Wine drinkers do their bit to help save koalas

Winesmiths - one of Australia's best quality cask wine brands - announced today that $25,000 has been raised for the Australian Koala Foundation through the sale of specially marked Winesmiths Dry Rosé and Cabernet Sauvignon packs over the summer. 

One dollar from every specially marked pack sold has been donated. 

"With a focus on sustainability and in the spirit of our ‘Sacrifice Nothing’ ethos, we wanted to prompt consumers to think about their wine choice and their impact on the environment," said Winesmiths senior brand manager Lisa Antoney.

"The Australian Koala Foundation really looks at changing the relationship people have with nature. Conservation efforts not only benefit koalas, but our population as a whole. 

"At Winesmiths, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment. By packing wine into two-litre soft packs instead of glass, we save approximately 1.8 million metric tonnes of emissions each year.

"We recycle 100% of our wastewater for re-use on our vineyards, which equates to around eight Olympic pools of water saved each year."

The chair of the Australian Koala Foundation, Deborah Tabart OAM, said the money raised would go towards the newly announced Koala Kiss Project.

"The project outlines an ultimate vision of the 'Great Koala Trail': approximately 2,543 kilometres of uninterrupted conservation and prime koala habitat from Cairns to Melbourne, connected at 'kiss points'," Tabart says. 

"Kiss points are the points where intact sections of koala habitat come close to each other, but remain separated by divisions of cleared land. 

"If we achieve contiguous habitat, then all creatures great and small could traverse through the bush unthreatened.

"Humans could walk under this trail of gum trees with koalas happily in the branches overhead.

"Funding for projects is always important, but having our message spread to wine lovers around Australia will enable more people to think about the conservation of the koala and some of the bigger issues, like deforestation and water management.”

Winesmiths will unveil their next Sacrifice Nothing project later in 2022, with the objective to continue to bring awareness and much-needed funding to important sustainability causes.

See https://www.winesmiths.com.au/

Winesmiths two-litre wine casks are available in most liquor stores. RRP $16.

Fancy owning a cruise ship?

Ever fancied owning and operating your own cruise ship?

Two cruise ships from the failed Crystal Cruises fleet are heading for sale by auction.

Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony (above) are to be offered for sale in a sealed tender process in the Bahamas.

Bidders are required to post a 10% deposit with their bid by June 7, Travel Mole reports.

The Supreme Court Commercial Division in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas published the official notice of sale.

The ships have been impounded in Freeport since February 5, due to the collapse of parent company Genting Hong Kong.

Winning bidders will be informed by June 14 and have seven days to complete the transaction.

Several bidders have reportedly shown interest in the ships, along with Crystal’s polar and river vessels.

Genting recently sold three cruise ships for scrap that were part of its Asia-based Star Cruises brand.

Meet the new [yellow tail]: made in Chile, destined for China

Australia's biggest wine export brand, [yellow tail], has launched a Chilean-made range for the Chinese market to sidestep China’s punishing tariffs on Australian wine, Chinese wine website Vino Joy News reports.

The fruit is understood to have been sourced from one of Chile’s biggest producers, Santa Carolina, and the range will be called [yellow tail] World Series, Vino Joy said.



The move follows the move by another Australian wine giant, Treasury Wine Estates, to bypass tariffs by making Rawson’s Retreat wines in South Africa for the Chinese market.

Penfolds, with previous huge sales in the Chinese market, has revealed plans to launch its Chinese-made Penfolds wines in second half of the year.

The [yellow tail] range for China includes four varietals: cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, merlot and chardonnay.

In an email to Vino Joy News, Libby Nutt, general manager of marketing and export sales, said: “We have a fantastic and loyal consumer base in China, where [yellow tail] wines have been available since 2007.

"We are excited to launch [yellow tail] World Series so we can continue to offer consumers everything they have come to expect from the [yellow tail] brand - great wines full of flavour, from a brand with a fun and vibrant personality.”

[yellow tail] is owned by the Riverina-based Casella family.

The wine will be sold at RMB 53 (US$8) a bottle on China’s leading e-commerce platform JD.com, or RMB 318 (US$48) for a case of six.

Toronto gourmets have a cause for celebration

There is much excitement in multicultural Toronto, with local gourmets celebrating the news that the city is the first Canadian destination to get a Michelin Guide. 

Destination Toronto and Mayor John Tory made the announcement.

Mayor Tory says he hopes the Michelin Guide will help spread the word about Toronto as a culinary destination to travellers around the world. 

