Grape juice magically transforms into wine in the same way milk becomes cheese and a 1972 Dodge Dart becomes an even older 1972 Dodge Dart. Tipple the tasty transformation with today's Groupon: for $22, you get a two-person wine and cheese tasting (a $24 value) and $20 towards a wine bottle of your choice at Black Mesa Winery in Verlarde.

In the historic landscape of El Camino Real, the Black Mesa's vines produce the purple foodstuffs formed and fermented into award-winning wines. Partakers can sit indoors or out on Black Mesa's gazeboed patio while wetting their whistles on a wealth of varietals, including chardonnay, riesling, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, and zinfandel. Tickle tongues' taste receptors with six of Black Mesa's wines and six New Mexican cheeses, earthier alternatives to showy moon gouda. Guests are gifted with two souvenir wine glasses and $20 towards a bottle of their choice, including Black Mesa's award-winning blends, such as Coyote, Antelope, and Black Beauty (prices range from $12.45-$34.50), ensuring at-home sips are enjoyed in more appropriate receptacles than plastic cups or "World's Best Cousin" mugs.

Reviews

Black Mesa Winery's Black Beauty won an award at the 2010 Florida State Fair International Wine Competition, and four Yelpers give the winery a 4.5-star average:

• The other wines were also superb, but this 'Black Beauty' is more than a gimmick and has won many national awards for good reason. – stavo c., Yelp, 12/7/2009
• The number of different types of wine they had was amazing. – Jessica S., Yelp, 11/1/2009