After my grandmother’s death, we opened an old trunk she kept and found dozens of presents that family members had given her over the years. Many were in the original packages! She considered these gifts too good for use every day, so she saved them for a special occasion that never came. I vowed to learn from that experience, and not live like my time is unlimited, and mostly I’ve kept to that intention. But my grandmother’s genes are at work nonetheless, because I have found myself hoarding wine. Do you do that too? We splurge on a great bottle of wine and put it down to save for a special occasion. Years pass, and the right time for opening that bottle just doesn’t seem to come. Many times we even forget that we still have it. We just keep on drinking everyday wines while the really good stuff is collecting dust in the cellar.

This apparently is a very common practice among wine lovers. Six years ago, John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter, who write the highly-regarded Friday wine column in the Wall Street Journal, decided to do something about it. They came up with a novel idea they called "Open That Bottle Night" (OTBN). The premise is to encourage people to open those wines they have been hoarding and make the bottle itself the special occasion. They recommend having a party to which you invite other wine lovers. Everyone brings a special bottle of something they have been saving, and they tell how and why they acquired it, and then all the bottles are opened and enjoyed. Well, you hope that all are enjoyed. Sometimes wines that have been down a long time are corked (tainted by TCA), or have outlived their optimum maturity. But, even so, you are sure to have more joys than disappointments. You get to taste wines that are no longer available and which you would never otherwise get to try. If the wine is bad, you are rid of something that wasn’t worth saving; and if the wine is good, or even great, you get the pleasure that only comes from the winemaking art, when fruit, tannins, and time all combine to produce something very special. You are certain to derive pleasure from the elements of anticipation and surprise that come with an exercise like this, and at the very least, you get to spend an enjoyable evening in the company of wine drinking friends.

The date set for this year’s OTBN is Saturday, February 26, but such a celebration could be done most any time. Talk to some of your friends and gauge their interest in participating. You might want to set a minimum age for the wines (say at least five years later than the date on the label). You might also award some door prizes for the oldest wine, the most unusual entry, and the wine judged the "best in show". In some cities across the country where wine consumers have picked up on this idea, an "admissions fee" is charged, and whatever is raised is donated to a specified charity. Another variation is to have participants bring along more than one bottle, so that one is opened and the other is auctioned to the highest bidder, with the designated charity receiving the proceeds. Many parties are held in private rooms at nice restaurants with an accompanying dinner (but no corkage fees!). Celebration of Open That Bottle Night is only limited by one’s imagination.

One word of caution, however. Opening a wine that has been down for several years requires more forethought than usual. Brecher and Gaiter offer the following useful tips:

1. Stand the wine up (away from heat and light) a day or so before opening so that any sediment can settle to the bottom;
2. Serve reds and whites at cellar temperature (55 degrees), not room temperature;
3. An old cork is likely to be fragile, and your regular corkscrew may cause it to fall apart. Use a two-pronged opener if you have one and know how to use it. Otherwise, have a carafe handy, and strain the wine through a coffee filter;
4. Except for the circumstance in #3 above, do not decant the wine, as too much aeration may cause deterioration;
5. If you are opening this wine at home, have a backup bottle of something ready in case the wine is not good;
6. Don’t act on your first impression unless the wine is obviously corked, or has become vinegary. Otherwise, give it a chance to open up. Many times, a little patience will be rewarded, and the wine will get better with food, or time, in the course of the evening; and finally;
7. Enjoy the wine for what it is, and not for what it might be, or once might have been.

So, search your cellar, bring out those old wines, and open those bottles with your friends.