06/20/12 – Open That Bottle night

By Jesse on June 19, 2012

Everybody’s got that dusty old bottle of wine lying around that they’ve been putting off drinking for months now. In the event that the unknown special occasion for which you’re subconsciously saving it doesn’t come around for a while, the Winos are giving you an excuse to open it right now! This Wednesday, we’re celebrating “Open That Bottle night.”

vintagewinebottlesThe Winos held a similar tasting three years ago, entitled “It’s the economy, Wino (so drink what you have) .” The recession may be easing, but the theme still seems highly appropriate. Forget the articles that list all kinds of great values for $8 or $10 or $12… why buy something new when you can drink what you already have? In a great blog post from around the time of our last meeting, Alder Yarrow of Vinography encourages his readers to preserve their budget by drinking that bottle they’ve never gotten around to opening:

Buying wine and not drinking it is a crime nearly as severe as buying a Ferrari and not driving it or owning a great record collection and not listening to it. Yet so many wine lovers, even those who don’t consider themselves to be “collectors” can quite easily fall into the trap of finding the acquisition of wine easier to justify than its consumption.

“Open That Bottle Night” is actually a nationwide initiative, started by two Wall Street Journal columnists, to drink the wine you’ve been saving for that special occasion. It takes place the last week of February, but we were deep into March Craziness by then, so we’re just catching up now.

Please bring any bottle you’ve been saving for a while, along with the story of where you got it (and why you haven’t drank it). Ideally, the wine was kept in some kind of reasonable environment… the Chilean Shiraz that’s been in the back seat of your car since it fell out of your grocery bag nine months ago might not be the best bet. Skip the Sauv Blanc that’s been in your fridge since you moved into your new apartment, and instead bring that bottle that’s been gathering dust on the floor of your closet.

If you don’t have a bottle that you think would be appropriate, another option might be to stop by your favorite wine shop and grab that interesting bottle that you’ve been meaning to buy for a while, but never got around to. (Or, if you don’t have time to get to a wine shop, then this week might be a good time to bring a $10 spot. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of wines… I’m bringing several bottles myself.)

We’ll be meeting at Ryan’s place in West LA. The RSVP system functions like this: if you want in, you click on this link and tell me so (don’t forget your full name, e-mail address, and a cute message conveying to me your intentions). Once you’ve gotten your confirmation e-mail, dig out that dusty bottle from wherever it’s been sleeping — or find yourself a $10 bill. We’ll see you Winos on Wednesday night.