Explorer Ponce de León abandoned his quest to discover the mythical land of wine after a tumble into the Fountain of Youth left him eternally underage. Take up his journey with today’s Groupon: for $8, you get two winery-logo-etched wine glasses at Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery in Westport (a $16 value). Guests are invited to stay for a complimentary wine tasting and discussion, and will receive 10% off nonalcoholic beverages, food, and retail merchandise in the shop.
Westport Rivers' winemakers experiment with new harvest and fermentation methods to coax original vintages from familiar fruits. After customers receive their wine flutes, tongues are free to swirl the five or six different varietals on the tasting menu, palates discovering flavors described by a nearby tasting expert or delivered via semaphore from a ship docked in the nearest harbor. The 2009 pinot gris winemaker's selection greets the nose roundly with pear and citrus secrets, and the winery's signature 2005 Westport brut blends pinot noir and chardonnay to create energetic, lingering sips. Lemon and lime banter dryly in the 2008 Westport Rivers rkatsiteli, pairing nicely with Asian cuisines or quick-witted comedians.
On Saturday afternoons, complimentary tours explore the blend of traditional and modern techniques vintners use to coddle their grapes from infancy to winehood on an 200-acre farm. Each varietal draws personality from the New England loam to showcase crisp flavors, full aromas, and hatred of the Yankees. Customers can use their 10% discount to purchase other logo-emblazoned merchandise to match their fluted glasses from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday–Saturday.
Groupon Says
The Groupon Guide to: Choosing Produce
There's no worse feeling than when you buy what you assume is perfectly ripe produce only to discover it's too hard or have it dissolve into a pile of ashes in your grocery bag. Here are some tips for filling your basket with ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables:
- Broccoli: Drag the vegetable florets-side-up across your arm. Each should be firm enough to rid your forearm of unwanted hair.
- Cherry: You'll have to tear through the tasteless, inedible outer layer to test the cherry's high-protein, peanut-like core. Once you expose the cherry nut, swallow it and rate the pain you feel as it gradually moves down your throat. If it's less than a seven, it's too ripe.
- Apple: Smell an apple. Does it smell apple?
- Cantaloupe: Knock on it to determine if it's hollow. If it is, there's a gerbil living inside subsisting on the fruit's ripe core. Hurry up! You'll have to eat quickly to beat the gerbil.
- Pumpkin: This orange, round gourd shouldn't deflate easily, so repeatedly stab it with something sharp, such as a hunting knife or the tools doctors use to open their mail.
Comment on our feelings board
