Here’s a robot with your pasta

Meals delivered by robots are now a reality on Australia’s Gold Coast.

No more men on noisy motorbikes.

Serve Robotics and DoorDash have launched Australia's first footpath robot delivery service with an initial launch in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct.

Starting today, DoorDash customers ordering from Gnocchi Gnocchi, Southport - the pilot’s first participating restaurant - can choose to have their order delivered by a Serve robot. 

More local restaurants will join the launch in the coming weeks, with any future expansion informed by feedback from the community.

Serve robots travel at walking pace, give way to pedestrians and are designed to safely navigate footpaths. They are supported by “trained remote supervisors” who can assist where needed and each robot displays a contact number for members of the public with questions.

“This is the first time we've taken Serve beyond the United States, and the Gold Coast is the right place to start,” said said Ali Kashani, CEO and co-founder of Serve Robotics

“ It has the walkable neighbourhoods this technology is built for and a city that has shown it welcomes innovation. After delivering for more than 4,500 restaurants at home, we're here to give local restaurants a new way to reach customers and to earn community trust one delivery at a time.

"The City of Gold Coast opened the door, DoorDash brought the restaurants and customers, and Griffith University in the Health and Knowledge Precinct gave our fleet a home. It all leads to the moment I'm most looking forward to, when a Gold Coast family opens their door and finds a robot has arrived with dinner.”

The project is part of DoorDash’s broader multi-modal delivery strategy, which brings together a range of delivery technologies to create more flexible and efficient ways to serve consumers and local businesses. These deliveries typically fulfil orders within short distances, in relatively dense, urban areas, while drivers take on longer-distance orders.

“DoorDash is focused on building a delivery platform that gives customers and merchants more choice, while continuing to support the Dashers who are central to our platform,” said Simon Rossi, vice president for DoorDash APAC.

“This pilot program will help us understand how footpath robots can complement existing delivery options for short, local trips creating another convenient way for Gold Coast customers to access the neighbourhood businesses they love.”

Customers can opt-in or out of robot deliveries.

The partnership is intended to give local restaurants another way to reach nearby customers, particularly during busy periods. What Serve and DoorDash learn during the pilot program will shape how the service grows, and any changes to delivery zones.

While it might work in certain areas, in others I suspect local youths might have fun attacking the delivery units.

City of Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he welcomed the Australia-first robot food delivery service on the Gold Coast.

“We know that the Gold Coast’s future economy will be shaped by technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, and we want our city to be a place where those technologies are developed, tested and put to work,” he said.

At the end of each shift, robots will return to Serve’s operations depot at Griffith University, the first university to host a Serve operations team.

Since Serve began operating, its robots have completed deliveries for thousands of restaurants across U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta. The Gold Coast marks Serve’s first operation outside the United States.

End of an era as Barossa veteran releases his final wine

It is the end of an era with veteran Barossa winemaker Rob Gibson this week releasing his final wine.

Gibson's Bin 75 is a limited-release 2024 Barossa Shiraz. Just 2,000 bottles, made to age, were produced - in the year Gibson turns 75.

The wine also marks 30 years since Gibson and wife Anne established Gibson Wines at Light Pass.

“The Bin 75 represents a lifetime of learning," Gibson said. "This will be my final new wine release. After talking about retiring for many years, it’s time for me to step away from winemaking.

“The Bin series has always been about wines made with time in mind - wines to lay down, to age, and to open on special occasions. Bin 75 is the most personal of them all.”

My sample has arrived but Gibson says he's not sure it's ready to drink. I'll do my duty and open it this weekend.

Gibson, a former Penfolds viticulturist, has been working across both vineyard and winery over six decades, including in Chile and Argentina.

A geologist, viticulturist and winemaker, he has built the family-owned winery around an intimate understanding of soil, site and the art of blending, a philosophy he has always called Dirtborn.

Premium fruit was set aside from some of the best parcels across the Barossa and Eden Valleys for his final offering, which was matured for 24 months in French oak.

As Gibson steps away from winemaking, Gibson Wines also enters its next generation. 

Second generation winemaker Adam Fiegert, Gibson's son, is stepping forward to help shape the winery's next chapter, carrying forward the Dirtborn philosophy, grower relationships and connection to place that have defined Gibson across three decades.

The Bin 75 has an RRP of $385 and is now available at Gibson Wines Cellar Door, Light Pass, and online. It is available in wooden three packs or single boxes.

See www.gibsonwines.com.au.

Eating well in the Maldives starts with the right meal plan

The Maldives is a fairly magical travel destination; spectacularly beautiful.

And it offers a serious point of difference.

On most holidays, a disappointing hotel restaurant is a minor problem: you walk down the street and find somewhere better to wine and dine.

In the Maldives there is no street. 

Almost every one of the country's resorts has an island to itself, so whatever its kitchens serve is what you eat, three times a day, for the whole stay. No UberEats, no local takeaway.

That makes the meal plan one of the biggest decisions of the trip, and one of the least understood.

LuxAtolls, an independent website that compares the Maldives' 180-plus resorts, has catalogued what each one actually puts on the plate: every restaurant, its menu where the resort publishes one, and exactly what each meal plan covers.

Which is extremely useful if you are planning a trip with a gourmet focus.

 "The resort is the holiday," says founder Tym Lewtak, a long-time travel marketer who keeps going back to the Maldives. "Two properties with identical star ratings and similar nightly rates can be wildly different choices."

Nowhere is that truer than at the table.

All-inclusive in the Maldives doesn't mean what it means in Cancun, or the Caribbean, or Byron Bay. There is no standard.

