You had me at merlot!

Yesterday was a 7.45am start as we were heading to Sedona, and what a day it was!

We met at Janette and Dave Bill's house in the foothills of Sedona for brunch and boy did they deliver. Janette cooked an amazing brunch - bagels, fruit, sausages, eggs, potatoes and something else that I cannot for the life of me remember. Brunch was a great opportunity to get to know the Indian team a bit better and learn about what they do at home.

After brunch, Ed our wonderful driver took us up to the Chapel of the Holy cross which provides spectacular views to some of the rock formations and over a large residential area, which mostly blended into the landscape, with the exception of a monstrosity of a house that was directly in everyones line of sight (pictures to come).

After a short drive through the newest shopping precinct in Sedona, we were off to Cottonwood (best name ever!) with Casey as our wonderful tour guide. We took a short stroll down the street until we arrived at Arizona Stronghold. Formed by Eric Glomski, the owner and director of winemaking at Page Springs Cellars and Maynard Keenan, owner of Caduceus Cellars and lead singer of the band TOOL (woop!), the two have come together under the banner of Arizona Stronghold Vineyards.

We sampled 4 wines under the Arizona Stronghold label - Nachise, Mangus, Tazi and Dayden. All named after key figures of the Chiricahua Apache.

Arizona winemakers use grapes I have never heard of - Petite Sirah and Malvasia Bianca to name two. Apparently Malvasia Bianca is set to become the signature grape of Arizona.

Sam Pillsbury's tasting room was our next stop, which was conveniently located just across the road. When entering the facility we were greeted with 'hello you bastards', which could only come from one of two nationalities - a fellow Australian or a Kiwi. Yep, Sam was a kiwi.

Wine tasting at two tasting rooms all before lunch is hard work you know, but we decided to push on regardless to our next stop - Page Springs Cellars. Here we were hosted to a wonderful lunch provided by Renate, Richard and their merry group of fellow Rotarians. The very knowledgable Norris was our wine tasting expert for the day. As we sat on the deck overlooking the running Spring and spending time with some wonderful Rotarians, it reminded us all how fortunate we are to be here and to be given this wonderful opportunity.

With the water flowing alongside us and the hot sun on our backs, I, like many of the others could have easily curled up and had a siesta, but we soldiered onto our final destination for the day - Alcantara Vineyards.

Located in the Verde Valley and established by husband and wife team Barbara and Bob Predmore, Alcantara is the first winery on the banks of the Verde River. With over 10,000 vines planted over 20 acres, there are some big plans in the making for Alcantara. Barbara is a woman of great vision and passion and I am confident that with her at the helm, her vision will come to fruition in a matter of years. With plans to build a B&B, plant more vines, introduce olives, build a Tuscan restaurant and an entertainment space including an ampitheatre, Barbara and Bob have their work cut out for them.

An ENORMOUS thankyou to our wonderful driver/area coordinator/paparazzi/most tolerant person alive, Jim Clemens for putting up with us the last few days, laughing at our jokes when I am fairly confident weren't even funny and generally being a great person to be around. Thanks Jim - it is people like you that make this trip so special for us all.

We have a Chamber of Commerce breakfast in the morning and we being picked up at 6.15am, so over and out for now...