The year was 1999 and Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher (aka Dottie and John), then the wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, surveyed the social landscape and realized somebody needed to do something to help people get together their hopes, fears, thoughts, and stories over a glass (or two) of wine.
The Birth of OTBN
Why wine? Here at Wine Economist world headquarters we like to say the water keeps us apart but wine brings us together. Maybe that was it. But maybe it had something to do with the fact that, as I wrote in my book, Around the World in Eighty Wines, wine’s purpose is to make us happy. And the world always needs more happiness. The problem, Dottie and John realized, is that wine is too often set aside for special occasions that don’t come around nearly often enough. Something needed to be done!
The result was a global holiday called Open That Bottle Night (OTBN), which is celebrated on the last Saturday in February each year. Yes, we know that every day should be Open That Bottle Night, but in reality that seldom happens. There are all these bottles sitting around, their superpower to bring people together waiting like Aladdin’s genie to be released.
Wineries Embrace OTBN
As Dottie and John reported last year, many wineries have embraced OTBN and made it their own. Some do this for purely commercial purposes, I suppose, because the wine industry is looking for ways to sell more wine, especially now. But I think it is as much pull as push in many cases. Many consumers are thirsty for community and winery OTBN events often provide the connection that they seek.
Fielding Hills Winery in Chelan, Washington, was one of the wineries featured in that article and we asked manager Megan Mitchell to tell us about what OTBN means to the winery. Megan’s parents, Mike and Karen Wade, founded the winery over 25 years ago (her sister Robin was one of my university students). Here’s what she had to say:
At Fielding Hills, we have been “unofficially” celebrating Open That Bottle Night since Karen stumbled upon Dorothy J. Gaiter & John Brecher’s Love by the Glass: Tasting Notes from a Marriage (2003) in the early 2000s. In 2024, we celebrated our 25th harvest by hosting twenty-five events though the year, Open That Bottle Night became an “official” celebration at the winery.
During the evening, we journey back through decades of winemaking and growing seasons, reflecting on what was going on not only in the vineyard but also in the world. On our tasting sheet, I like to put some pop culture references as well as the price of gas and of a dozen eggs….
The fun of it is that you never know what you’re going to get or what people will like. My favorite part of the night is the end, when we conduct a straw poll to see what people enjoyed the most…it’s usually a pretty even split between the old stuff and the new stuff. … In 2026, we are going to pour a vertical of merlot… 2013 (#1 Merlot in WA state), 2014, 2015, and a 100% 2015. I also like to pour a current release (2022) and a barrel sample (2024).
How Do You Celebrate OTBN?
There is probably no wrong way to celebrate OTBN. Since our first OTBN in 2009, we have enjoyed formal dinners, restaurant dinners, informal gatherings, and even a Zoom session during COVID, which was a surprisingly moving experience. In 2011 we were traveling in Argentina and held OTBN on our own. These days we host a potluck where our friends bring wine, a story about the wine, and some food to share.
It is always a memorable experience, but the lasting memories are seldom about the wines themselves. It is usually the stories that stick in our minds. It is as if opening the bottle actually opens something else, something more important. I don’t think I can explain it any better than that.
Sue asked some of our long-time OTBN friends to talk about what OTBN means to them. Here’s what they had to say:
“It’s now like an annual holiday, enshrined as it is on the February calendar,” said Mary. “For me it’s not so much the wine — it is, of course, but ‘wine’ has come to mean many more things: the steadiness of friendship, the nostalgia of memories, the uncomplicated joy of gathering. And so the wine, gaining complexity and texture as it ages, but also a simple pleasure. When I choose the wine now — which, of course, Ron [her late husband] the masterful storyteller always did, so it’s kind of a poignant task — I think of those happy times we had together.”
Ken, who, with his wife, Rosemary, has hosted several times over the years, said that OTBN is a “great opportunity to see cherished friends and share our mutual appreciation of delicious food and wine while listening to some great stories. I always learn more about wine and the people with whom I’m sharing it.”
Richard said, “Every year is a special year, and I am sure this year will be no different. Thank you both for introducing OTBN and including me and Bonnie in the festivities!” He cited two memorable years in particular:
From 2010: That was the night that Ken and Rosemary had their “indentured children” as food and beverage servers. It was their teenaged son’s first taste of Chateau d’Yquem — and Richard’s as well. The son’s assessment: “The wine Mr. C. let me taste was really good.” This also counts as one of Ken’s top memories.
From 2014: Ken and Rosemary celebrated their 25th anniversary by serving 25-year-0ld wines plus wines of their children’s birth years.
Is OTBN a Serious Holiday?
Dottie and John contacted us as they were preparing a recent Grape Collective column on OTBN. They were concerned about celebrating wine when there are so many very serious social, political, economic, and even geo-political issues that demand our attention. Is it un-serious to think about wine at a time like this? Our reply became part of their story:
This will be our 17th OTBN. We have a core group of six people, with others off and on over the years. Our OTBN isn’t just about the wine — its heart is the people and the stories they tell about the wine. Yes, these are indeed difficult times. It seems the things that divide us as a country and a world are even deeper than before. This makes Open That Bottle Night even more important. Wine’s superpower is that it brings us together and coming together over a glass of wine is sometimes the first step to bigger things. Of course we are celebrating OTBN. Now more than ever.
I guess when you think about it OTBN really is a serious holiday, but the trick is not to take it too seriously. Because it really isn’t about the wine. It’s about what the wine can do when we share it with others.
Happy OTBN 2026. Share the wine, the stories, and the love.