Merlot Caps off a Sour Ending with a Sweat Blend

Greetings Voignier (Vee-o-Nay) and kind readers,

The comfort of things. This morning, after a late rise, the result of a rather protracted night and early morning of samplings aboard our watercraft, we made our way to self storage, if you will. Once there, we pulled and pushed and unpacked the boxes and bags that lead us to the comfort of things, my hand knitted sweater chief among them. Fall is here, and the weather requires more than a nip brandy to take the chill from one's bones, and it requires even more of one's motor skills to keep one's sweaters free of boxed wine stains, which only increases with difficulty as evenings turn to mornings.



With me on my journey down to the self storage was none other than my very old friend, Chester, with whom we share a passion for flavored tobacco, and pipe smoking. Consequently, we made our way back to the Boat Basin using a rather circuitous path, to the tobacconist, at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. The selection was most satisfactory, and Chester was in good spirits, on this day after All Saints Day. Next, we made our way to a certain hair stylist, where we had our grooming needs attended to, including shoes shined, nail trimmed, and at one point, our nose hairs trimmed. All in all, it was a most satisfactory day for two chaps on a shining fall day in Manhattan. On our return to the Basin, we found the sherriff attempting to take hold of certain assets of chester, who had his RV parked in one place a bid too long, if you will. With his RV on the end of a tow truck.

Chester's disposition had decidedly changed by then, and it was perhaps more than he could bare. Having been recently evicted by his wife of 9 years, and unable to get his RV's septic tank pumped by commercial vendors, he was already in poor spirits, which I am affraid our day roving about town had only provided minor relief. Chester's lashing out, first verbally, then in more physically lead to a sour end to what had been a pleasant day. It was the first time in recent memory that the remarkable Tazer had been employed at the basin. The last incident involved a former New York Jet football player, who had been caught in the middle of a rather active crush on a resident of the basin who was in the habit of showering with curtains open.

It was in the end, most disheartening to see Chester escorted off to the tomes for the evening, and we shall tap something sweat, and raise a glass to him at our boxed wine tasting this PM. Several friends from The Riverside Park will be happy, as it has been some time since we tapped one of the sweater boxed wines that distributors have forwareded for samplings.