For what it's worth, my vote would be anywhere *but* Europe in the summer as I like to avoid the hordes of tourists and don't want to pay high air fares (probably will not be using miles for this event) and premium hotel rates.

Australia and/or New Zealand sounds great to me for July or August. It's winter there (such as it is, eh Glen?) and one would like to believe there would be some decent air fares available at that time. Sure makes a great mileage run for a lot of folks!


[This message has been edited by bbinchi (edited 11-02-2000).]

If the FT Wine Tasting 2001 is in July or August, I should be able to attend regardless of its location. However, I agree that many destinations in Europe are very expensive and crowded during the summer months. And, from the U.S. at least, the inventory of upgrades and/or ff mileage award seats is substantially reduced during this heavy travel time.

"Off season" Down Under is still my 1st choice but I'm game for just about anywhere.

Oh my, yes. Chehalem makes extremely elegant wines. Their vineyard is about 30 minutes from my house. Lucky me.

Make that a trifecta vote for Oz and not Europe in the summer.

July 20 - August 1 is also a blackout on my dance card. That conflicts with the Oregon Brewer's Festival/Flyertalk event in Portland, Oregon, of which I am host.

Any time in August is great for me.

[This message has been edited by essxjay (edited 11-02-2000).]

Geo: Well, that's a valid point. In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm one of the weird ones who don't use miles - I just collect them I keep pursuing this fantasy of taking the whole extended family - kids, grandkids - all 15 of us! - on the wonderful QFT (quality family time) trip someday. I am trying to reach about 1.5 million miles to do it in style! Of course, by that time, they'll have to wheel me around, but still - it's the dream.

I LOVE wine (especially the BIG cabernets), I REALLY want to see OZ, and I REALLY want to get together w/ all youz guys! I'll have to see how "squeak when he walks" (my husband's Indian name) feels!

I'll mull this one over hard.

Well, I'm as in as one can possibly be with no place or date yet!

Weird? I think you've forgoten with whom you speak.

Have it in OZ in August and I could be persuaded to bring some Rochioli Pinot. It would be worth it to find out what all the fuss is about with the Oregon Pinots if someone brought some. Haven't found a memorable one yet but I'm sure there's some out there.

Oz in early July or mid-to-late August sounds perfect, given our commitments to do the Oregon Brewfest the last weekend in July, as has been noted by our hosts out there.

I would be able to bring some Niagara wines from Ontario, and maybe a few from my trip to South Africa in May. It would help if we set up some flights (i.e. flights of wines) so each of us can contribute interesting examples from our respective parts of the world. For example, Pinot Noirs from Oregon and Washington state as well as British Columbia and Ontario to represent North America, Chardonnays from California and Niagara, etc.

I think Oz would also be much cheaper than London in August (or any time of the year) and France would have too many tourists and not enough locals (who would be on their own vacances in August).

You guys know better than me that pretty well ALL of Western Europe is also on summer vacation in July and August, prices get hiked, EVERYTHING is crowded like crazy, seat avaiability, especially reward ones and upgrades are darn near impossible to be had.

For that reason, my inner thoughts are that planning such a function, no matter WHERE held, possibly makes more sense March/April/May. That is far away from peak season from or to USA, and for those BUYING tickets, some seat sales can be had.

There are as some wine lovers have already pointed out two primary wine growing regions in Australia.

The Hunter Valley - a couple hours easy drive from Sydney, and the Barossa Valley, also a couple hours drive from Adelaide which is about on the centre southern coast of Australia. I am from Adelaide, and yes, there are many other popular wine producing regions within an hours drive of ADL like McLaren Vale, Clare, etc, but the Barossa is by far the best known, and more highly regarded.

As to award travel to OZ, clearly the same kind of "Summer Holiday" scenario wil affect it, as it does Europe. Remember only FOUR major airlines fly to OZ from North America - QF-NZ-UA-AC. There are over FIFTY service OZ-Europe. HOWEVER, there are no domestic holidays here at that time,(Xmas/early Jan is our peak holiday season) prices do not alter, and for Sydney Winter think Miami winter. 70� type days are normal, but 80-90 was pretty common this year. "NICE" in other words. Adelaide a little colder, think Dallas or somewhere like that in winter!

------------------
~ Glen ~

[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 11-02-2000).]

Essxjay,

Can I bribe you to bring some to the democratically dubbed FT Wine Tasting 2001? Have you got contact details for the winery at all? I would love to contact them about ordering a case. Fantastic news. I thought it had been a one off experience.

Mike

Well the comments are rolling in now and it looks set to be an event that many will attend. Excellent to see it develop like this. It appears that we are going to need to get the place and more importantly the timing sorted out earlier rather than later.

Votes have been cast for Australia, Europe and Napa Valley. I will try to keep a running tally of votes in either direction with a column indicating that their choice is flexible (i.e. not limited by existing plans, budget, time constraints, etc.). Within a short while I shall set up a webpage where all the information that does not fit on this board can reside.

Currently the opinions are distributed as follows:

Oz 9
US 2
Euro 3
Flex 3*
*(note this number consists only of those who have stated a preference otherwise but would go with another option if need be)

As Vulcan pointed out, we definitely need to figure the Brewfest in late July into what dates we choose. Opinions voiced so far are:

Possibilities suggested:
July or August
July 8-15
Anytime but June (if Europe)
August (if in Oz)
Early July or mid-late August

Most conflicting dates are:
First week of July
Last ten days of July
17 August-27 August

Current head count looks like:

dhammer53
svpii (depending on the location)
ozstamps
smooth
Gaucho100K (depending on the timing)
violist (depending on the timing)
essxjay (Brewfest dates considered)
bbinchi
geo1004
mizu
Punki (timing dependent)
airoli (timing dependent)
eMailman (interested)
Vulcan
Law Lord (if Euro, not June)
Doc (place and timing dependent)
RK7 (if Oz in Aug.)
Shareholder
mjm


[This message has been edited by mjm (edited 11-02-2000).]

Mjm .. nice updating work. In fairness you did overlook the bolded comment!

Possibilities suggested:
July or August
July 8-15
Anytime but June (if Europe)
August (if in Oz)
Early July or mid-late August
April/May/June if upgrades/seats/price deals are important

Oz,

True enough. Whoops. The earlier part of the year is also on the table and depending on the destination, this may be a good alternative with regard to space, price, etc.

As people start to check in with their good and bad times, I think we will quickly get to a consensus on first vs. latter half of the year and then get it down to a few specific days.

I am just trying to get down from a choice of several dozen to two or three, the bottles I am going to bring. Fun planning

Mike

this get together sounds like a lot of fun! count me in for Oz or NZ anytime next summer. I think May could also be a nice option to avoid the conflicting dates during the summer months (in the US at least)?

and I'll happily bring along some decent (Chilean reds and S.Af reislings) and some unusual (Indian Chardonnay and NW Penn ice wine) bottles.

looking forward to seeing this plan come together