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Benito has a different take on how to pick wines for the Thanksgiving dinner. While it lacks the coolness of a free PDF download it is full of good advice.

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Although I don’t participate as often as I should, one of the things I love about Wine Blogging Wednesday is discovering new wine blogs to read. This month CheapWineRatings.com hosts the event, which will happen on December 10. Check out the announcement for more details on how to participate (you do not have to have a blog!).

Chile produces great red wines at usually great prices. You can go for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (where it usually does better than in California) or Carmenère–the lost grape of Bordeaux.

So, track down a bottle of inexpensive Chilean red wine and join the fun on December 10!

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Good Wine For Under $20 is an outstanding resource for anyone looking to get the best bang for the buck in wine. Like many others, I’ve tightened my wine budget recently, and thus Good Wine For Under $20 is quickly becoming must-read material.

To all those in government and business who helped trash the economy (regardless of party affiliation–plenty of blame to go around), thanks for nothing.

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I need to make sure people understand–while it’s fine to subscribe to this site’s RSS feed, doing that alone will not give you the same benefits as signing up for the email list. There are three reasons you may want to do it.

First, you’ll get the 2008 Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday wine guides. Those are not available with the RSS feed or anywhere on the web site. They are an email list exclusive.

Second, you’ll receive articles and other information you won’t see on the web site. I’ll send you an email each week or every other week with good resources, commentary, and wine ideas. Don’t worry, I’m not going to flood your mailbox–and again, I never, ever share my email list with anyone. If it gets to be too much, you can always unsubscribe.

Third, you’ll be the first to know about upcoming projects here at Wine For Newbies. There are some great things in the pipeline that you probably will not want to miss, including genuine actual wine classes available online–think “podcast taken to the next level.”

So, be sure to sign up with your email address so you don’t miss out!

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Alder at Vinography.com has posted his second article on the wines he tried in South Africa. The thing reads like a catalog! Alder somehow managed to sample about 500 wines in the course of a week, which just blows my mind.

Take some time and go read the article. You could also print it out and use it as a shopping list.

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With Thanksgiving just around the corner here in the U.S., we wine enthusiasts begin to think about wines to serve. Since I love giving information away for free (yes, I know I’m somewhat insane), I decided to put together a quick and easy guide to Thanksgiving wines.

To get it, you need to subscribe using your email address in that box just to the right (the “powered by FeedBlitz” one). The guide is only available to email subscribers; RSS subscribers won’t get it unless they sign up with their email address. Email subscribers will also have access to material that is otherwise unavailable, such as the 2008 Christmas wine guide that’s in the works.

Don’t worry–the only email you will EVER get after you subscribe will come from me. I do not share my email list with anyone. Never. I hate spam in my mailbox as much as you do.

Be sure to hurry, though–once Thanksgiving arrives, the guide is gone!

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Catherine and I just returned from Pinot Days in Chicago (after a quick detour at Sam’s Wines and Spirits). It was a great event. While I didn’t count, there were roughly 50 wineries there, and each had at least three, if not four, wines. There were also several exhibitors that were not wineries, including one with some really great chocolates. This was the second event to run in Chicago, and I would definitely recommend attending. I’m already thinking about Pinot Days 2009. The nice thing about the event is it taught me a number of things.

1. Spitting wines is important if you hope to taste more than a few wines. I did this (the organizers were wise enough to have plastic cups available–probably for water, but they serve very well as more discreet spit cups), and it helped dramatically. I was able to sample a healthy number and not walk out intoxicated.
2. My palate is out of condition. After about 30 wines, I began to get tired. I could appreciate that some of the Pinots were more to my liking than others, but I could not really assess them well. I tried to break up my tasting by taking advantage of the cheese and bread that was stationed throughout, but I should have done that more often.
3. Public tastings can be frustrating. Too many people get up to the table, receive their samples, and then stand there either a) talking to the winery representative, or b) to each other. Meanwhile, the rest of us are standing behind them, trying to get our samples. I made it a point to receive my sample and then either step back or well off to the side. I hate to say this, but some of the trade people there were the worst offenders of hogging the tables. There were plenty of the “mere mortals” who were misbehaving, but I guess I expected better from those in the business.
4. Some of the best Pinots were found at tables that did not draw crowds. Some of the best known wineries, such as Fess Parker or MacMurray Ranch, were swamped and it was hard to get near them. After deciding I didn’t want to wait since I didn’t have unlimited time, I moved on to other tables that received very little attention. I’m really glad I did! I got to talk to the winemakers, really concentrate on the wines, and find some that are ridiculously inexpensive for the quality.
5. I really needed to allot more time to the event. We arrived a little before it opened to the public, at 1:00. Although we were let in without having to wait for the starting time to arrive, we also could not stay until its end at 5:00. (Having a puppy back home means we had to leave after a couple of hours.) Next time, I want to plan for the full afternoon and pace myself better.
6. Crush Pad is the real deal. Some of the best wines at Pinot Days were from wineries producing via Crush Pad. The Crush Pad reps also brought some barrel samples that prove they are getting top quality fruit from the vineyards. I’m really, really interested in investigating this program and maybe getting involved next year–anyone want to become an investor with me? Crush Pad also has a great product that they had on display: Fuse Box. I won’t say anything more here–just go check it out.
7. Pinot Noir is a fabulous wine. Okay, I knew that already. This event was wonderful for comparing different styles of Pinot Noir in close proximity.
8. I really need to subscribe to the Prince of Pinot’s PinotFile newsletter. Same goes for the Burghound’s newsletter.

I probably learned a lot of other things that I cannot recall right now, but even these eight items made the 90-minute drive into Chicago and the price of admission seem like a great deal. Next year, I’ll better pace myself and try to get through half of the wines. Thirty wines is a good number, but I feel like there were many missed opportunities for me in all those wines I didn’t get to.

Pinot Days is a great opportunity to learn more about this beguiling wine. If you can get to the one in San Francisco or Chicago next year, it will be well worth your efforts.

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A great article on some of the pioneers in Oregon wine making. As I grow more fond of Pinot Noir, I’m finding I really appreciate the Oregon style. I think it’s much closer to Burgundy’s style, but without the astronomic prices that seem to accompany Burgundian wines.

Don’t get me wrong–California makes some great Pinot Noir as well, but I find this style is a bit bigger, more “in your face.” I can drink those with some “bigger” foods, which is a plus. But when I want to sit down and really enjoy just the wine, Oregon/Burgundy seems to be my preference.

Necessary disclaimer: Not all California Pinots are high octane/in-your-face in style, and there are a few Oregon Pinots I’ve run across that seem more California-ish. Your mileage may vary.

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Don’t forget, Pinot Days comes to Chicago’s Navy Pier this weekend. There are a lot of small producers on the exhibitors list, which will be a great opportunity to try some wines I haven’t had before.

This is a new event to me, so I’ll be interested to see how they put it together and deal with large crowds.

Anyone going to be there?

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