What's your most memorable wine experience?

Instead of restarting the old wine thread again, I thought I'd start a new one with a fresh viewpoint. But first, the reason why I bring this up. First, I just got home from work, I'm by myself with nothing to do other than sip on a half bottle of '06 Bordeaux that I thought I'd try to see if I should buy some to put away. (Answer: Yes). Second, the funniest thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Here's the story...don't worry, I'll get to the wine suggestions later:

I had decided to cut back on the wine (I don't drink a lot, but what I drink tends to put a strain on the budget, at times) but as fate would have it, I decided to go for a Sunday walk with my wife a couple of weeks ago for some exercise and I ran into the parents of my daughter's friend as they were heading up to their condo. We said "Hi!" and, since we hadn't seen them for a while, they invited us up for a bit to catch up. Mind you, I had never been to their apartment, and it was around 12:30PM and I was wearing sneakers, a T-Shirt and my jogging shorts.

So we get to talking about wine, how he enjoys Chardonnay and I'm more of a Claret guy and I know nothing of white wines. So he says I have to try his Chardonnay (remember, this is 12:30 or 1:00PM) so I can experience something a bit different. WHo am I to decline such an offer, especially since I think it's just a social thing and not a serious wine tasting thing? He pulls out a Peter Michael Point Rouge Magnum and insists we have to try it together and I say sure, why not. At this point I have no idea what I've been served, because I don't know whites, but I can tell it's yummy and so I tell him I like it.

He insists we have to compare it to a White Bordeaux so he leads me to his cellar and...wow...I had no idea! He had a bedroom in his apartment converted to a wine cellar and as I looked around I just wanted to grab a few bottles and run. I must have said something about how nice it was because as he pulled out the Bordeaux, he said "We'll get to some of the other ones later".

So we try the two wines together (I forgot the Bordeaux we had as a comparison because I preferred the Peter Michael and what followed was pretty unforgettable to me) and he mentions since I like reds, he's going to pull out a nice Bordeaux to try. At this point my wife and I are saying thanks, but we don't want to impose (and drink his wine which I would only take out for a special occasion), but before we can stand up and leave, he brings out a 1989 Ch. Lafite. Well, how can you say no to that? We drink some more wine (Yum!!) and his wife makes some potatoes in truffle oil as a snack (It was probably 4PM by this point).

Football was playing, so we discuss the ridiculously bad ending to the Dolphins season, and before you know it, he comes out with a 1989 Ch. Haut Brion. As we're having a few glasses of that, I have to make my way back to the cellar to get a better look at what's there: Every first growth, in Vintages from the '70s to '03 (He tells me he stopped buying in '03 because, at his age, he'd be buying them for his kids to drink, and "they don't enjoy wine that much"), a vertical of Screaming Eagle of eight vintages (I forgot the years), a whole bunch of DRC with an emphasis on Montrachet (he's a white wine drinker, after all), and a whole bunch of other stuff that was probably just as good but I am not familiar with!

So we realize we're getting kind of hungry and I suggest a nearby Sushi place that I don't feel too self-conscious about going to in my shorts and sneakers (remember, this whole thing started as a Sunday walk). We have a light dinner and a bottle of completely forgettable rosé "Champagne" (or cava, or sparkling wine, I have no idea what it was).

As we leave the restaurant, I'm a block away from my house yet he suggests going back to his place for a dessert of 1986 Ch. D'Yquem that I had pointed out earlier in the afternoon as something nice for a graduation or wedding for his daughters! I politely declined (at this point I felt like I had drank enough of his good stuff- even though there was no bad stuff in the cellar to drink) and finally made it home, at 10:30PM, after heading out for a "walk" at noon, and having the most fun tasting wines in a long time (if not ever).

So, why the long story? I learned a couple of things:

1) This is the way wine drinking should be. No stuffiness, just good wine and nice people.
2) This is what I want to be when I grow up . If I ever have the means to have an awesome wine collection, I don't want to be a jerk about it and drink it only when it is "appropriate". I want to share it with people who can appreciate it or who I can "turn on" to some stuff they may not have had the exposure to before.
3) There really *is* a difference between a mature 1er Cru and a young wine. I'm going to have to gather all my self control and store some of my (relatively) good stuff away. To this end, I'm buying a second wine fridge to put in an out of the way location in my house where I won't have the temptation of opening bottle before its time.
4) It is possible to spend all afternoon and the better part of the evening drinking wine without getting drunk, given enough time. And that is a good thing, because I would not have enjoyed these wines as much if I had been unable to appreciate them due to dulled senses.
5) The premier crus I have tasted are all good. These were even better at twenty years old. What they say is all true. Too bad I can't afford to make this a monthly experiment!
6) White wine is better than I thought. I may have to educate myself a bit more on the subject.
7) Wine is better when you drink it with friends!

So, where am I going with all this? Easy:

What's *your* best wine experience?