Lonely, middle-aged financier Sy Hampton is obsessed with a legendary bottle of Bordeaux once owned by Thomas Jefferson, which, through a quirk of preservation, may yet be drinkable. After spending half a million dollars on it at auction, he disappoints the wine community by choosing to uncork it privately with a female companion, rather than share it at a public event. But this decision has drastic consequences—not only for Sy, but also for a determined waiter on the verge of his long-awaited Broadway debut, and an ambitious restaurateur who can't resist an opportunity for much-needed publicity. Their competing agendas are not the only things to collide on that fateful night.