Our WINO dinner with the Australian Premium Wine Collection went very well. Confusion to start as the Chef did not have a menu for me when I left for Virginia but we still rounded up 95 people to enjoy some very interesting and special wines from Australia. I love the names of the four wineries--Rocky Gully, Wishing Tree, Elderton and Tir Na Nog.

The Collection is very well known in wine circles. Robert Parker writing in Food & Wine Magazine and speaking of the Australian Collection said, "The name of these importers on a bottle guarantees a wine of quality and integrity." And he was right! We had a great speaker from the organization in the person of Barry Walsh. He was very knowledgeable and presented the wines with interesting side stories.

The printed menu was very sparse in description but the actual food was beautifully presented. The Rocky Gully Riesling with Cajun salad was a delicious combination of textures, with 3 plump shrimp and tasty greens. The salad was not overly spiced that I could detect (and I am very sensitive to that) and the wine was bone dry with lemony flavors. The Mousseline of Salmon sounded like it was headed for disaster with the Wishing Tree Shiraz. Turns out it was a very, very light Shiraz with dark red berry aromas and a smooth finish that worked well with the fish.

When I read Crème Brulee with Elderton Botrytis Semillon I expected a disaster. Turns out the winemaker describes the wine as Crème Brulee in a glass, so again not a problem. The entire menu and wine pairing will be on the web site as soon as we get our flyer for Norman Vineyards on November 15th. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so you will miss seeing the superb presentation of each course of our Aussie dinner.

I must add a word about the outstanding service. There was constant attention to detail. Water and bread were always refilled without any discussion. When the speaker left the table his dinner way topped to keep it warm. Above and beyond--when a waitperson noticed that someone did not eat the fish course he offered an alternative. My compliments to the staff!

Greetings! It is Saturday and I still have Virginia (not Georgia) on my mind. On September 22nd my daughter, Diana, editor, Joe and I departed from California and began a 10-day journey that took us from Richmond to Charlottesville and Williamsburg. What a busy time and such special memories.

I was fortunate to be a part of the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association's (IFW&TWA) media tour of Virginia. After an easy flight we were met by Tamera Wilkins, Manager of Events for the Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. We were transported to the Linden Row Inn. What a treasure! The Inn was developed on land used as a garden and is famous for its roses, jasmines and linden trees. Local legend has it Edgar Allen Poe played in the gardens there and that possibly it is the "enchanted garden" in the poem "To Helen." If he is a ghost in residence there he was very quiet - we didn't hear a sound in the night.

Stepping into the rooms of the Inn is like stepping back in time. It is graciously furnished with antiques and reproductions of the Victorian and Empire era furniture but with amenities to satisfy the modern-day traveller. The Inn was redeveloped by the private sector under the guidelines of the Historic Richmond Foundation.

Just as everything was going so smoothly, the zipper on my large suitcase broke. Luckily for me, Erin Bagnell, Public Relations Manager of the Visitors Bureau, lent me a suitcase that I used throughout the trip and returned after I purchased a replacement on the last day. But what would you do if you were on a tour in an overseas country and your bag broke? Anyone have any interesting experiences to share?

That evening we went off to what had to be one of the most sumptuous dinners our our trip. More on that later!

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Welcome to the new blog from Wine Travelling Group.com.