Have you ever installed a deadbolt lock?  If the door frame has already been prepped, it’s actually pretty easy.  But, if you have to drill the frame to make the cylinder for the bolt to fit, it’s not as easy a proposition.  We can say that we have NO experience drilling for dead bolts!  Over time, there have been a number of scenes where dead bolts were prominently displayed and used.  When the movie, Young Frankenstein was made, the front door to Frankenstein’s (pronounced–Fronc-en shteen) castle was dead bolted.  Thank goodness for Marty Feldman as Igor (pronounced ‘Eye-gore’) who was jolly on the spot to open the door and escort the guests into the castle.  (I thought the hump was on the other side?)  It’s one of Mel Brook’s most successful and best loved movies to this day!

If you’ve seen any horror movies, you know that the dead bolt is a required part of the film.  Whether running from the zombies or trying to get out, if you can’t get past the dead bolt, you’re not going to make it!  If you’ve watched any action movies, it always seems that someone is hiding behind the door with a dead bolt lock OR is trying to get into the room but can’t get past the dead bolt lock!  Action movies, horror movies, comedies. . .they all have a reason to use dead bolts.

Okay, so we don’t really have a set theme for tonight, but with the wine we opened and tasted, it made us think about dead bolts; especially since the wine has the exact same name.  We opened and tasted a 2010 Dead Bolt blend from California.  The 2010 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Syrah, among others. Deep ruby with a glint of purple. Bold red fruit. Hint of oak. Black cherry, brown spice, mocha. All you’d want in a glass of red. Smooth. Full. Satisfying.  Yep, this wine is big and bold and for less than $10 a bottle, you’re going to have a tough time finding a better wine in the category.  As blends go, the color is magnificent, the taste is amazing and the nose will knock your socks off!  But because of the price, many wine lovers will turn their collective noses up at this wine because of its’ price. . .you know, too low, so it can’t be any good.  Served with shrimp stir fry, the bold taste of the wine worked amazingly well with the spiciness of the shrimp and vegetables.  Bigger than a Zin, bolder than a Syrah and smoother than most blends, we really enjoyed this wine.  It’s one of those wines that you can pull out with company and they’ll think you’ve opened the ‘expensive’ stuff instead!  Since blends are becoming the ‘rage’ in California, jump on the bandwagon and try this one.  At its’ price point, even if you don’t like  it, you’ll have spent far less than other wines with more “recognizable names”.

The name of the wine is what motivated us to write about it tonight.  Dead Bolt. . .the name alone caused us to stop and look at the label!  And you don’t have to be watching Young Frankenstein or any other zombie film to get a bottle of this wine and give it a try!  As for us, we’ll continue to sample varietals, blends and other wines in pursuit of good values, good deals and a bottle of wine that goes well with food.

Until tomorrow, please remember to enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and recycle whenever possible.