"This is an exciting moment for our city as Toronto will become the first Michelin Guide destination in Canada," Tory said. 

"This further bolsters our reputation as a world destination for food and cuisine. Our diverse city, along with the many renowned chefs who call Toronto home, have helped us get to this point and to be able to showcase all of the wonderful restaurants." 

I'll be visiting Toronto soon and hope to check out a couple of the city standouts. 

"For the first time in its history, the Michelin Guide lands in Canada, and our inspectors are excited to experience the impressive culinary landscape of Toronto," said Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides.

The inaugural edition of the Michelin Guide Toronto will be released during Canada's autumn 2022, with a selection of restaurants receiving honours.

# Air Canada offers daily direct flights to Vancouver from Sydney. From June 6 to September 5 (Monday, Thursday and Saturday), Air Canada will increase its service to twice daily from Sydney to Vancouver. 

From July 3, Air Canada's Brisbane-Vancouver direct flights will resume four times per week. Direct flights from Sydney to Vancouver are also available on Qantas. 

Internal flights are available throughout Canada from all major cities, in addition to Via Rail train service.

For more details on visiting Canada, see www.keepexploring.com.au

Prankster punks puzzled passengers

It is an old stunt - but a good one.

Passengers flying into London’s Gatwick are being perplexed by a huge sign near the runway - clearly visible from the air - that says: “Welcome to Luton”. 

The large, white lettering seen in a field is a work by Youtuber Max Fosh, Travel Mole reports. 

Luton is another airport in the London region but it is about 100km away from Gatwick. On the other side of the city.

Reminds me of the in-flight announcement on my Jetstar flight from Melbourne last Friday. 

“Welcome to your flight to Sydney,” passengers were told. Which prompted guffaws as we were heading to Hobart. 

The Gatwick prank is not the first.

A ‘Welcome to Perth’ rooftop sign was once placed near Sydney Airport and a ‘Welcome to Cleveland’ sign was once familiar to those flying into Milwaukee.

Discover a Phuket hideaway retreat with amazing views

Regular visitors to Phuket tend to have a favourite beach area to which they return. 

There is Patong for party lovers, Kata, Karon, Surin or Kamala for those looking for a more chilled vibe. 

I'd like to suggest another alternative for those looking for great views, a relaxed atmosphere and some delightful local experiences. 

Family owned and operated Sunsuri (above) is located at Nai Harn Beach at Promthep Cape, just 10 minutes from Kata but a world away in pace. 

Here you feel like you are in Thailand, rather than a resort enclave.

The resort offers stunning sunset views because it is in the deep south of Phuket Island, on a hillside but just a short stroll to an unspoilt beach and local shops and food stalls. For lovers of nightlife, busier Rawai is just a short tuk tuk ride away.

The hillside location means Sunsuri rooms and villas offer superb vistas of the ocean and the local lake (popular with walkers, joggers and cyclists). 

Nai Harn Beach is recognised as one of the best beaches in Phuket (SeaBreeze is a lovely little cafe) and there are also several massage options. 

Sunsuri's location means it is a little cooler than resorts on the waterfront. It offers modern facilities for couples, honeymooners and families. 

Older guests might need to use shuttle buggies to get around as the resort is spread across a wide area and features a few climbs.

When fully operational (as an independent hotel Sunsuri was badly hit during Covid), the hotel features 128 rooms with eight buildings and 22 pretty sensational pool villas (below) are designed in a contemporary Thai style.

Each of its accommodation units has a wide balcony with views and the rooms are very spacious (starting from 45 sq.m). 

There are two restaurants, two bars, a wine cellar, five swimming pools with a kid’s area, slide and 4-metre diving platform. 

There is free high-speed wifi Internet access throughout the hotel (much faster than in suburban Sydney or Melbourne), a spa, games room, a lounge for early arrivals and late departures, a fitness centre, recreation and sport activities and free bicycles for guests.

There is a talented kitchen team equally adept at Thai, fusion and European cuisine. 

There several local attractions, which include some lovely off-the-beaten track beaches, a delightful local temple and the waterfront Rawai fish market, where you choose your dinner and a chef cooks it for you.

https://www.gourmetontheroad.com/2022/05/getting-up-close-with-real-phuket.html 

For full details on the hotel see: https://www.sunsuri-phuket.com/ 

# The writer flew with Jetstar, which has resumed regular direct flights from both Melbourne and Sydney direct to Phuket. https://www.jetstar.com/