So, when selecting tonight’s wine Jean couldn’t help but zip back to her childhood and remember the Milton Bradley game, “Mystery Date”.  For those not old enough to remember, the original version was introduced to the world of teenage girls in the early 1960’s (yes, sadly we were alive and kickin’ way back then).  The purpose of the game was to spin and move your marker around the board until you got to open the door and discover who your “mystery date” would be.  The good-looking surfer?; the hunk all dressed up for the prom, the bowler or heaven forbid “the dud”.  The game provided fun and anxiety – who knew who you would “get”.  Advertised as “a game of romance and mystery for one and all – Fun and surprising – that’s Mystery Date” – wow, nowadays this would be called Match.com or perhaps even Speedating. Although it was a simple game – it did provide hours and hours of fun – because, you just NEVER knew who would be behind that door.  Jean did chuckle out loud when she confessed to Brian that nine times out of 10 she got “the Dud”, otherwise known as the Plumber.  Fortunately for her, her real “Mystery Date” turned out to be a pretty swell guy that she met in college and will celebrate 30 years of marriage with in January.  Please let us know if you remember this game.

So, onto tonight’s wine – this is yet another gem that we picked up in College Station during “the voyage to Lufkin: a weekend or two ago.  We found this wine at World Market for a mere $10.19 (originally $12.99 – see it really pays to join “clubs” and get those discounts!).  The wine is a young Mountain Door 2011 Malbec from Mendoza (some dear friends are traveling there in the Spring and might have to check this place out for us – surely they won’t mind having to sample a wine just for us!).  As young as this wine is, it has a lot of flavor . . . we sensed it on the nose where there was a hint of vanilla mixed in with a smell of raspberries.  Upon tasting, both of these were confirmed along with a finish of cherries.  We were surprised by the mellowness of the wine on the palate and the finish.  It seemed like a much older bottle of wine given its’ structure and tannins.  We enjoyed this wine with a spicy leftover chili and the combination was perfect.  You may want to try it with some grilled steak or salmon . . . sure to be delicious together.  The color is magnificent and the wine is clear and ready for enjoying.  As we mentioned earlier, the price is outstanding and now after tasting, the value is off the charts.  We are constantly amazed by the quantity and quality of wines coming from the Mendoza, Argentina appellation.  For wine lovers, this represents some uncharted territory in wine selection and enjoyment.  We have been and continue to be impressed with wines, especially Malbecs, coming from this region.  Knowing that the Argentina wine growing region has some impressive  altitudes, these grapes are probably sourced from older vines where the fruit is darker and riper giving it the beautiful color we saw in the glass.

This is a really nice ‘cheap’ wine.  And, let’s face it, for $10 a bottle, you can decanter it and show it off to your best friends .  .  . they’ll never know!  Or, you can open a bottle and pour a couple of glasses and go out on the deck with a fire in the pit and relax after a hard day’s work. You choose the moment, but you really owe it to yourself to try this wine.  We’re going back to buy a few more bottles of it to have around as we get closer to the holidays.  It’s amazing how, after 70+ days, we’re really starting to learn more about and enjoy different wines that we’d never otherwise try, so we want you to try them too .  .  . let us know what you think.

But more importantly, remember to enjoy your wine responsibly and recycle whenever possible and be sure to open the door – you never know who your mystery date will be!