I got taken to the French Laundry and drank this:
weird to imagine that there is someone who has been searching for a wife fridge and was so excited to see one on the curb he just HAD to grab it.
Wine dinner with parents, every time, while they are still here.
I took them to Chicago Yacht Club during this weekend.
A bottle of 1970 Monfortino from a client.
For my wedding last year a mate gave me 2 Riedel Sommeliers Burgundy Grand Cru stems and a 2010 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo. I was floored by the generosity.
When my wife and I got married in 1996, two of my friends got together and bought us a mixed six pack of wine with the help of a local wine store. I knew practically nothing about wine at the time, other than that I liked it. We had spent a week of the honeymoon in Hawaii and then did a week in wine country. To show how little I knew, that week in wine country taught us that Zinfandel came in a red version. Anyway, although we knew it was a weeding gift, neither of my friends had much money at the time so we didn’t assume much about the wines. So one night we were having steaks on our little indoor grill (not George Foreman, but something similar) and I grabbed one of the bottles. It was a 1991 Ridge Monte Bello, and that was the epiphany wine that turned a liking for wine into a long term relationship and hobby. I just couldn’t imagine that anything could taste like that.
A friend gave me 1997 Bruno Giacoso Barbaresco Santo Stefano for 50th Birthday
In the early/mid 90s, not long out of college, a prominent older VC with whom I had done some work asked me if I could help him “build a wine cellar” one Saturday. Thinking he meant carpentry, I asked him what tools he had and what I should bring. Don’t worry about the tools, he assured me. So I showed up fairly early on Saturday morning, and there are at least a hundred cases stacked in his basement, completely surrounding and on top of an antique pool table. The racking was already done. My only job was to remove them from the cases and lay them on the shelves in the temperature-controlled cellar. Though I knew little about wine at the time, I do remember noticing a few labels I recognized – Yquem, Dunn, Diamond Creek, etc. When I finished a few hours later, he stuffed a few crisp $100s into my hand, gave me an empty case box, and told me to fill it up. I had no idea what to select – my primary goal was to avoid the obviously high end stuff, to avoid being piggish. When I had assembled a case, he took a look at it, pulled a bottle out, walked over and pulled out a 1982 Latour, and put it into my case. When I saw him again a few weeks later, he said “please tell me you didn’t drink that '82 Latour yet?” Somewhat embarrassed, I had to admit to it. He then asked incredulously, “What did you eat with it?” Well, the local pizza place, of course. He just shook his head and smiled. “How was it?” “REALLY GOOD!” I believe “infanticide” was part of my vocabulary at the time, but obviously I didn’t know it applied to wine.
I remember also from that case a terrific Conn Creek cab from the 80s. Ever since then I have been on the lookout for that producer. Recently I picked up a '78 Conn Creek from Chambers St, and it was terrific.
My godfather gave me 10 bottles of 2005 Cos d’Estournel for my 30th birthday and mentioned cracking the mag (the other “two bottles” of the case) on my 40th.
My wife purchased plane ticket, hotel room to NYC for a private wine tasting (all in Magnum) at Del Posto hosted by Robert Parker - still the greatest wine gift anyone has gifted me short of a recent one in May that I believe I am not permitted to post about - but that one was a rare $10K bottle of un-released wine - truly a treasure from the producer.
The anti best gift
I took care of a somewhat terminally ill (and quite complicated) entertainment big wig for a while at a critical juncture in his medical care during a week long hospitalization-
Got to know him and his significant other quite well - talked a lot about life outside the hospital including our mutual interest in wine. Before he was discharged he was adamant that he had something he wanted to give me- I refused of course said that’s kind etc
Next week I’m off but get a page from the hospital clerk saying his girlfriend was looking for me and dropped something off at the desk that was wrapped but seemed like a bottle of wine- anticipating something quite valuable and knowing how things get misplaced I rushed in to find-
Current vintage Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay!! (It’s the thought …)
Best bottle would have been a 2014 Tignanello from a friend. It has a while in the cellar.
Best wine-related would be the Durand from my girlfriend.
Helped somebody get an interim CEO position shortly after they had been laid off - it was a nice gig, six months of employment to help bridge the gap until the next position came along.
This individual had been telling me about their extensive cellar in storage, and how much they enjoyed nice wine. We met for dinner to celebrate the interim position, and he brought a bottle as a thank you - a $12.95 Priorat (when I searched I found that it was normally $16, but was on sale at Wine Library.) 
As he handed it to me, he said ‘this was rated 90 points, it must be good.’
I immediately regretted having brought a 2007 Castello dei Rampolla d’Alceo and a 2010 Forman Cabernet to dinner.
This may provide a little insight into how he lost the last job.
most treasured—a bottle of Stell Rosa “wine” from a wonderful gentleman who battled cancer with grace for many years, now deceased but not forgotten. I will never open the bottle.