THE THANK YOU LIST IS GROWING

2009 has been an incredible roller coaster ride, to say the very list. Personally, I've managed to earn my first certification (Certified Specialist of Wine), visit the Windy City for some amazing Italian/French/South American wines courtesy of Palm Bay Imports, and be part of an amazing ride with the Washington State Wine Commission and the Washington Wine Road Trip. We've had two great events with winemaker Bruce Neyers (who moonlights as National Sales rep for Kermit Lynch), and I have met a lot of phenomenally talented winemakers throughout this year.

I want to take a few moments to thank my assistant Shannon, and the cast and crew of D.E.P.'s Fine Wine & Spirits for taking my vision to the masses, incorporating their own wine world view, and helping our stores continue their successful run (which makes the boss happy). Thanks too to all our sales reps who make sure that things are running smoothly around here by keeping the flow of product moving freely. Thanks to my buying counterparts (Jim, our GM, Rob - liquor, Mark & Brandon - beer) for helping out whenever possible - thanks for having my back, you know I've got yours.

A huge thank you to all the brokers, importers and winemakers who continue to amaze us all with their wares - it's the reason I love this business so much.

Many many thanks to my cohorts in the blogosphere: The Unofficial Ohio Valley Wine Bloggers Association (thanks Tom at Louisville Juice for that one) - Mike Rosenberg, Tim Lemke, Jonathan Seeds, Tom Johnson, and the amazing duo of Michelle Lentz and her husband Kevin Gerl. Thanks to Jeff at Good Grape, Joe at 1WineDude, David at Palate Press, Megan at Wannabe Wino, and everyone else who has been an inspiration to me over the past year and a half. I hope to finally meet many of you in person this year at the WBC.

And most importantly, thanks to all our D.E.P.'s customers and Grape Tree readers. You're the reason I keep doing this everyday, or at least one of the many. Cheers and Happy Holidays!

We'll be back in 2010 looking newer and groovier. See you then!