Love all this! Was it a hobby for you, or a potential career you were exploring? I once had a sommelier tell me "I drink for a living" - that still makes me chuckle.

Having attended many wine tasting/food paring events, it's amazing how eating/drinking certain foods brings out the characteristics of wine and how distinctly you can recognize it, with a little instruction/definition of what you're experiencing. Fun! If I had a "wine buddy" I'd spend a lot more time doing this; hopefully it's somewhere in my future.