THOUSANDS of local and interstate visitors are expected at McLaren Vale next month, to indulge in the region’s best food and wine at the Sea and Vines Festival.
For the first time in the event’s 18 year-history, visitors need to book their tickets in advance for the two-day festival on Sunday, June 13, and Monday, June 14.
McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourism Association marketing manager Elizabeth Tasker said the new format would “improve the experience” for all festival-goers.
“The growing popularity of the event has spurred the changes because in the past venues have been limited in their capacity,” she said.
The 2008 event was marred by the arrest of 18 people for alcohol-related offences, including assault and abusive language, at wineries and the Hotel McLaren.
Six people were arrested at last year’s event, with four reported for drink driving.
Ms Tasker said the 27 wineries and restaurants involved up from 22 the previous year would be better prepared with catering and security because they would know exactly how many people to expect on both days. Visitors without a ticket will be refused entry. Chalk Hill manager Tom Harvey said the new format would give attendees the chance to have a “premium” festival experience.
Settlement Wines general manager Ellen Smith said it would be the first time the event had been held at the winery’s new home on Seaview Rd.
“It’s going to be a really relaxed vibe,” she said. “We’ll have some good wines on offer and we make our own wood oven pizzas.”
Attendees pay a $20 booking fee, which allows them to secure their spot at different venues across four time slots 9am to 11am, 11am to 1pm, 1pm to 3pm and 3pm to 5pm.
Tickets for Tapestry, Wirra Wirra, Woodstock, Coriole, Maxwell, d’Arenberg, Chalk Hill and Paxton are close to selling out on Sunday; bookings are still open for all wineries on the Monday.
The booking fee includes a Riedel wine glass, the first pour of wine and a tree, which will be planted in McLaren Vale by Greening Australia volunteers.
www.bellevuebnb.com.au
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Friday 21 May 2010
Fleurieu Way Drives Tourism via iphone Technology
South Australia continues to use clever technology to reach an ever growing number of tech-savvy visitors to the State with the release of a third tourism iPhone „app‟ this year, the free Fleurieu Way Guided GPS Tour 'app'.
The Fleurieu Way Guided GPS Tour „app‟ follows the traditional Fleurieu Way Touring Route – a popular 235 kilometre regional driving route that takes in the highlights of the region.
South Australian Tourism Commission Executive General Manager Sales and Marketing, Steve Kernaghan, said the „app‟, which is now live and available from the iTunes Store, has been supported by the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) as part of its ongoing support to develop new consumer initiatives.
“This is the third tourism „app‟ we‟ve developed in the past four months which makes use of increasingly popular smart phone technology to help enhance visitors experiences while in South Australia via the connectivity of iPhone devices,” Mr Kernaghan said.
“This newest „app‟ makes use of the inbuilt GPS system in the visitor‟s iPhone to guide them through the Fleurieu Peninsula with audio narrative at points at points of interest, and further details including written descriptions, images and contact information.
“The tour gives a local‟s perspective on the Fleurieu Peninsula and the 99 points of interest including townships, wineries, national parks, visitor information centres and accommodation properties, by „Annabelle‟, who will provide informative commentary.
“The „app‟ also plugs perfectly into social media, allowing users to post recommendations directly from their iPhones to Twitter and Facebook, further spreading the South Australian tourism message.”
The release of the Fleurieu Way Guided GPS Tour „app‟ builds on the popularity of the free iPhone „app‟ developed for this year‟s Santos Tour Down Under event, plus the Adelaide City GPS and Audio Tour iPhone „app‟, launched in February this year.
During the event, the Santos Tour Down Under „app‟ was downloaded by more than 11,000 users and was ranked second in the free sports category in the Apple iTunes Store during that month.
The Adelaide City GPS and Audio Tour iPhone „app‟ has been downloaded by more than 7,300 users (more 5,000 downloads occurring within the first month of release), and reached a top five ranking in the free travel category of the Apple iTunes Store in February.
http://www.bellevuebnb.com.au
The Fleurieu Way Guided GPS Tour „app‟ follows the traditional Fleurieu Way Touring Route – a popular 235 kilometre regional driving route that takes in the highlights of the region.
South Australian Tourism Commission Executive General Manager Sales and Marketing, Steve Kernaghan, said the „app‟, which is now live and available from the iTunes Store, has been supported by the South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) as part of its ongoing support to develop new consumer initiatives.
“This is the third tourism „app‟ we‟ve developed in the past four months which makes use of increasingly popular smart phone technology to help enhance visitors experiences while in South Australia via the connectivity of iPhone devices,” Mr Kernaghan said.
“This newest „app‟ makes use of the inbuilt GPS system in the visitor‟s iPhone to guide them through the Fleurieu Peninsula with audio narrative at points at points of interest, and further details including written descriptions, images and contact information.
“The tour gives a local‟s perspective on the Fleurieu Peninsula and the 99 points of interest including townships, wineries, national parks, visitor information centres and accommodation properties, by „Annabelle‟, who will provide informative commentary.
“The „app‟ also plugs perfectly into social media, allowing users to post recommendations directly from their iPhones to Twitter and Facebook, further spreading the South Australian tourism message.”
The release of the Fleurieu Way Guided GPS Tour „app‟ builds on the popularity of the free iPhone „app‟ developed for this year‟s Santos Tour Down Under event, plus the Adelaide City GPS and Audio Tour iPhone „app‟, launched in February this year.
During the event, the Santos Tour Down Under „app‟ was downloaded by more than 11,000 users and was ranked second in the free sports category in the Apple iTunes Store during that month.
The Adelaide City GPS and Audio Tour iPhone „app‟ has been downloaded by more than 7,300 users (more 5,000 downloads occurring within the first month of release), and reached a top five ranking in the free travel category of the Apple iTunes Store in February.
http://www.bellevuebnb.com.au
Wine and Spirits / Fine wines with amusing names
Few wineries bring a smile to the face like Australia's d'Arenberg, for a couple of reasons. First, many d'Arenberg wines are very good and have surprisingly low prices for their often very high quality.
Second, there are the names of the wines themselves - Footbolt, Peppermint Paddock, Stump Jump, Dead Arm, The Custodian, The Laughing Magpie, Ironstone Pressings.
Those who live near the township of McLaren Vale may nothing odd about these names since each one is a real name of a place, a road, or some historic event that happened in or near the town.
There's nothing laughable about this serious winery either. D'Arenberg was established in 1927 and its wines were well accepted in Australia from the start. By the 1960s they had attained cult status and were getting rave reviews from European and North American critics.
By Daniel Rogov
Second, there are the names of the wines themselves - Footbolt, Peppermint Paddock, Stump Jump, Dead Arm, The Custodian, The Laughing Magpie, Ironstone Pressings.
Those who live near the township of McLaren Vale may nothing odd about these names since each one is a real name of a place, a road, or some historic event that happened in or near the town.
There's nothing laughable about this serious winery either. D'Arenberg was established in 1927 and its wines were well accepted in Australia from the start. By the 1960s they had attained cult status and were getting rave reviews from European and North American critics.
By Daniel Rogov
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)