Wine is a product of grapes, yeast, and time, which explains why most varietals boast a subtle clocky flavor. Sip some time-honored juices with today's Groupon: for $20, you get a wine and chocolate pairing for two at Rutherford Ranch Winery in St. Helena (a $50 value).
Rutherford Ranch Winery's team of vintners transforms 100% certified-organic grapes into a medley of wines showcasing the abilities of California's terroir. The chocolate and wine pairings introduce taste buds and olfactory antennae to five Rutherford wines and four chocolates crafted by a local artisan chocolatier. As customers sample a preselected variety of reds and whites, experienced staff members answer questions and politely deflect requests for congratulatory hugs.
Tastings are held in Rutherford Ranch's Cabernet Room, where guests can sink into overstuffed sofas to sip wine in comfort before striking out to explore the property. When weather permits, tasters can tour the winery's vineyard, gaze up through the branches of century-old olive trees, or view a live cork tree tasked with keeping fresh the millions of gallons of wine just beneath the earth's crust. Guests who look closely enough may spot owl boxes, indigenous plants, and photovoltaic cells used to keep the winery sustainable and ensure that wine is produced with respect for the land and the environment.
Groupon Says
The Groupon Guide to: Writing an Urban Legend
Everyone secretly wants to believe in scary stories that might be true. Indulge your friends' gullibility with these tips to crafting the perfect urban legend:
• Make sure the story takes place somewhere nearby, on a similar night—ideally exactly 100 years ago to the night. Or on the devil’s birthday.
• Always include an animal that turns out to be a different animal or an animal where one does not belong—like a dog that is actually a rat, or an alligator in the bathroom of the Museum of Alligator Safety.
• Tweak the details—it's only a few letters’ difference to change "gardener" to "murderer," and only a small white lie to change "was valued by the community" to "possessed double hook hands and a thirst for marrow."
• Always carry "proof"—this can be a monster's tooth carved from soap, a faded newspaper article created in Photoshop, or a scrap of the victim's clothing that is actually just a scrap of clothing you ripped off a terrified hiker you chased through the woods.
Comment on our feelings board
