Hunter Gathering: Wine men with a mission

They call themselves the Hunter Gathering and they include some of the most familiar faces in the Hunter Valley wine industry. 

With the Hunter struggling to gain gatekeeper attention time in the face of "natural" wines and cool-climate offerings, our heroes are aiming to remind wine lovers of the charm of Hunter semillon and Hunter shiraz, two classic Australian wine styles. 

They also want to let the wine-loving public know that that Hunter Valley is no two-trick pony, with an impressive range of alternative varietals. 

The intrepid band, led by luminaries including Andrew Thomas, Andrew Margan and Mike de Iuliis, recently hosted tastings and lunches for somelliers and media in both Melbourne and Sydney. 

Discussions revolved around "two amazing vintages in a row" in 2017 and 2018,as well as what is new and exciting in the world of Hunter Valley winemaking.

The Hunter Gathering represent eight leading wineries from the region: Brokenwood (missing in Melbourne), Tyrrell's. Mount Pleasant, Audrey Wilkinson, David Hook, Thomas Wines, De Iuliis Wines and Margan. 

"A few of us sitting here decided we were sick of doing trade shows on our own, so we decided to get together and have some fun with like-minded people," said Andrew Margan, who like several other members was previously involved in the Hunter Next Gen group. 

"We haven't done a lot as a region, recently, so it was time to put that right." 

The Margan 2018 Albarino and David Hook 2018 Pinot Grigio were impressive wines made from varieties that are being pioneered in the Hunter (Hook was first in Australia with pinot grigio), while wines like the De Iuliis 2017 Shiraz Touriga underlined the future for red blends. 

Tempranillo, sangiovese, barbera, graciano and malbec also showed well, underlining the potential versatility of the Hunter as global warming gathers steam. 

The Hunter Gatherers are a pretty blokey bunch (although their PR is the definitely not blokey Kylie White from White Ink). Look out for these funsters - and follow them on Facebook.

New atlas a great present for travel lovers

Lonely Planet, the world’s leading guidebook publisher, has released its first-ever dedicated atlas - a collection of Lonely Planet’s own cartography. 

Lonely Planet’s The Travel Atlas is promoted as "the ultimate companion for globetrotters". 

Organised by region, The Travel Atlas includes detailed maps of every country on Earth, with popular regions and destinations presented at greater scale. 

Each page of mapping is accompanied by the area’s top sights and activities, as well as trip planning tools such as climate information and key transport hubs.

The book also includes:city maps with detailed maps of 28 of the world’s most popular cities complete with top sights, activities and itineraries; places of interest and suggested itineraries. 

The first edition is a 448-page hardback book with 205 maps in total. 

The Travel Atlas is published this month with an RRP of $80 in Australia and New Zealand. 

Melbourne hotel spends $25 million on a refurb - and isn't finished yet

If you are going to do a hotel refurb you might as well do a proper job of it, which is why Crowne Plaza Melbourne has just unveiled the results of a 12-month refurbishment program that cost $25 million.

The money was spent of transforming the the 402 guest rooms with contemporary bathrooms, standalone showers with state-of-the-art showerheads, premium bedding, designer furnishings and striking artwork.

Connectivity throughout the entire hotel has also been upgraded.

The hotel's City View rooms now boast spacious walk-in wardrobes and workstations, while the hotel's Luxury suites feature deep bathtubs, walk-in showers, plush bedding, new furniture and sweeping views of the Yarra River and Melb city skyline.

Area General Manager for InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG), David Mansfield, said the renovation is the first step in a new chapter for the hotel.

“Few properties in Melbourne have a history as rich as Crowne Plaza Melbourne and the standard to which all of the hotel's guestrooms have been refurbished is outstanding,” he said.

“The property is absolute riverfront and is in a premium position – close to Melbourne's Convention and Exhibition Centre, the CBD and on the doorstep to Melbourne's tram network.

"With Phase 1 of the refurbishment now complete, together with the hotel owners SB&G Group, we are excited by the appeal the new rooms will have for business, long-stay and leisure travellers and we look forward to welcoming them.”

Phase 2 of the hotel's multi-million dollar refurbishment will commence in the second quarter of 2019 and will see all of the hotel's public areas redesigned, including updates to the hotel's conference and event facilities, a new restaurant and bar concept, and updates to the hotel pool, gymnasium and lobby.

The Crowne Plaza is at 1-5 Spencer St, Melbourne VIC 3008. (03) 9648 2777.
www.melbourne.crowneplaza.com/

Freycinet Lodge just got even better

The first stages of the renewal project at Freycinet Lodge on Tasmania's East Coast are now complete, with nine new Coastal Pavilions, six Mountain Terrace rooms and the accessible Lodge King suite.

I was recently fortunate enough to stay in one of the new Coastal Pavilions (above) - and they are spectacular. 

Freycinet Lodge offers one of the most unique and spectacular locations for accommodation in Tasmania. Nestled within Freycinet National Park, Freycinet Lodge has superb views and luxury accommodation. 

