Saturday 28th February has been ringed on my calendar for some time. We're nearly there and I'm looking forward to celebrating the 15th Open That Bottle Night.

Finally it's time to open That Bottle. You know the one; that bottle that is always either too good for the company or for the food that is being served, the one you bought somewhere special, lugged home in your suitcase and can’t bear to open, the one you have been saving for a special event that hasn’t happened yet… go for it, Saturday’s the night! Open That Bottle Night was created by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, a husband and wife team who wrote about wine in the Wall Street Journal from 1998 to 2009. They invented OTBN in 2000, and it has been celebrated all over the world every year since then. It’s a worldwide event and always the last Saturday in February. They talk about thousands of bottles being “released from prison and enjoyed.” Their own selection process for 2015 is described here. This year Marco and I will be liberating a Biondi Santi Brunello 2001 …. What about you? The official guide to getting the most out of OTBN, includes precious advice such as standing older wines for a few days prior to opening, having a back-up and – most sage of all – “enjoy the wine for what it is, not what it might someday be or might once have been.” Carpe diem amici.