Show us your bottle
Open That Bottle Night is dedicated to releasing and enjoying that fine wine we put away for a “special occasion”.
Liquid Memories
The point is not to show off with a great bottle or necessarily open the most prestigious bottle in your house, but to uncork a wine that holds cherished memories, the bottle that — admit it — you will never open otherwise.
Dorothy J. Gaiter who created Open That Bottle Night with her husband explained to Fortune:
“We tend to hold on to bottles too long. We realized that there are a lot of people like us, so we established one day when we’d all find the courage” to pull the corks on our most coveted wines.
The couple has received stories and photos from OTBN participants as far away as Thailand, Australia and Antarctica (yes, really).
Evolution, Plus Bad Fruit
Why do we like wine so much? Impress your friends with this gulp of knowledge:
The ability to break down alcohol probably helped human ancestors make the most out of rotting, fermented fruit that fell onto the forest floor, researchers say.
ADH4 enzymes are found in the primate stomach, throat and tongue, and are the first alcohol-metabolizing enzymes that work on booze.
Researchers looked at the ADH4 genes from 28 different mammals to investigate how the ADH4 genes evolved over time.
The results suggested there was a single genetic mutation 10 million years ago that endowed human ancestors with an enhanced ability to break down alcohol.
Cheers, science!
By the way, Open The Bottle Night is also Sword Swallower’s Day and Tongue Twister Contest Day. Not a good pairing, surely?