The first stages of the Freycinet Renewal Project were designed to attract new markets to the destination. The aim was to create spaces where visitors could immerse themselves in the state's natural beauty while enjoying quality accommodation and local food and wine.

Three new accommodation spaces were created – Coastal Pavilions, Mountain Terrace rooms (below) and the Lodge King suite.

There was also an extensive - and impressive - upgrade of the reception, lounge, bar and dining areas in the main Lodge building.

The renewal project was overseen for RACT by developer and tourism entrepreneur Brett Torossi. 

The new Coastal Pavilions blur the lines between inside and out; drawing the wilderness in, yet providing a superb level of comfort. Think natural timber finishes and curved walls paying tribute to the weathered pink granite of the Freycinet Peninsula.

The new Mountain Terrace rooms offer guests an immersive experience with glimpses of the Hazards' pink granite peaks through double-height glass walls.

Supporting the environmentally sensitive focus of the RACT and Freycinet Lodge, the Mountain Terrace rooms include improvements to water storage and reuse, as well as fire prevention systems.

The six Mountain Terrace rooms are contemporary, spacious, filled with natural light and feature touches of luxury. The king-size beds, leather lounges and outdoor bathtubs are perfect for chilling out and taking in the view and surrounding bushland. 

Photos: Mel Ferris 

The wheelchair-accessible Lodge King is one of Freycinet Lodge's most spectacular rooms, boasting views of Great Oyster Bay and The Hazards mountains.  

With the renewal project works complete, the property is ready for a bumper summer season ahead. www.freycinetlodge.com.au/

# The writer was a guest of Freycinet Lodge 

Stop. I want to get off. Discover the wine-making merry-go-round.

Boutique family-owned Eden Valley wine brands Eden Hall and Stage Door Wine Co have announced the appointment of Philip Lehmann as chief winemaker.

Yes, Phil Lehmann (below), son of the late Peter and until recently chief winemaker at WD Wines, overseeing Parker Coonawarra Estate, Hesketh, Vickery and St John's Road. 

At WD Wines, meanwhile, long-time Petaluma winemaker Andrew Hardy is taking over from Lehmann. 

Eden Hall and Stage Door Wine Co wines were previously made by contract winemakers, Christa Deans and Kym Teusner. 

"We are keen to move the next level," says general manager Graeme Thredgold. "Phil is an outstanding winemaker, lives with his family in the Eden Valley, and importantly shares the Hall family values and philosophies." 

Lehmann will continue to also make wines for his own Max & Me label.  

Fruit for Eden Hall and Stage Door Wine Co is grown in the Hall family’s 33-hectare Boehms Springs Road vineyard in the Eden Valley. 

Lehmann will continue to consult, apparently, to WD Wines. 

Hardy, meanwhile, has 36 years experience making wine in the Barossa, Clare, Adelaide Hills and Coonawarra. He has worked at Knappstein in Clare and at Petaluma, where he has been chief winemaker since 2004. 

Petaluma, part of the Lion Nathan group, has promoted long-serving winemaker Mike Mudge to take Hardy’s place.

A different route to European gourmet hot spots, via Asia and Helsinki

While direct flights from Perth to London on Qantas are apparently proving popular, I would rather break up my long-distance flights from Australia to Europe into shorter chunks.

That's why I was delighted to read that Finnair has announced three new routes to Bologna, Bordeaux and Porto for the peak 2019 European summer season.

Finnair will fly up to three weekly flights from Helsinki to Bologna, Italy, between April 10 and October 18 next year.

Bologna is well known for its gastronomy and wine scene and is an easy gateway to several other popular Italian cities and regions. 

Some of the flights will offer excellent connections for customers travelling from and to Finnair’s Asian destinations.  

Helsinki

Finnair will also fly up to two weekly flights from Helsinki to Bordeaux, France, between May 11 and September 14. 

The undisputed wine capital of the world, Bordeaux is also recognised for its food and wine scene as well as its historic centre, which is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

  

Portugal’s popular coastal city of Porto will receive two weekly flights from Finnair, but only between between June 21 and August 12. 

Located in Northern Portugal, Porto is Portugal’s second-largest city and it is the home of port wine. 

This route opening follows the successful launch of flights to Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, this year. All three new routes will be operated by Airbus A319 aircraft.   

“We are very pleased to be able to offer these three new routes for leisure travellers next summer,” Finnair Chief Commercial Officer Juha Järvinen said. 

“The three cities and surrounding areas have plenty to offer our customers and we fully expect the routes to be popular with food enthusiasts as all three regions are superb culinary and wine regions.”

Finnair Regional Manager for Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, Arnaud Michelin, said the new flights would be of interest to local travellers given the popularity of Portugal, France and Italy among Australian holidaymakers.

He said Finnair would also add capacity to some of its popular holiday destinations during 

the peak summer season, including an additional weekly frequency to Alanya-Gazipasa (never heard of it, to be honest), Palma de Mallorca, Split and Tel Aviv. 

Finnair offers connections from Australia with oneworld partners to 19 destinations in Asia and seven in the Americas plus more than 100 Europe destinations.

See www.finnair.com/au