The Power of Intention: Open That Bottle Night

Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher attended every book launch party I ever threw. They just never knew it.
 
The book was called Hungry for Wine, and we’d invite guests to bring a bottle of wine that they were “hungry to drink.” (Get it?) People showed up with amazing wines! I remember a Château d’Yquem from 2007, an Opus One from 2013, and a Dom Pérignon from 2004.
 
More consistent than the bottles in people’s hands, though, was what I heard unfailingly and enthusiastically, at every single gathering: “This is just like Open That Bottle Night!”
 
It was, indeed. So in tribute to the creators of OTBN – who are also this week’s featured Community members here on A Balanced Glass – I’d like to underscore an essential principle that they discerned, that the rest of us seem all too often to forget.
 
We are all looking for a reason (call it an excuse, if you want) to celebrate, to vary our daily routines, and to punctuate the mood of otherwise ho-hum patterns of our lives. Wine functions exceptionally well as the vehicle for that celebration.
 
Just like we’ve done since Dottie and John invented OTBN in 1999, and just like every person who chose a bottle of wine for those book parties, we welcome the invitation to bring the pleasure of a “special occasion” to our everyday existence. We’re craving it, in fact – that invitation and maybe the permission of it, too.
 
That’s what Dottie and John remind us to do.
 
But guess what?
 
It may sound contradictory, but I don’t think that OTBN isn’t actually about whatever bottle of wine we open. Maybe it never was.

The spirit of OTBN, for me, is about the intention and the idea behind it.
 
That’s because we don’t usually drink wine just to please ourselves alone. We drink it to connect with the people around us.
 
We don’t learn just about the wine, either. We learn about the people around us, and about ourselves in relation to those people. That’s when wine becomes more than wine. It’s when opening a bottle becomes more than just opening a bottle.
 
Dorothy and John, for me, have been demonstrating and living that idea throughout their lives in wine.
 
This is the life in wine that we get to live.
 
Thank you, Dottie and John, for living yours so graciously.
 
Namaste,
Cathy

What We're Reading:

There's no shortage of wine stories and media inundating our IN Boxes. Here's what has piqued our interest this week.

How the Wellness Industry is Taking over Travel – BBCWorkLife.com
Wellness tourism' is a growing industry, supported by travellers actively seeking ways to enhance their well-being on the go. Now, major lifestyle brands want a piece of the pie.
 
Splendid isolation: how I stopped time by sitting in a forest for 24 hours – TheGuardian.com
“My life seemed to be getting busier, faster: I felt constantly short of time – so I stepped outside it for a day and a night and did nothing.”

Meet the Community!

Our community is only as strong as the company we keep, and here we meet some of the folks who make our profession so dynamic.

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, Senior Editors, Grape Collective.

Years In the Industry:
We are lifelong journalists. We have been enjoying and studying wine together since we met in 1973 at The Miami Herald. But it was a private passion that was known to relatives, friends and colleagues. We had never written a word about wine until The Wall Street Journal, where we both held important newsroom roles, launched Weekend Journal in 1998. They asked us to create and write a weekly wine column (in addition to our “real” jobs), which became “Tastings.” It was an immediate hit.

We became regulars on Martha Stewart’s show and appeared on TV and radio shows from “Today” to “Fresh Air.” We also wrote four books and invented the international celebration of wine and friendship called Open That Bottle Night. We became full-time wine writers in 2000. We wrapped up that column at the end of 2009 and now write every other week for Grape Collective, an online magazine. The University of California at Davis has asked for our papers for the Warren Winiarski Wine Writer Collection, alongside some heroes of ours such as Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, which is a great honor.

Our Biggest Challenge To Wellness:
When we were writing the column for The Journal, we blind-tasted six to 10 wines every night and then worked all day in the office on the column – in addition to raising two sweet and demanding little girls, Media and Zoë. That was our most challenging time in terms of our wellness because we had so little time to ourselves. Even though our children are grown, we still find that we’re far busier than we’d imagine, which is great – but does present a challenge in terms of taking time for ourselves.

How We Keep It Together To Stay Well:
Most of all, we have each other and our daughters, and as of last summer, a son-in-law. We are always there for each other and there’s nothing more important than that. Sharing wine, of course, also helps. When we drink wine, it makes us slow down and when we do, we look at each other and listen to each other more intently, which of course leads us to fall in love with each other all over again.
We have two art-filled residences, where music is always playing, and they’re a huge help, too. One is in Manhattan, across from Central Park and a short subway ride to theaters and interesting restaurants. The other is our “country cabin” in Westchester where we’re surrounded by nature. We spend half the week there and every day that we’re there, we pull up chairs, open a bottle of wine, and watch the sunset and talk.

Dottie loves to cook and read. These give her an outlet for her creativity and some time where she is largely by herself. She’s also a vintage clothes fanatic. Shopping in thrift shops can be great therapy, interacting with a broad cross-section of people, hunting for beautiful things.

John runs. He has run for many years. While he has run the New York City Marathon, he moves at a leisurely pace and has never cared much about his time. This is his alone time. It’s also his creative time. From time to time, people have asked John if he runs for his health. He does – his mental health. (And, whether you are a runner or not, you should read “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” by Haruki Murakami.)
 
You can connect with Dottie and John on Instagram: @dottieandjohn Facebook: @winecouple and Twitter: @winecouple or online at GrapeCollective.com

Let’s Meet Up!

The wine world is truly global and we hope to see you at these industry events and gatherings.

ABG Events and Presenter Activities:
Wonder Women of Wine , Mar 28 - 29, Austin TX
Panelist “Choose Wine - and Wellness"  (Beck)

Women for WineSense 2020 Grand Event, May 14 - 16, 2020, Sonoma CA
Panelist "Wine and Wellness" (Beck)  

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Industry Event Travel:
James Suckling Great Wines of Italy Feb 29, San Francisco CA (Beck)
Wine Marketing & Tourism Conference March 3-5, Eugene, Oregon (Cathy)
Charleston Wine and Food Festival March 5 - 7, Charleston, SC (Beck)
ProWein March 15 – 17, Düsseldorf GE (Cathy)
Women in Wine: Women Empowering Women, March 18, Paris FR (Cathy)
Bologna Business School April 7 – 9, Bologna IT (Cathy)
Vinitaly April 19 -22, Verona IT (Beck)
Future Wine Expo May 12 - 13, Santa Rosa CA (Cathy)

Drop a line to rebecca@abalancedglass.com or cathy@enolytics.com if you are interested in getting together for practice, a chat or a great glass together.