This is the first in a series about special uncorking moments—of either wines from my own collection or of someone else’s. These are the stories about when it was time for that wine! 

Recently, I invited an old friend I hadn’t seen in person for a while over for dinner. It was one of the more lion-esque nights of mid March in New York City, when the sky is clear, crisp, and stinging cold.

Dinner was a couple of hours away. I checked the stash in the wine fridge. It’s one of those Haier ones, the kind that holds 18 bottles in two stacks, making it more NYC apartment friendly because of its slim design. As a bonus, it creates a convenient extra counter space for things like utensil holders and an electric kettle, which most New Yorkers don’t have the surface area to store in a standard kitchenette. I haven’t kept an extensive collection of cellared wines like some of my other wine writer friends, but the ones I have in there, filling all 18 slots, are meaningful to me for various reasons.