Y Series links with American sports powerhouse

It seems like an unlikely collaboration: the behemoths of the National Football League in the US and leading Australian wine producers the Hill-Smith family.

Unlikely, but still a thing.

South Australian brand Y Series (Hill-Smith Family Estates) was today named as Official Wine of the NFL in Australia and New Zealand, marking the NFL’s first-ever wine partnership in Australia and Y Series’ largest sporting deal to date.

The multi-year agreement includes Y Series as Official Wine Partner of the 2026 NFL game in Melbourne on September 11 this year, including game day activations, in-game branding and game day pours at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

A limited-edition Y Series x NFL wine range will be available nationally later this year, along with a consumer promotion offering two Australian fans the opportunity to attend Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles next February.

Y Series, for those not familiar, is a range of wines in the $15-16 price range that offer excellent value for money.

Karl Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Hill-Smith Family Estates, said the partnership with the NFL marks a long-term play for the future of the brand, "tapping into one of the world’s most powerful entertainment platforms to drive cultural relevance and growth".

“This partnership with the NFL puts Y Series right where people want us - in big moments, shared rituals and time spent together. It’s about bringing wine into high-energy environments and showing up as part of how people celebrate, connect and unwind, on game day and beyond.”

Charlotte Offord, general manager of NFL Australia and New Zealand. said: “As we continue building towards our first-ever regular season game this September, we’re proud to be joining forces with Y Series to bring great Australian wine to the heart of game day." 

New home for Vivid Sydney's culinary showpiece

 The Vivid Sydney festival is about more than art and colour.

Food lovers are also catered for at Vivid Fire Kitchen, now in a new waterfront home in Barangaroo Reserve.

The culinary showpiece is being positioned as one of the centrepieces of Vivid Sydney 2026 with over 60 culinary voices and two new focal points, The Vivid Fire Pit and the Food for Thought stage.

Running every night of Vivid Sydney from May 22 to June 13 from 6-11pm, the free entry Vivid Fire Kitchen is being promoted as "a vibrant, casual dining hub inspired by the great Aussie backyard".

Highlights will include open-fire cooking demonstrations, talks, tastings and live music.

Vivid Sydney festival director Brett Sheehy promises: “Vivid Fire Kitchen has been reimagined for 2026 as a place you can return to again and again and have a different experience each night.

"Moving to Barangaroo Reserve and expanding the program has allowed us to bring together more voices, more ideas and more ways for audiences to engage with food - from open‑fire cooking and talks to tastings, music and light.

"With rotating chefs, themed nights and new stages, no two evenings are the same, and that sense of discovery is at the heart of what Vivid Sydney is about.”

The Vivid Fire Pit line-up features culinary heavyweights and rising stars including Mark Best, David Moyle, and Mark La Brooy.

Mark Best, executive chef of Infinity by Mark Best and featured Vivid Fire Pit chef on Saturday, May 30, says: “The Fire Pit is an opportunity to explore why cooking over flame is so special - it's elemental, expressive and deeply connected to place. Fire strips cooking back to its essentials and opens space for instinct, memory and collaboration."

The Food for Thought stage will focus on culture, creativity, sustainability and the future of food, brining together chefs, authors, restaurateurs, celebrity cooks and digital storytellers.

Featured Food for Thought panel hosts and guest chefs include Luke Mangan, Mike Bennie, Gary Walsh, Julie Goodwin, Adriano Zumbo and Emelia Jackson.

See https://www.vividsydney.com/vivid-fire-kitchen

Byron Bay's new boutique hotel gets set to open

Raes has announced its new boutique hotel, The Bonobo by Raes, will open in the heart of Byron Bay this June, with bookings now open. 

Designed as "contemporary hotel and lifestyle destination", The Bonobo features flexible accommodation, a lobby lounge for all-day dining and drinks, and a mix of wellness and retail experiences, as well as a rooftop pool. 

“The Bonobo introduces a more social expression of Raes in the centre of Byron Bay," says Marty McCaig, group general manager of Raes. 

"It’s been shaped as a hotel people can move through with ease - whether they’re staying, meeting friends for a drink, or dropping by for a wellness treatment."

Following the opening of its Double Bay studio in October, Reset will extend its wellness offering to Byron Bay. Reset at The Bonobo will feature cedar saunas, ice baths, a eucalyptus steam room, magnesium bath and vitamin C–infused showers, alongside a private treatment room dedicated to LED light therapy, facials and restorative body treatments. 

Treatments will be available to both hotel guests and the wider Byron Bay community.

The Bonobo will comprise 33 hotel rooms alongside four one-bedroom, 28 two-bedroom and nine three-bedroom residences, all managed by Raes and suitable for both short and extended stays. 

There will be the option to connect with adjoining rooms to create larger multi-bedroom residences. 

The hotel’s food and beverage offering will be crafted by two-hatted Raes Dining Room executive chef Jason Saxby. 

Hotel bookings are available now at  https:/thebonobo.com.au/.

Walk or cycle in the footsteps of heroes

 

With Anzac Day just around the corner, leading Australian travel provider UTracks is urging history buffs to consider walking, or cycling through the Western Front of World War I. 

The French region of the Somme and the northern region of Belgium known as Flanders are areas of natural beauty, flat lands with rich culinary traditions. 

Through this area runs the Western Front, a series of trenches built by the Germans in WWI stretching 700km from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. 

Following the Western Front along quiet roads and bike paths, a journey can include a stop at Villers Bretonneux, where in April, 1918, the Australian Corps successfully stopped the advancing German troops. 

This is a region of open farmland and small villages, where history is remembered and Australian are still loved. There is an abundance of historical landmarks. 

The Somme was the site of one of the First World War’s largest and most destructive campaigns, continuing for more than four months, resulting in over one million casualties.

