Typically, when I think of a good mystery, I think of a good page-turner book, or an on-the-edge-of-your-seat movie. It doesn’t really make me think of wine… or it didn’t until they came up with Mystery Wine Tuesday at winedown café & wine bar in West Reading!
It’s definitely one of my favorite mysteries to enjoy! Here’s how it works: For $5/glass, you choose a red or white wine by giving the bartender a number. Last Tuesday when I was there for Mystery Night, 1-3 were white choices and 4-9 were red choices. The bartender then gives you a quality glass of wine matching that number, along with a numbered piece of paper and a pen to record some notes about what you like or don’t like about the drink. The bottles are covered up, so there is no sneaking a favorite. One catch: you can only try each wine once… and if you don’t like it, sorry, no refunds. The wines typically don’t make an appearance on the regular menu. Before you leave, a winedown staff member will give you an answer key so you can learn which wines you were drinking and you can see if you guessed any of them correctly. If you get any of them right, you get bar bragging rights.
I’m telling you, it is quite exciting and of course, a bit mysterious. It makes you feel like a true wine taster as you swirl, smell, sip, savor and so on. AND it brings the room together a bit as everyone wants to know what number you are trying, what you think of it, and what you think it may be, I recommend that if you are with friends you try different numbers initially. Then, I’m sure you are going to want to try the number that they are having after you finish yours. It goes without saying…but just in case…always drink responsibly!
Want to know when the next Mystery Wine Tuesday is? Get on the winedown mailing list and find out! Click here to sign up: http://www.winedowncafe.net/contact.aspx
They send out a weekly email update on Tuesdays and typically have Mystery Night every three months or so. Trust me, when that subject line says “Mystery Night,” you are going to want to start rounding up your friends. I’ll see you there!