At one end, a plan might be three buffet meals and house drinks in a single restaurant. At the other, Hurawalhi in Lhaviyani Atoll pours unlimited cocktails, wines and Taittinger champagne, and its sister island Kudadoo includes a meal at the 5.8 Undersea Restaurant, an all-glass dining room 5.8 metres under the sea.

The price gap between plans is just as wide.

LuxAtolls' Maldives Pricing Index found that across the 45 resorts selling both as paid upgrades, the all-inclusive supplement averages 173% more than the half-board one, largely down to the drinks. Most resorts now offer a choice: 113 of the 183 properties tracked have three or more meal-plan tiers.

Drinks are also where the bill creeps up. Every bar tab attracts a 10% service charge and 17% GST, so a US$20 cocktail actually costs US$25.74. Over a week, a couple spending US$200 a day on extras pays about US$400 in tax alone, which is often what tips the sums towards all-inclusive.

Prices on LuxAtolls are shown in US dollars, and its quotes include the service charge, GST and the US$12-per-person-per-night green tax, so the price quoted is the price paid.

The Maldives isn't only for big budgets, despite its reputation for luxury. Entry-level resorts start at around US$300-400 a night for two, breakfast included.

"There is a $5,000-a-night Maldives," Lewtak says. "There is also a $400-a-night Maldives. Most people only ever hear about the first one."

LuxAtolls' all-inclusive guide, resort reviews and quote service are at luxatolls.com.

Images: 5.8 Undersea at Hurawalhi; Coco Bar at Hurawalhi. Supplied by Luxattols.com.

Lufthansa launches direct KL-Frankfurt flights

Lufthansa Airlines is celebrating the launch of its new non-stop service between Kuala Lumpur and Frankfurt, connecting Malaysia’s capital with one of Europe’s leading aviation hubs.

The new service, initially five days a week and operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, features 287 seats across three travel classes and fitted with Lufthansa’s new Allegris cabin.

The launch marks an expansion of Lufthansa’s south-east Asian network and provides customers in Malaysia with direct access to Frankfurt and onward connections across Europe and around the world.

“Today marks an important milestone for Lufthansa and our customers in Malaysia," said Frank Naeve, Lufthansa Group senior vice president for global sales. 

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"With the launch of our non-stop service between Kuala Lumpur and Frankfurt, we are strengthening the connection between Malaysia and Europe while bringing our latest long-haul aircraft and Allegris travel experience to the market. 

"Malaysia is an important economic centre in south-east Asia and a growing destination for international business and investment, while its rich cultural heritage and diverse attractions make it equally appealing to leisure travellers. 

"Our new non-stop service connects these two worlds, making travel between Malaysia and Europe more convenient and providing our customers with an enhanced long-haul travel experience.”

Flight LH705 departs Kuala Lumpur at 11:55pm and arrives in Frankfurt at 6am the following morning. The return flight LH704 departs Frankfurt at 9:30pm and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 4:40pm the following day.

Lufthansa serves Bangkok, Singapore and Phuket and Kuala Lumpur becomes the airline’s fourth destination in south-east Asia.

Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, minister of tourism, arts and culture in Malaysia, said: “In line with the Visit Malaysia 2026–2027 campaign, we welcome Lufthansa’s new non-stop service between Kuala Lumpur and Frankfurt, which further enhances Malaysia’s connectivity with Germany and the wider European market. Strong air connectivity is fundamental to tourism growth, strengthening economic links and fostering greater cultural exchange."

Tennis ace Nadal serves up his first wine

Multiple grand slam champion Rafael Nadal has swapped tennis courts for vineyards, joining forces with Spanish producer Gil Family Estates to launch his first wine, El Tenista, this month.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has partnered with the family-owned winemaking group to revive Dominio del Liftado, an old estate in Jumilla, Murcia, in south-eastern Spain.

The collaboration follows a long-standing friendship between Nadal and the Gil family, website Vinetur reported.

After retiring from professional tennis, Nadal helped restore Dominio del Liftado, working alongside Gil Family Estates head winemaker Bartolomé Abellán.

El Tenista is made entirely from organically grown monastrell (also known as mourvedre, or mataro), sourced from ungrafted vines that are more than 50 years old but had previously been neglected.

Nadal announced the new venture on social media last week, saying the wine reflects a common view of effort, consistency and daily work, values he said he shares with the family behind the company.

“There are projects that make you especially excited, and this is one of them,” Nadal wrote in Spanish on Instagram.

Production will be limited. Spanish media reports said.

The Gil family is one of the largest and most established names in Spanish wine, with operations in several regions.

Coonawarra wine brand Koonara closing down

It is farewell to Coonawarra wine brand Koonara, owned and operated by Dru and Nicole Reschke.

"There will be no more wine produced by Koonara Wines," the winery announced on social media.

"We have decided to put everything into SecuriCode, the company we co-founded to stop counterfeits.

"The codes are in test market and we have secured a seed grant, so we are going all in. That means no more vintages, including from our home block in Coonawarra.

"We have sold out of everything except our Golden Orb Piccolos, and they are the last Koonara wines there will ever be."

The Koonara wines have been made first by Peter Douglas, then by Pete Weinberg.

Securiode, the couple's new venture, has been described as "the world’s smallest phone-scannable anti-counterfeit code.”

The Koonara cellar door in Penola was shuttered earlier this year.

Founded in 1992, Koonara was the only organic-certified producer in Coonawarra. 

You can see a a farewell message: https://www.koonara.com/koonara_next_steps/