Australian airline passengers get the rough end of the pineapple

In the United States and Europe, airline customers are protected by a range of regulations. 

If an airline wants to bump you from a flight it has to offer to pay you for the inconvenience. If a flight is a significantly delayed you are offered compensation. Etc etc, depending on the jurisdiction.

In Australia, probably because Australians are not keen on complaining - or following through with complaints - airlines get away with blue murder and accept no responsibility for their failures.

A recent case on the Australian Frequent Flyer website underlined that consumers get the rough end of the pineapple with little comeback. 

A platinum Qantas frequent flyer reported that he has been waiting months for a resolution from Qantas. 

This flyer had booked the airline's Chauffeur Drive service ahead of a Business class flight from Sydney to London. The driver never showed up. With time running out before the flight departed, this customer reluctantly drove their own car to the airport… racking up an $864 parking bill while they were away! 

Seven months later, Qantas has offered $105 and 5,000 points as compensation - though the points have still not arrived. Is this adequate? Of course not. 

Similarly with my trip last week when the Melbourne-Phuket leg was delayed for nine hours and no one bothered to tell me until I arrived in Melbourne to twiddle my thumbs. 

The excuse, given grudgingly by one of Jetstar's flight fuhrer types, was that because I had booked through Qantas, Jetstar had no idea how to get in contact with me. That despite Jetstar having emailed me the previous day and my having checked in with Jetstar in Hobart.

The truth: Jetstar just doesn't give a damn. It's only compensation was a complimentary scowl and a $20 food voucher. Big business wins again. 

Then there is the friend who purchased business class tickets from Sydney to Hobart and return but was refused entry to the tiny Qantas Club lounge because it was “too full”. Good luck to her getting compensation. She didn’t get what she paid for. 

Sadly, there is not much we can do about it - other than complain and make other flyers aware of the issues they might face. 

Enjoy the best of the Mornington Peninsula over one weekend

The Mornington Peninsula is one Australia's most visually spectacular wine regions, as well as producing stellar cool-climate wines. 

To get a full picture of the region's strengths you need at least two or three days, which makes the  Winter Wine Weekend, an annual three-day celebration, the perfect opportunity to get to grips with the Peninsula.

The Winter Wine Weekend showcases both wines and local gourmet offerings from cheeses, pizzas and emu sausages to full meals. 

The event has been held during the Queen's Birthday long weekend in June since the 1980s. 

The program opens with the Winter Wine Fest, held on Saturday, June 9, from 11am-4pm. This ticketed event, held indoors at Red Hill Showground, is a tasting of 50 Mornington Peninsula wineries, showcasing over 200 premium wines from the region. 

This event highlights the diversity in wines resulting from the climate and terroir across the region. 

The wines will be matched by a special menu created by eight chefs and one cheese-maker, each creating inspiring entree-sized dishes to complement the wines.

Pre-booked tickets are $65 and on the day $70 - each ticket includes a complimentary Riedel tasting glass, all wine tastings, a tasting book and two entree-sized dishes (more food vouchers also available for purchase).

Throughout the weekend the Mornington Peninsula Vignerons will welcome visitors to their cellar doors to taste new release wines, visit old favourites and to experience the seasonal offerings of the region. 

Wineries participating include 100 years on Stanley’s, Avani Syrah, Baillieu, Crittenden Estate, Dexter Wines, Dromana Estate, Elan Vineyard, Elgee Park, Fenian Wines, Foxeys Hangout, Handpicked Wines, Hurley Vineyard, Jones Road, Kerri Greens, Kyberd Hills, Lindenderry at Red Hill, Main Ridge Estate, Mantons Creek, Merricks Estate, Miceli, Montalto, Moorooduc Estate, Morning Sun Vineyard, Myrtaceae, Nazaaray Estate Winery, Ocean Eight, Paradigm Hill, Paringa Estate, Phaedrus Estate, Polperro, Port Phillip Estate and Kooyong Wines, Portsea Estate, Prancing Horse Estate, Principia, Point Leo Estate, Quealy Winemakers, Rahona Valley, Red Hill Estate, Scorpo Wines, Staindl Wines, Stonier, Ten Minutes by Tractor, Telera, The Cups Estate, Tuck's Ridge, Vidoni, Willow Creek, Woodhaven Vineyard, Yabby Lake Vineyard and Yal Yal Estate 

