journal on December 26, 2009.  In it they offered their very personal perspective on The Mysterious Heart of Deliciousness, subtitled Trust Yourself. The greatest wine experiences are deeply personal. Taking direct aim at those who rate wines on the 100 point scale, they said, “Too many people have come to believe that there is some sort of objective truth about every wine. This is nonsense.”

I tend to agree with them, for if you’ve ever been in a group wine tasting, of any size, then you have noticed that opinions range quite widely, and there is typically little if any consensus.  Moreover, one person’s 95 rating could be another’s 85, and, interestingly, both would be correct in their assessment of the same wine.  The former might appreciate the abundant tannins and their role in the wine’s prospective long term aging.  The latter would not, for he/she might prefer something to drink right now, and those same astringent tannins would preclude such near term dining enjoyment.

However, one of Gaiter and Brecher’s more noteworthy contributions to American wine history is their creation of OTBN, or Open That Bottle Night.  Throughout their career they received frequent questions from readers about a particular bottle’s value, its aging possibilities as well as the optimum time to drink it.  They knew that virtually every wine drinker has one stored somewhere, waiting for the perfect occasion.  With years of experience, it was clear to them that the perfect moment seldom occurred. That special wine eventually aged into decline, and consequently, a potentially memorable evening was missed. 

With that in mind,  they wrote a column in 1999 proposing the last Saturday in February as Open That Bottle Night, and asked readers to bring their special bottle out of hiding and enjoy it before it was too late. They were asked to research its special qualities and reflect on how they came to own it.  They were advised to enjoy the wine without agonizing about what might have been had they opened it sooner, or waited longer. They were also invited to write and share that evening’s experience, which they did by the hundreds, as they also have every year since.  With OTBN and February’s last Saturday a few weeks away, you may want to take part in a unique American tradition.  Rescue that dusty Cabernet in the rear of your clothes closet, invite some friends for dinner, and enjoy it with appropriate food.  It just might develop into a delicious and deeply personal wine experience. 

— Submitted by Tom Barras