Calling All Wine Sleuths — Mystery Challenge at Truluck’s The Woodlands Can Land You Free Drinks
Armchair Sommeliers Can Find Out If They Are Up To The Test
BY Laura Landsbaum //
Truluck's is known for its seafood, and the mystery wine was an excellent complement. (Photo by Laura Landsbaum)
Think you have a nose for sniffing out the best wines? Now is your chance to put your skills to the test at The Woodlands’ Truluck’s restaurant in Hughes Landing.
Truluck’s is putting on an Around the World Mystery Wines challenge, which runs through the end of August.
This is how the wine challenge works. Diners can order a glass of a carefully curated mystery white wine for $15. If they can correctly identify the varietal, country of origin and name of the wine, the drink’s on the house — and they’ll be celebrated in the restaurant like a sommelier superstar.
Once someone cracks the mystery, the wine changes and the game begins again. It’s a delicious blend of global wine education, suspense and a bit of oenophile bragging rights.
It’s an elevated yet approachable way to start the meal, and the mystery wine is always thoughtfully paired with the first course. Truluck’s beverage director Dave Mattern feels this fun challenge is ideal for a date night, a girls’ night out, or anyone who wants to sip, savor, and show off their wine knowledge.
The contest is the brainchild of Mattern, who’s been with Truluck’s for decades, is a partner in the upscale seafood restaurant chain. Every August, he devises a new way to introduce new wines to the staff and restaurant diners.
“In previous years we’ve done champagne focused events,” Mattern notes. “We’ve done a cava year, which is bubbles from Spain. We’ve done Rioja. We’ve done Italy. So I take the time to craft a fun contest for the staff around the wines. So we engage in education, we taste a lot of the wines, if not all of them.
“I have a tasting calendar for this event where we’re tasting through 15 of the wines. That will sort of lead into the new list for the year because the new list launches in September.”
Wine Time
Mattern says some wines are staples, and won’t leave Truluck’s list because they pair perfectly with some of the restaurant’s favorite dishes, including the carrot cake and key lime pie. But new wines find their way onto the wine list of this staple restaurant in The Woodlands every year.
“I chose them based on what I what’s on our menu,” Mattern tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “Every year I taste probably 3000 or so wines. So I’m constantly tasting and I’m in the market, deciding what tastes really great. And I pick the wines for the year.”
Truluck’s The Woodlands beverage director Matthew Middleton says there is a running tally of the number of days any mystery wine has gone unidentified.
“We have a running tally at the door right when you walk in, you turn to the right,” Middleton says. “So when you walk in, you can take a look at that plaque and say, ‘OK, I’m still on the same one.’ “
I didn’t identify the mystery wine correctly during a recent visit to Truluck’s, but rumor has it that I was close. I’ll be checking back to find out. Or maybe, even give it another go.
Mattern’s best tip for would be wine sleuths?
“It’s always worth more than $15, so when we do the reveal, you’re going to feel like, ‘Oh, that was a nice value. I got a good deal,’ ” he says.
Salut!
Trulucks The Woodlands is open 4 pm to 9 pm Mondays through Thursdays, 11 am to 10 pm Fridays, 4 pm to 10 pm Saturdays and 2 pm to 8 pm Sundays.