Your Membership program is now open
Robyn Lewis
Award winning Montalto Restaurant, Red Hill, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria [©Visions of Victoria]
But it nearly didn't happen - at least, not in the way we have been planning for some months. Imagine you are hosting a wedding feast - everything is ready, the weather is perfect, flowers adorn the marquee, the bridal party are beaming with joy as your 100-plus guests begin to arrive, and... the caterers mysteriously disappear.
Frantic phone calls put you through to an electronic call centre, text messages fly furiously and vainly about - such was the scene here yesterday. Launching a website without such as basic item as an internet connection was not looking easy, and with the Federal Minister for Tourism about to arrive, the VisitVineyards.com team were beginning to feel something similar to the bride's parents. Sick.
As many of our loyal subscribers will know, within hours of us sending you news of the opening of our Membership program today, our website disappeared. To make matters worse, 'they' (they being a mysteriously-described 'large wholesale provider' of the fibre-optic connection to over half an entire State) fixed it for a while, lulling us into a false sense of security; the sort which preceded the mother of all outages, rather like the tide receding before the tsumani arrives.
Twenty hours offline is a lifetime in the world of 24/7 accessibility and service - 4/7 just doesn't have the same ring about it. But as the old saying goes, 'the show must go on', and your Membership program would have launched with or without the internet. Quite how, we don't have to find out - some frantic paddling below the surface by the member of the VisitVineyards.com team who stayed home 'to make sure things are working OK' has ensured that not only are we back online, but that we hope we'll never be the victim of this sort of 'issue' again.
Today will be a piece of cake in comparison, or more precisely, a tray of canapes such as: stinging nettle and cream leek boreks, crispy salt cod akra with beetroot mayonnaise and local white asparagus and Joselito jamon risotto, by Chef de Cuisine Barry Davis of Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove. Washed down with delicious Montalto Pennon Hill wines and finished off with Wendy's lemon-lime custard fruit tartlets. Finally, we can relax, and so can you. We won't be 'disappearing' again.
The Minister and many of our Partners - those bringing you such fabulous Member offers when you visit Victoria's Mornington Peninsula - will have a real taste of the best of the Peninsula, and indeed of Australia, and from today, you are invited to experience it too.
We'll keep you posted, or should that be twenty-four-sevened?
PS You'll be pleased to know it all went well - the sun shone, the venue was perfect, the food surpassed the promise of the menu - and the Hon. Minister spoke glowingly of how much Australian tourism needs VisitVineyards.com, and how useful it will be to you, our customers. We're having a weekend off. Enjoy yours too, and we'll all be back in business next week with more great food, wine and travel stories.
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The Hon Martin Ferguson MP, Federal Minister for Energy, Resources & Tourism, launched the VisitVineyards.com Membership program at Montalto on the Mornington Peninsula ... read more
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