OTBN is Here!
Did you know that February 23rd is a foodie holiday of sorts? Me neither. It's actually OTBN, which stands for Open That Bottle Night. Many of us have bottles of wine in our cellars or wine racks that we've been saving for a special occasion. The trouble is, which occasion is special enough?
Started in the late 90s by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of the Wall Street Journal, Open That Bottle Night has gained tremendous popularity; every year, more and more bottles are uncorked all over the U.S. on the last Saturday of February.
"We invented OTBN for a simple reason: All of us, no matter how big or small our wine collections, have that single bottle of wine we simply can never bear to open. Maybe it's from Grandpa's cellar or a trip to Italy or a wedding. We're always going to open it on a special occasion, but no occasion is ever special enough. So it sits. And sits. Then, at some point, we decide we should have opened it years ago and now it's bad anyway, so there's no reason to open it, which gives us an excuse to hang on to it for a few more decades. So OTBN -- which is now always the last Saturday in February -- offers a great opportunity to prepare a special meal, open the bottle and savor the memories."
If you haven't got a dusty bottle ready and waiting for OTBN, there's nothing stopping you from popping into Hodge, Chateau Buffalo or Gates Circle to pick up one worthy of the date. And don't forget, most nice restaurants offer corkage, allowing you to bring your own bottle (unless they carry the same one, calling ahead is the polite way to go). A corkage fee is assessed by the restaurant, but if you have a really great bottle, a $10-$15 charge is nothing compared to the beauty of sipping a selection from your own collection along with your meal.
So, I ask you, what will you uncork tonight? If you cannot participate, perhaps you could tell us what wine you so very wish you had in your cellar for tonight's celebration?
Hodge Wine & Liquor
463 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, 14222
716.884.6670
Chateau Buffalo
1209 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo, 14216
716.873.0074
Gates Circle Liquor
1430 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, 14209
716.884.1346
What Others Have To Say
What Do You Think?
Related Articles
-
Papa Jake's Saloon
A corner joint needn't be a dive.
And Papa Jake's doesn't make its patrons choose between a laid-back bar atmosphere and delicious, fresh food. Scott Leary, the new owner of Papa Jake’s Saloon on Elmwood, knows how to provide casual comfort and a very satisfying dining experience.
“We don’t take shortcuts here at Papa Jake’s,” Leary says. He proves this with Papa Jake’s fresh and tasty menu. “I don’t want to call this a late night menu, because we have amaz … - Dec 17th 2008, 6:34am
- Continue Reading
- 6 Comments
-
Gimme a (coffee) break
With the opening of more and more coffee houses downtown, some people wonder if Buffalo is really a coffee town. Buffalo is the original coffee town!
The "coffee break" which is taken for granted as a standard part of any work day has only been around for about a hundred years. Coffee culture has continued to flourish in this country and the espresso boom of the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s has seen to it that every other gas station in America now has a barista on staff. Perha … - Dec 8th 2008, 11:47am
- Continue Reading
- 3 Comments
-
Sea Bar-City
It's great to see stylish, hip, new restaurants pop up downtown such as Sea Bar on Ellicott Street, which specializes in contemporary Japanese food. A clean ultra-modern space, Sea Bar’s dining room is quaint and inviting. The sleek sushi bar has counter seating and the wet bar, with beer, sake, and wine, has at least 10 sakes to choose from on any given night. We were happy to try a Sojitio, a sake mojito, which had the right amount of mint without too much sweetness.
Sea B … - Dec 2nd 2008, 9:49am
- Continue Reading
- 6 Comments
-
Dinosaur Stalks Buffalo!!
Ten years ago, the downtown of My Fair City was forever altered when a Big Dinosaur appeared on the scene. Thankfully—unlike 1950’s Tokyo—when this dino showed up our downtown wasn’t flattened, but considerably improved. Dinosaur Bar B Que, a restaurant that originated in downtown Syracuse in the 1980’s, planted its foot in downtown Rochester in 1998. It was an instant hit—it’s common to have a line waiting to get in at all times. And it’s clearly Hog Heaven— … - Nov 21st 2008, 9:05am
- Continue Reading
- 50 Comments
Comment Options
MichaelFranco
Christa,
In honor of OTBN (and Dorothy and John) I will be toasting to your very good health with a Chateau Grand-Pey-Lescours St. Emilion Grand Cru, given to me by my dear friend Carol (who gets the first toast). A fitting wine for a fitting tribute.
Salute!
Report this
vgs
City Grill on Main Street began celebrating OTBN years ago and turned it in to No Corkage Fee every Saturday Night. A group of us go every year for OTBN but also frequent the joint on other Sat nights as well for this great deal. This year I am popping a 1987 Dunn 'Howell Mountain' Cab and a 1967 Richebourg from DRC.
Report this
duke
i celebrate OTBN every friday...is that ok?
Report this
RisingDamp666
This is what it's all about. Everybody opens their cellar, or their Haier wine refrigerator and pulls out something sweet and it's tasting time. But why go to a restaurant to do this? Potluck it with some friends and have fun sorting through all the crazy selections! Make nice with me and I might even bust out a vertical flight of Gaja.Don't make nice with me and, oops, "Red Truck again?"
Report this
al-alo
time to open up my second finest 40oz!
Report this
RisingDamp666
Or third finest 40 gm., eh, al-alo?
Report this
al-alo
either way there, damp. after all, ill do what ever a made up holiday tells me to do.
Report this
RisingDamp666
I just go along with "the voices".
Report this