Meet an in-depth guide to the Tasmanian wine industry

Want to know more about wines from Tasmania and the people who make them?

Who better as your guide than wine writer Mark Smith, who has been covering Tasmania and its producers for over 30 years.

Smith has recently launched his impressive labour of love wineintasmania.com, which is full of useful info for both serious wine lovers and those with a casual interest.

Smith says he was motivated to launch the free website by the increasing number of wine producers on the island, and the growing interest.

"I figured that if it’s getting hard for me to keep up with Tassie developments, it must be hard for media and industry folks more generally who are trying to keep up with the industry," Smith says.

"The industry has expanded so rapidly of late that few people have been able to keep up, even within the business."

So if you want to know the history of Small Wonder, or where Sailor Seeks Horse comes from then wineintasmania.com delivers.

Good news: The site has nothing to do with selling wine. No ads, endorsements, product placements, subscriptions.

The site features more than 450 pages of content and covers more than 180 Tasmanian wine producers.

For the more serious, there is site specific climate data for single vineyards, news/back stories about what’s going on at the moment and plenty of archival material, including vintage reports.

The site is fully navigable with a search box in the nav bar.

Want to know about Tasmania's only/first gruner veltliner, baco noir or chenin blanc? You'll find the info here.

There is still work to do. As Smith explains: "With 3rd and 4th generation ownership of vineyards, very few know the full story about how their vineyard came into being and evolved."

Still to come: distributor details, an events calendar, vineyard map locations and more.

I know that this is a site I will be referring to an a regular basis. Well worth bookmarking.  

Image: Mark Smith

Thailand goes digital to cut waiting times

Don’t get caught out.

As of this week, Thailand’s new Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) system is now live.

The Immigration Bureau of Thailand says it will significantly streamline the immigration process at airports and border crossings by doing away with the old-fashioned paper arrival card.

As of May 1, all foreign visitors must submit their arrival information electronically before entering Thailand, whether they travel by air, land, or sea.

The TDAC is the latest phase of Thailand's digital transformation of immigration procedures.

It is designed to minimise paperwork and cut processing time at immigration checkpoints, news hub Travel Mole reports.

The online form should be completed before arrival and is mandatory for all foreign passport holders. No excuses.

It requires filling out personal data and travel details for each traveller, and is open three days before the date of arrival.

Travellers can submit the TDAC individually or as part of a group via the portal. Information can be updated at any time before travel.

Travellers transiting Thailand onto connecting flights that do not have to pass through immigration are the only travellers exempt.

Forget humans: AI to the rescue of travellers

Remember when a human being was on hand to answer your queries at an airport?

Now you need to have a mobile phone, a QR code and to rely on Artificial Intelligence to point you in the right direction.

Glasgow Airport has officially launched an AI-powered digital assistant, powered by Hello Lamp Post, to help streamline the travel experience for passengers this festive period ,news portal Travel Mole reports.

The new AI-driven technology is now live across the airport, and is designed to provide real-time information and enhance navigation throughout the terminal 24 hours a day.

The digital assistant was initially introduced as part of an accessibility trial earlier this year in partnership with Connected Places Catapult.

The trial showed a 50% reduction in queries being received by customer service staff. So fewer jobs for humans.

Following the success of the trial, Glasgow Airport collaborated closely in partnership with Hello Lamp Post to refine and expand the tool’s capabilities.

Accessible via location-specific QR codes, the digital assistant serves as a “personal concierge”, offering up-to-date flight information, navigation assistance, and “tailored passenger support”.

The tool aims to make travel easier and creates an inclusive experience for all accessibility needs. And, of course, it will save money.

Jamie Loudon, Group Head of Operational Solutions at Glasgow Airport said: “We take great pride in providing excellent service to the tens of thousands of special assistance passengers who travel through our terminals each year.

“Working with Connected Places Catapult on a trial earlier this year proved invaluable in helping us roll out this cutting-edge technology across the airport for all passengers.”

