Time flies when you're having fun. I'm flying off to have some fun in the Northern Hemisphere for the next few weeks so I may be a little slow in replying to your emails or orders.

The plan is to visit the Languedoc region, Madiran, the Rioja, and the Ribiera del Duero

The Languedoc is one of the most vinovdiverse in France. There are muscats grown on the hot coastal plains and all manner of other things scattered among the various subregions. Carignan, Cinsaut, Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre are the varieties to be found here. Recent years has seen a seismic shift from the production of lakes of vin ordinaire to more drinkable styles made with modern techniques and equipment. I am looking forward to trying some Corbiers and Fitou in their local habitat.

Madiran, further to the west, is home to a couple of varieties familiar to Vinodiversity fans. The region uses Petit manseng and Tannat.

Then it's over to Spain to visit La Rioja and Ribiera del Duero, two of Northern Spain's premium red wine regions. Plenty of Tempranillo, Graciano and Grenache here.

I will be back in June, but I may manage a post or two to the Vinodiversity blog at http://www.vinodiversity.blogspot.com

2007 has been a most unusual vintage in Australia. Severe frosts have caused yield reductions and even total loss in many vineyards. The continuing drought has also had an effect, and in most regions vintage has been earlier than usual. I have set up a special website at http://2007vintage.wordpress.com to collect reports from winemakers as the vintage unfolds.

The second half of the year looks busy for Vinodiversity with a few new projects on the cards. I need to further develop the 2007 Vintage reports at http://2007vintage.wordpress.com and the Albarino to Zinfandel site at http://recipes.albzin.com I am also exploring several potential partners with some useful products and services for winelovers.

Speaking of food there is a new restaurant menu browsing and booking service available. I have set up a link to it via https://www.vinodiversity.com/menulog You can search for restaurants by locality, cuisine, ambiance, price etc. Then you can browse the menu and even book online. in it's promotional stage the service and some of the restaurants are offering discounts and second meal free type deals. So next time you are looking for a restaurant or cafe try the service and let me know what you think.

The Wine Grape Varietal Chart continues to sell well. Australian readers can still order through http://www.albzin.com/varietytable , but please note delivery may be delayed for a few days while I am on the road. Orders for delivery in other countries will still be processed promptly.

Something to drink? It's time to buy wine! Prices, especially at the bottom end of the scale look likely to rise in the next few months. My partners are offering some attractive specials at the moment...mixed red dozens, mixed white dozens and even mixed mixed dozens. All at a saving of over $100, plus a bottle of Salinger bubbly thrown in. Visit https://www.vinodiversity.com/WMC and follow the links to Weekly Specials. There are other great deals to be had on the site as well.

Do you sell wine on the web? Do you want to? You might be interested in a free course at this page https://www.vinodiversity.com/marketing-wine.html

Two more reminders. I have set up a couple of squidoo lenses or mini-sites at

http://www.squidoo.com/aussiewineevents/ and http://www.squidoo.com/womenwinewriters/