We had our last OTBN outside for the first time this year. The weather finally cooperated so it was nice to enjoy the outdoors along with some really good wine. Both the faithful readers of this blog are familiar with OTBN, but lots of people\u2019s reaction is, \u201cwhat the heck is that?\u201d when I mention the term.
\nI know I\u2019ve discussed it here before, but maybe I\u2019ve never explained what it really is.<\/p>\n
OTBN means Open That Bottle Night. The idea came from the \u201cTastings\u201d column of the Wall Street Journal. The article observed that whether it\u2019s the only bottle in the house or one bottle among thousands, just about all wine lovers have that very special bottle of wine that they always mean to open, but never do. So the authors invented OTBN \u2014 something they call a world-wide celebration of friends, family and memories during which all of us finally drink that wine that is otherwise simply too special to open. The Wall Street Journal decided that OTBN should be celebrated on the last Saturday of February every year.
\nWe did celebrate our first OTBN in February, but decided it was such a great idea that we now celebrate it the last Saturday night of every month \u2014 12 OTBNs every year!<\/p>\n
The Wall Street Journal journalists pointed out that along with opening that bottle and enjoying the contents, come memories of great vacations, long-lost loved ones and bittersweet moments. They point out that wine is more than the liquid in the bottle \u2014 it\u2019s about history, geography, relationships and all of the things that are really important in life.<\/p>\n
Our rules for OTBN are simple\u2026. it\u2019s just the two of us, we have a snack or maybe a full meal, that special bottle of wine, no TV or music, we light candles and we talk \u2014 and \u2014 listen. It\u2019s our special time together and our time to really communicate with each other. We almost always observe the ritual on the last Saturday of the month, but a few times we\u2019ve had to move it \u2014 I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve ever missed<\/em> it. The subjects have pretty much run the gamut over the years \u2014 sometimes we talk for hours, sometimes it\u2019s fairly short. Sometimes we don\u2019t even talk that much at all, but it\u2019s our time together. Just being with someone you love is special in and of itself \u2014 and if you throw in a good bottle of wine, it just doesn\u2019t get much better than that. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We had our last OTBN outside for the first time this year. The weather finally cooperated so it was nice to enjoy the outdoors along with some really good wine. Both the faithful readers of this blog are familiar with … Continue reading
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n