Today was, relatively speaking, a rather balmy day. The high when I got off of work was around 63, so Monica and I went for a walk up the Potomac trail. All the leaves are off the trees but it was nice nonetheless. When I woke up this morning I felt like complete crap, just feeling utterly overwhelmed with everything. Fortunately there are a lot of nice people where I work so I cheered up as the day progressed. I got to try some ports today. I tried a 10 year old tawny, the name of which I forget and two newer ports. One was a Zinfandel port, the name of which I also forget and the last one was a Bogle Petite Syrah port. They're interesting drinks, but I can't imagine anyone really wanting to drink them in any great volume. They're incredibly sweet. The 10 year old tawny tasted like raisins, maple sugar and almonds. I could almost imagine drizzling it onto ice cream or something. The others had much fruitier notes. The one good thing about working at a grocery store like Trader Joe's is that you have ample opportunity to learn about the finer points of food and beverages. I have been trying to absorb everything I can like a sponge. Champagne is made with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon has notes of black fruits like plum and blackberries. Merlot has fewer tannins than Cabernet. A young wine will not linger on the back of your tongue as long as a mature one. A Pinot Noir can be paired with blackened fish with pepper. I always wanted to go to culinary school, maybe this will be a way to pick up a thing or two for free.