Tiernan Mines, Co-Founder and CEO of Hello Lamp Post, added: “We’re really pleased that the success of our initial trial has now led to the full rollout of our platform at Glasgow Airport.”

Hello Lampost; Connected Places Catapult? Whatever happened to real business names? 

Sydney gears up for New Year's Eve

There is nothing like being prepared.

The City of Sydney this week sent out a press release on its preparations for New Year's Eve.

That is fully four months away, but hey.

Apparently, Sydney New Year’s Eve celebrations are coming back with a bang, with free access to many vantage points around the harbour and ticketing scrapped for all City of Sydney sites.

Restrictions introduced during the pandemic will be dropped, giving more people the opportunity to view and enjoy Sydney’s iconic celebrations.

The official New Year’s Eve website - sydneynewyearseve.com - has launched with details of all the City of Sydney’s vantage points, as well as key viewing locations extending from Cockatoo Island to Dover Heights and Manly.

The website includes details about each location’s entry points, opening and closing times, alcohol policy, capacity, food and beverage options and accessibility services.

More vantage points, location information road closures and transport details will be added to the website in the coming weeks.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the website and resources would help people to make a plan for the big night and explore the many ways to celebrate and watch the fireworks.

“Sydney New Year’s Eve is an iconic event and a wonderful celebration of our safe, harmonious and vibrant city,” Moore said.

"With Covid restrictions lifted and more parkland access available we anticipate there will be large crowds across the city keen to see the fireworks. I encourage everyone to check out sydneynewyearseve.com and plan ahead.

“Whether you’re watching at home or coming to join us along the foreshore, the event is a great way to reflect on the year past and look with hope to the year ahead. I hope locals and visitors alike enjoy the show!”

While the majority of sites around the harbour will be free, some will be ticketed to manage crowd numbers including the Cahill Expressway (which is balloted), Clark, Goat and Shark islands, Strickland Estate and Bradley’s Head (Mast Precinct, Athol Lawn, Amphitheatre).

Separate paid events around the harbour include at Taronga Zoo and the Royal Botanic Garden’s Foundation & Friends NYE Picnic.

The nifty guide every wine lover visiting Tasmania needs

Any wine lover visiting Tasmania will want to pick up a copy of the newly released free guide to the best of the island state’s cellar doors.

Wine Tasmania has just released the 2023 edition of Tasmania’s Wine Trails, a nifty publication that offers a guide to the island’s best wine experiences and complementary activities.

"With increasing numbers of visitors to Tasmania travelling to experience our wines  and visit cellar doors, the Wine Trails publication is an essential resource for those seeking to experience the island’s renowned wine and culinary experiences," says Wine Tasmania CEO Sheralee Davies. 

It is a staggering fact that 40% of all wine made in Tasmania is sold on island, much of it at cellar doors.

“Many of the island’s wine producers are reserving their most sought-after wines for their cellar door visitors, who can also enjoy a variety of exclusive wine   experiences such as tours, tastings of rare wines, dining and local produce, events, music, and more,” Davies says.

“Not only has the proportion of visitors incorporating a cellar door visit into their  itineraries risen to 27% (up from 21% in 2019), spend by this segment of visitors is up 50% on 2019, and more than 1.5 times the spend of all other visitors to  Tasmania.”

The Tasmanian Wine Trails guide profiles four geographic areas - the North West, Tamar Valley, East Coast and Southern Wine Trails, with information on key cellar doors.

Complementing the print publication (which reaches over 100,000 wine lovers each year), an interactive online version includes filtering functionality which  enables visitors to plan their visits based on preferred wine styles, features and activities.

 The online version of the Wine Trails can be accessed at winetasmania.com.au/wine-trails, while free copies of the print publication are  available at visitor information centres or by contacting Wine Tasmania.

Image: Devils Corner, Elise Cook, East Coast Tasmania Tourism