Restaurants involved are: Alatonero, Red Hill Epicurean, Lindenderry at Red Hill, Montalto, Paringa Estate, Petit Tracteur, Point Leo Estate, Rare Hare Wine and Food Store, Two Buoys and Red Hill Cheese

For full details see: https://mpva.com.au/events/detail/Winter-Wine-Weekend 

Young Guns: sausage fest to serious test of winemaking talent

I used to have very little time for the Young Gun of Wine Awards, which somehow gave the impression of a lot of guy judges voting for a lot of other guys who were their mates. A real sausage fest. Or that's how it looked. 

Time has passed, however, and today the Young Gun events offer a very real look at some of the fastest-rising wine talent in Australia. 

The top 50 was whittled down to 12 at Prahran Market recently and this year one-third of the finalists are female (way up on the national average) while Tasmania, which produces just 1% of all Australian wine, has three of the 12 finalists. 

Those finalists are Johnno Hughes from Mewstone Wines/Hughes & Hughes (above), Gilli & Paul Lipscombe from Sailor Seeks Horse and Ricky Evans from Two Tonne, Tasmania. It is Hughes' first time as a finalist. 

The 12th Young Gun of Wine (YGOW) will be be revealed at MONA, outside Hobart, on June 18. 

The 2018 judges included Nick Stock, Mike Bennie, Caitlyn Rees, Emma Farrelly, Michael Downer, Lisa Cardelli, Pip Anderson and founder Rory Kent. 

This line-up of finalists is year, the three from Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, two hailing from Victoria and one from the ACT. 

There are two husband and wife duos: Yoko and Andries Mostert from Brave New Wine (Denmark, WA) and Gilli and Paul Lipscombe of Sailor Seeks Horse (Huon Valley, Tasmania). There are another two female winemakers in the group – Melanie Chester of Sutton Grange and Kate Morgan of Ipso Facto. 

The final 12 winemaker are as follows:

NEW SOUTH WALES/ACT

- Hamish Young from Mada Wines, Canberra District (Shiraz, Sauv Blanc)

VICTORIA

- Sean Crinion from Dappled Wines, Yarra Valley (Chardonnay, Pinot noir)

- Melanie Chester from Sutton Grange Winery, Bendigo (Fiano/ Viognier, Syrah)

TASMANIA

- Jonno Hughes from Mewstone, D'Entrecasteaux Channel (Riesling, Syrah)

- Ricky Evans from Two Tonne Tasmania, Tamar Valley (2 x Pinot Noir)

- Gilli and Paul Lipscombe from Sailor Seeks Horse, Huon Valley (Chardonnay, Pinot

Noir)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

- Damon Koerner from Koerner Wine, Clare Valley (Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon/

Malbec)

- David Geyer from David Geyer, Barossa Valley/ Eden Valley/ McLaren Vale

(Semillon, Cabernet Franc)

- Rob Mack from Aphelion, McLaren Vale (Grenache, Grenache Mataro Shiraz)

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

- Kate Morgan from Ipso Facto Wines, Margaret River (Chenin, Cabernet Sauvignon)

- Yoko & Andries Mostert from Brave New Wine, Great Southern (Riesling/ Native

Botanicals, Shiraz)

- Nicolas Peterkin from L.A.S Vino, Margaret River (Chenin Blanc, Touriga nacional,

Tinta Cao, Sousao)

The overall winners of the various trophies will be announced at The Young Gun of Wine

Awards ceremony held on June 18. It will be an invitation only event at MONA, outside Hobart.

Major architectural award for d'Arenberg's Cube

d’Arenberg winery has won a major architecture award just six months after opening its futuristic The Cube in December last year. 

The McLaren Vale winery was awarded a 2018 Good Design Award for its 15 million Rubix-inspired glass cube, installed in the middle of its vineyards.

