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More fabulous wine and food adventures
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Welcome to VisitVineyards.com, Australia's largest regional wine and food travel guide.
September was a big and exciting month for the VisitVineyards.com team – on a delightful early spring day we launched the joint RACV Regional Wine and Food Program at the fabulous new RACV Healesville Country Club in Victoria's Yarra Valley, then our CEO Robyn Lewis won the Telstra Businesswomen's Nokia Innovation Award for Tasmania, in recognition of her innovation in developing VisitVineyards.com to where it is today – Australia's leading online wine and food travel guide. A few celebratory glasses of wine will be consumed in October, that's for sure!
Here on VisitVineyards.com you will find even more itineraries and suggestions for places to visit, to eat, taste and enjoy (check out our Tours and Itineraries page) and Australia's biggest calendar of wine and food events for this month and beyond. Sometimes we're amazed at how spoilt for choice we all are – there can be several hundred events on around the country, every month! Australians sure love a party. From tastings and dinners, concerts and festivals, music in the vines, to art, dance, sculpture and even the odd round of golf, they are here on VisitVineyards.com for you to plan your next weekend or week away. This month we're focussing on the iconic Hunter Valley in NSW, which is stunning at this time of year.
What are the new RACV and RACT programs about?
VisitVineyards.com is also about making your visits to wine regions more affordable. Some of us are old enough to remember when wine was cheaper at cellar doors, not more expensive. With that in mind we have formed new alliances with two names you may be familiar with, the RACV in Victoria, and the RACT in Tasmania.
Launched on 7th September, in this joint initiative current members of both RACV and RACT – and of automotive associations of any other state (NRMA, RACQ, RAA etc) or from overseas who are visiting either Victoria or Tasmania – can enjoy a range of exclusive discounts at selected:
- wineries and vineyards
- food producers, makers and sellers
- regional restaurants
- microbreweries, and
- accommodations and attractions (Tasmania only).
as part of the Show Your Card & Save program – the world’s largest member benefits program – brought to you by VisitVineyards.com.
So, now you can also save when you visit – there are already 50 participating businesses in Victoria, and Tasmania is also growing. Check out discounts of up to 20% at some big names like Balgownie, Best's, Boynton's, De Bortoli, Delatite.... and that's just part way to D!
All you have to do is show your auto association card (see below for more information). Great news for all you wine and food lovers, and anyone who enjoys travelling in regional Victoria or Tasmania.
This is phase 1 of this exciting new development, so if you live in other States, please be patient and we hope to be able to include you and your favourite regions in 2011.
Where can I use my RAC card?
To find out, just click here to go to the new RACV Regional Wine and Food Program microsite, where you can search and save 50 new partners in Victoria's wonderful wine and food regions. New regions and businesses are being added weekly, so please ensure you check often.
If you are in or planning a visit to Tasmania, check out the growing Wine and Food Selections with RACT
Not a RAC member? There's plenty more here on VisitVineyards.com for you:
- Regular new food and wine region itineraries (the latest are in the 'grape escapes' section on the home page) – giving you suggestions and insider tips about where to go in our fabulous wine regions, plus wine tours and trails »
- Wine news and articles – learn more about wine, read wine reviews and tasting notes, and reviews of the latest wine books
- Food and dining news and reviews from the regions, including restaurants, cooking schools and markets
- The best of the latest crop of cookbooks, wine and food matching tips and ideas (the latest are on the home page)
- A national calendar of wine and food events that you can search by State, region and date. With hundreds of festivals, concerts, markets, dinners, grazings, wine tastings, exhibitions and more on every week in each State, there is always something to plan your next trip around. Don't miss out!
- Regional accommodation selections – lots of hidden gems and other places to stay in food and wine country that you won't find on bigger sites – many are bookable direct with the operators.
- Feedback from other subscribers on their wine travel experiences – read real comments by real people in our forums, and find out if that cellar door or restaurant really is as good as it sounds.... Post your own comments on placves you've been, too.
- Our regular Top Dozens – wines to drink, wines regions, places to visit, place to stay, and more – featured each month on our home page.
- Fantastic monthly promotions where we give away fabulous wines, hampers, food produce, wine and food books, and lots more from our wonderful producers around the country, every month to our subscribers and Members.
VisitVineyards.com covers wine and food regions from Tasmania to Darwin, Perth to Noosa, Adelaide to Cairns – plus some from New Zealand, and beyond. Even if your nearest grapevine is well over 1000 km away, if you are into wine or food you'll find something here for you!
It’s free to subscribe (click here) and (if you wish) opt to receive our seasonal newsletter (we realise some of you have enough email already; it's not compulsory!), to keep up with the latest news, reviews, events and competitions coming up.
The newsletter will also include updates on the RACV and RACT programs, and where to go to get the best buys.
So subscribe to VisitVineyards.com today (it's free) and check out what's on and what to drink and eat as the weather warms up around the country. We look forward to sharing the best of our fabulous regions with you: wine, food, fun, a touch of art and lots more!
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY - it's free »
A big welcome to our 28,000th subscriber. At the rate we're growing, you might be the 29,000th – and if you are, we'll find a nice bottle of wine to send you as a welcome gift! 30,000 coming soon – another excuse for a great giveaway. We'll find some fab wines to celebrate that one with, for sure!
Thanks for visiting – we hope you enjoy exploring our website and your journeys into Australia's wonderful wine and food regions.
Robyn Lewis and the VisitVineyards.com team.
PS If you want to get even more from your travels – such as access to behind-the-scenes wine tastings, special courses, dinners and events – we also have a wine and food lover's Membership program. From now to Christmas (yes, it's on the way!) it's only A$49 to join (or renew) VisitVineyards.com as a Member ($69 per couple), for an entire year of benefits and even more treats when you travel.
So step into spring and take advantage of this great value – why not become a Member now!? VisitVineyards.com Membership makes a great gift for that wine and food lover in your life too.
We've taken your feedback on board and have made it MUCH easier for you to find, search and print all the fabulous Member benefits on our new Benefits page – relax and browse them here »
Our Recommendations
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To subscribe please enter your email address in the "Subscribe Now - it's Free" box on the right and click the "Join" button, or fill in this form >
In a clear reflection of its on going support of regional Victoria, RACV has partnered with Australia’s largest online culinary travel guide, VisitVineyards. vineyards and wineries, winery restaurants, food producers, microbreweries and related experiences in regional Victoria »
Robyn Lewis, CEO and founder of VisitVineyards.com has taken out the Nokia Business Innovation Award announced this week at the 2010 Telstra Business Women's Awards »
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