I envy our american cousins and their thanksgiving holiday, and not just because I would like the Thursday off and enjoy roast turkey. I like the idea of taking a moment to acknowledge how much we have to be thankful for, and thought I would share my own thanks for those who have helped me and this blog over the last year and a half.

So here we go, in an approximate chronological order:

• Cesar Saldaña at the DO, who first gave me the idea, and Ana Losada, who encouraged me to get on with it and make it a reality;
• WordPress for their cracking app which is easy enough to use that even I can manage it with moderate proficiency;
• My wine drinking buddies here in Madrid, including David at Vila Viniteca, Guillermo, Manuel, Raul and Jason, all legends that have humoured me, generously broadened my education with wonderful wines from all over the world in the face of my obsession with a single corner of Andalucia and now to be honest drink more sherry than I do;
• My fellow sherry bloggers, including the international crowd – Ruben, Helen, Paddy, Erik, and Seanna (a friendlier, more welcoming bunch you could not imagine), and also the Spanish guys and in particular the Enoarquia and Spanishwinelover, both of which have been a source of ideas and an inspiration;
• The guys off the wineberserkers bulletin board and in particular David Coffey – it has been fascinating getting the perspective of fans of other wines in the US and elsewhere (after all, what do they know of sherry, who only sherry know?) ;
• The other characters on twitter for all their retweets, likes, comments and such, in particular Lori and Michael at Dracaena Wines for giving me an excuse to retweet blog posts as part of #sundaysips;
• The restauranteurs and barpersons of Madrid and elsewhere, for giving me the opportunity to try so many wines by the glass, including Jose and Ruth at Surtopia, Ana Losada (again) when she was at the Chula, David and the guys at Angelita, Paqui at Taberna Palo Cortado and David and Diego at Territorio Era;
• My dealers, and in particular Federico Ferrer of the Cuatrogatos Wine Club, Ezequiel at Reserva y Cata,  Santiago at Coalla Gourmet and Armando Guerra of the legend that is Der Guerrita;
• The bodegas that have been generous with their time and in so many ways: in particular Carlos and the guys at Lustau, but also Manuel and Lorenzo from Tradición, Adela and José from Perez Barquero, Rocío from Urium, and Cristina from Williams & Humbert; and
• The real experts, from whom I have learned a lot, including Alvaro Giron, Juancho Asenjo and Paco del Castillo, but in particular Victor de la Serna, who from the start has been a big support retweeting, commenting and on one memorable evening coming along to show us how to taste wines.

Most of all I am grateful to all the winemakers who have taken time to chat and share their knowledge, and of course for making the wines that give the whole thing meaning. In particular I would pick out Ramiro Ibañez, one of the most passionate and knowledgeable winemakers I have ever met, who has been a true inspiration and a fount of wisdom, but also thanks and kudos to Luis “Willy” Perez and his Barajuela Project, Primitivo Collantes and Finca Matalian, Paola Medina for her Colección Añadas and the many others that are creating exciting wines for me to taste and blog about.

Now begins the worry about who I have left out. If I have forgotten you don’t be dismayed – it is the way of this particular beast, and I guarantee as soon as I see you again I will remember and attempt to hastily amend this page with my mobile!