AITA for Drinking a $6 Bottle of Wine

I (22F) threw a surprise birthday party for one of my close friends (22F) back in November. I spent just shy of $200 on snacks, decorations, and alcohol, including a $6 bottle of wine, which had been leftover.

This past week, while I was pregaming for senior week at her apartment with her roommate (22F), who I am also friends with, we got really tipsy and opened the bottle. I didn’t think much of it, since I had bought it myself, it had been sitting there untouched for almost 6 months, and it didn’t seem like it would be missed. We opened it and realized it had gone off, and we didn’t even end up drinking it, so we left it on the counter and went out.

About 30 minutes later, she sent her roommate a message about the wine, saying that it was annoying to come home and see her stuff used and that it was being saved for her graduation party, which was all very reasonable.

My friend then sent me a long message saying the bottle had been a gift and that it was inconsiderate for me to open it without asking. I explained that I hadn’t considered it a gift, it wasn’t wrapped or given directly to her, it was just part of the things that I had brought and happened to be left at her place. Regardless, I felt bad and apologized profusely and offered to replace it, to which she responded that it was fine.

I assumed the situation had been resolved, so I texted her the night before graduation asking about our plans for pictures and arrival. Instead of responding, she said my actions “reeked of something bigger,” and that I had unresolved feelings about her boyfriend getting more credit for the party than I did. She said she didn’t believe that there was no intention behind my action, and that I should have handled my feelings like an adult instead of opening the bottle out of spite.

To be clear, I had made a comment like that after the situation blew up to her roommate. I said that it felt ungrateful that I was receiving a lecture about a $6 bottle of wine after doing the absolute most for her party and her boyfriend receiving most of the credit. That wasn’t something I had been stewing over for months, it was just a thought I shared in the moment because the situation felt out of proportion.

At the time I opened the bottle, there were literally no thoughts in my head, period. I was tipsy and just assumed it was leftover. I didn’t even consider that she might have considered it hers or a gift. I absolutely did not open it as a statement or to make her feel disrespected. I explained this and apologized multiple times, but she kept saying my apology didn’t feel sincere and kept implying that I had some deeper issue I was refusing to admit.

At this point, it feels like this might be the end of our friendship. I’ve explained myself repeatedly, but the situation has spiraled so far beyond the original issue that it no longer feels like it’s about the bottle at all. I genuinely didn’t intend to cause harm, but now I’m wondering, AITA for opening the wine?