 

The d’Arenberg Cube is glass-encased steel and concrete structure that sits five storeys high, surrounded by vines, with its design inspired somewhat by a Rubix cube, with rotated “modules” that give the illusion of floating above the ground floor entrance.

The Cube houses public and private tasting rooms, several bars, a restaurant and an art gallery, with the cellar door open seven days a week. A restaurant (below. which includes a 3D food ‘printer’ as part of its equipment) serves lunch from Thursday to Sunday (there is also the longstanding Verandah restaurant at the winery).

 

The restaurant is run by a South African husband-and-wife team, Brendan Wessels and Lindsay Dürr, while a rooftop bar provides panoramic views over McLaren Vale, the Willunga Hills and the Gulf of St Vincent.

The project was awarded for Architectural Design at The Good Design Awards, held at Sydney Opera House.

“This installation has captured attention and driven a massive increase in visitor numbers," the jury commented. "The jury applauds this innovative project.” 

The annual Good Design Awards is Australia’s most prestigious Awards for design and innovation, and dates back to 1958, with this being its 60th year. Winners of the Good Design Awards will be showcased to the general public during Vivid Sydney, the world’s biggest festival of light, music and ideas in Sydney later this month. 

A new fragrance at Oxford Circus undergound station

London Underground stations are not noted for their fragrance, but Oxford Circus, one of the city’s busiest stops, has had a change of air after drinks giant Pernod Ricard installed strawberry-scented posters throughout the station to mark the launch of Beefeater Pink gin.

Pernod Ricard's immersive “exit domination” campaign aims to take customers on a “sensory brand experience as they leave the station”.

The drinks firm mounted scented posters across four of the station’s exit corridors, and has also added  branding to its escalators, The Drinks Business reported.

The two-week campaign feeds in to a wider global brand campaign.

Pernod Ricard, which also owns Jacob's Creek at St Hugo among other brands, launched Beefeater Pink, which is infused with strawberries in a bid to target the millennial market.

it is the first innovation to be launched by The Gin Hub, a new, stand-alone entity that brings together Pernod Ricard’s gin brands: Beefeater, Plymouth, Seagram’s and Monkey 47 under one roof.

“Distilled in London, Beefeater Pink represents the spirit of the city where convention and modernity coexist,” Eric Sampers, brand director for Beefeater, said rather pretentiously at the launch.

“The gin industry is booming and there is a real appetite for new and innovative expressions that offer consumers a different drinking experience.

“In Spain, the pink gin trend accounts for 40% of all value growth within the total gin category, so there is huge potential to tap into,” said Sophie Gallois, managing director of The Gin Hub.

Airline makes desperate publicity grab to coincide with Royal wedding

British Airways has taken advantage of the Royal wedding to grab some shameless publicity. 

Ahead of His Royal Highness Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle this weekend, BA has announced a "special" flight.

To mark the Royal wedding, the BA93 on May 19 from London to Toronto - the city where the couple's relationship took off - will be operated by an all-star crew of only Meghan and Harrys.

The 10-strong cabin crew, made up of two Harrys, seven Megans and one Meghan, will operate the flight that departs Heathrow at 1.10pm, an hour after the couple say ‘I Do’ at Windsor Castle, just seven miles from the airport. 

Senior First Officer, Harry Blake, will be behind the controls of the flight deck, alongside the captain.

To celebrate the Royal couple, any customer departing from Terminal 5 on the big day, who is called Harry, Meghan or Megan and their travel companions, will be invited to use the airline’s First lounge, accessed through the exclusive First Wing.

The celebrations won’t stop there as individual lemon and elderflower Victoria sponges; the same flavour as Harry and Meghan’s wedding cake, will be given out to customers departing from Heathrow on May 19.

Extra bubbly has also been loaded on to the Toronto celebration flight and the ‘Royal Crew’ will give every customer on board a personal bottle of Castelnau Blanc du Blanc to enjoy alongside their individual celebratory wedding cake.

Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: “We are so thrilled for Prince Harry and Meghan so wanted to bring some added sparkle and make our customers’ journeys fit for a Prince or Princess to celebrate this incredibly special day.”

Right.