It was the last one. The last bottle in my Rodney Strong wine shipment. I planned to maybe open it on my birthday, after Easter, or possibly Mother’s Day? Then I thought, “No, I better wait. I want to save that bottle for something different, an extra special kind of occasion.”

Then I heard about, Open That Bottle Night! OTBN was born in 1999 and is held annually by accomplished journalists and wine aficionados Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. When they started The Wall Street Journal “Tastings” column, the question, “I have this bottle from…when should I open it?” became common. The answer may differ for every wine enthusiast, but this reality remains true, sometimes, “the longer we save a bottle “for a special occasion,” the bigger the special occasion has to become and the memories and joy inside that bottle get trapped forever.” After an accumulation of inquiries and the frequency of this question, the couple indisputably decided to set a specific date to Open That Bottle-the last Saturday night in February.

The bottle I am going to open on OTBN is the Rodney Strong 2014 Alexander’s Crown Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. This iconic vineyard produced Sonoma County’s very first single vineyard designate Cabernet with the 1974 vintage. The 2014 is now 10 years old and should be in a perfect window for maximum enjoyment. Yumm, I cannot wait!

The next question is what to pair it with for my dinner party? Grilled prime ribeye, filet mignon, lamb chops… so many choices.

OTBN is a perfect opportunity to open that special bottle you’ve been holding onto, and if you can’t decide, we have some unique offerings out of the Rodney Strong Wine Library that we can send to you in plenty of time for February 24^th:

• Rodney Strong 2016 Reserve Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
• Rodney Strong 2013 Symmetry Red Blend, Alexander Valley
• Rodney Strong 2014 Alexander’s Crown Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Please click here if you are interested in these unique Library offerings.

So, I ask you now, on February 24^th, what will YOU opening?