Today, the Somme is largely rural. Fields have long ago been replanted, roads follow former supply routes, and villages have been rebuilt following widespread destruction. 

The Villers-Bretonneux Australian National Memorial overlooks the surrounding fields and commemorates more than 10,000 Australian soldiers with no known grave, while the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing records over 72,000 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Somme sector.

For those seeking to understand the region more fully, UTracks offers walking and cycling routes based out of Amiens for self-guided walking and cycling itineraries. 

Tours include pre-booked accommodation, luggage transfers and navigation support via a digital app. Routes connect major memorials with smaller villages and lesser known sites, allowing travellers to experience a broader cross section of the landscape beyond the primary monuments.

See https://www.utracks.com/France/Self-Guided-Walking/Western-Front-Walk-Amiens-to-Arras or 
https://www.utracks.com/France/Self-Guided-Cycling/Cycle-the-Western-Front

Images: Supplied 

World Cup fans should prepare to be gouged in the US

Heading for the FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico? 

Be prepared to be ripped off by the rapacious capitalists in the US. 

Not only are tickets to matches absurdly expensive and hotels charging obscene sums for rooms, but you can also expect to be gouged on local transport costs. 

Take New Jersey’s NJ Transit - which is reportedly planning to charge more than $100 for return rail tickets from New York’s Pennsylvania Station to MetLife Stadium (above) for World Cup games, the New York Times reported this week.

That's a seven-fold increase over the the regular price. 

The 30km rail journey ordinarily costs $12.90 for a return ticket. The new "special event" pricing will reportedly not even feature concessions for seniors, children and disabled passengers. 

The World Cup host committee for New York City/New Jersey declined to comment to the newspaper, with the transportation plans expected to go live in the coming week.

A spokesperson for NJ Transit did say: “The ticket prices for match day travel have not been finalised and any reference to cost would be unconfirmed speculation.”

Democratic senator from New York Chuck Schumer has accused FIFA of a “shakedown” of US host cities . 

“FIFA is set to reap nearly $11 billion from this summer’s World Cup, yet New York area commuters and residents are being handed the bill,” said Schumer.

“NJ Transit may be forced to charge fans an eye-popping $100-plus for a train ride that normally costs $13, because FIFA’s hosting agreement dumps added transportation and security costs onto states and cities while FIFA keeps the revenue from tickets, broadcasting, and concessions."

No one was smart enough to realise this when agreements were signed with FIFA.

In a news conference on Monday, Governor Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey said that since she took office early this year, she has sought to reduce the burden of World Cup costs away from taxpayers in her state. 

So the football fans must pay up.

“One of the key things I wanted to make sure is that we are not going to be paying for moving the people who are viewing the World Cup on the back of New Jersey taxpayers and New Jersey commuters," she said. "And so we worked together closely to make sure that that cost will not be borne by New Jerseyans.”

Massachusetts MBTA, meanwhile, is planning to raise its pricing for travel from Boston to Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium up from $20 return for an NFL game to more than $75 for World Cup matches. 

The US loves a gouge, in stark contrast to previous host nations. 

 During the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar, official ticket-holders received free access to Doha’s metro system throughout the tournament. Similarly, at the 2024 European Championship in Germany, match ticket holders also had access to free public transport on game day in host cities.

Hospitality? Meet a hotel that prefers tech to the human touch

Ever feel you are being gently fed bulldust?

That’s how I felt when I read a story on the HM (Hotel Management) website - a hospitality industry site.

“The guest experience in the local Fiji hospitality market will be elevated following the rollout of the nation’s first self-service check-in and check-out kiosk.”

Elevated? 

So someone thinks avoiding any human contact when checking in and out of a hotel in a tourism hotspot. And in a country noted for its slow lifestyle and friendliness.

Holiday Inn Suva has introduced an optional self-service kiosk station, in a bid to allow faster and more streamlined processes, particularly during peak periods.

Let me translate that for you: “We don’t have/or want to have enough trained staff to cater adequately for our guests when we are busy.”

I love contact with hotel reception staff. They can often tip you off about a great new bar around the corner, or a terrific spot to try a local delicacy at the nearby market. Or help you if you'd like to change your allocated room, or request an early check-in.  

But IHG doesn’t agree. It is putting its faith in technology. Which would make sense at quiet overnight times, but not, for me, at peak periods.   

HM reports: The self-service kiosk operates on a cashless basis and accepts local and international credit cards, with the introduction reflecting a broader change in traveller behaviour seeking convenience and choice, according to the hotel group.

“Across IHG Hotels and Resorts, we are focused on introducing technology that responds to how guests travel today, while reinforcing the importance of human connection at every stage of the stay,” says regional general manager, Fiji and Pacific, for IHG Hotels and Resorts, Lachlan Walker. 

“The introduction of a self‑service kiosk at Holiday Inn Suva reflects this approach. Led by Akshay Chand in collaboration with the hotel team, the project demonstrates how practical innovation can enhance flexibility and efficiency for guests, while enabling our colleagues to focus more time on delivering meaningful and personalised hospitality.”

Holiday Inn Suva general manager Mohammed Feroz said the introduction reflects both changing guest expectations and the brand’s long‑standing focus on ease and reliability.

“Holiday Inn has always been about making travel feel straightforward, welcoming and dependable for our guests. As travel habits continue to evolve, guests increasingly value speed and choice, particularly at arrival and departure. The new self‑service kiosk allows us to respond to those expectations, while staying true to the Holiday Inn promise of friendly, approachable service delivered by our team.”

Hmm. Just wait until the tech breaks down - a la those frequently malfunctioning airport machines that are supposed to "streamline" the arrivals process.