Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

2011 Born Digital Wine Awards Announces New Categories and Judges


2011 Born Digital Wine Awards Announces New Categories and Judges (PRWEB) August 29, 2011

Building on last year?s success, the Born Digital Wine Awards (BDWA) announces the new 2011 judging panel and awards category. The BDWA awards recognize writers and artists internationally for content first published online in a free and unrestricted manner.

The Born Digital Wine Awards is different from other competitions in that the BDWA accepts submissions in any language.

The judging panel for the 2011 edition consist of winners from last year?s BDWA along with highly regarded wine professionals from around the world. Submissions – published in the 2011 calender year – will open on December 1, 2011.

Based on feedback from online wine communicators, the BDWA is also excited to announce a new category for the 2011 awards: Best Wine Photo Essay. This category was added to reward amazing photography that tells a engaging and meaningful story.

To learn how to submit work, or to help support the Born Digital Wine Awards, please go to their website: http://www.borndigitalwineawards.com

The categories for the 2011 awards include:

Best Investigative Wine Writing: for a distinguished example of investigative reporting by an individual or team, presented as a single wine article or series (video, written text)

Best Editorial Wine Writing: for outstanding examples of wine writing, giving prime consideration to literary quality and originality

Best Wine Tourism Feature: Speaking about a particular region as a tourist destination with a focus on wine (written text, video)

Best Wine Themed Video: Video content that either educates, demonstrates or builds awareness for wine

Best Winery Self Produced Content: for outstanding examples of content created by wineries to promote their brand and reach out to key audiences (video, written text)

Best Wine Photo Essay **NEW CATEGORY**: A set of 2 to 10 photos, published in one online location, that focus on a wine theme or story. (photo)

Members of the new 2011 Born Digital Wine Awards judging panel will be:

Michel Bettane (France) ? Author of Grand Guide des Vins du France and writer, Bettane et Desseauve, blogger

Herv? Lalau (Belgium) – Deputy-Chief Editor at In Vino Veritas and writer, Chroniques Vineuse, blogger

Fongyee Walker (MW candidate) (China) – Co-founder, Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting and author, blogger

Patrick Schmitt (UK) ? Editor, Drinks Business

Elin McCoy (USA) ? Writer Bloomberg and author, blogger

Ulf Sjodin MW (Sweden) – Head of Category Management, Systembolaget and writer

Tim Atkin (UK) ? Wine Writer http://www.timatkin.com, blogger

Wink Lorch (France) ? Wine Writer, Wine Travel Guides, blogger

Richard Ross (UK) ? Wine App Developer and writer, www,wine-lines.com, blogger

Jay Selman (USA) ? Co-founder, Grape Radio and founder, Grape Visions, blogger

About the Born Digital Wine Awards

Founded in 2010 by Robert McIntosh from The Wine Conversation (http://wineconversation.com) and Ryan and Gabriella Opaz from Catavino (http://catavino.net), the annual awards aims to recognize international works on wine originally published online.

###





The Famous Mountains Of Whistler In British Columbia

Whistler in British Columbia was founded as a ski resort in the early 1960′s and in 1975 it became Canada’s first ‘Resort Municipality’. This supreme year-round destination resort is around two hours drive from Vancouver, British Columbia.


Whistler is not just for skiing, it is best for a wide variety of summer and winter activities. You can enjoy endless choice in dining, shopping and nightlife in British Columbia’s Coast Mountains.


The incredible downhill skiing at Whistler Mountains in winter season made the place world famous. Lot of people around the world visit the mountains of Whistler to enjoy their vacations with fun filled activities. Apart from downhill ski facilities, winter visitors can enjoy cross-country skiing, ice skating, heli-skiing, snowmobiling, dog-sledding, sleigh-riding and a host of other winter recreational activities.


Same as in winter, visitors can enjoy a wide variety of activities in the summer season also. You can enjoy world-class golf, mountain top sightseeing , mountain biking, in-line skating, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, sightseeing, kayaking, fishing, and glacier skiing in the summer season.


Whistler is considered as one of the top bike towns in North America. Pedestrian village, situated at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, is one of the major places of attraction. Whistler Village and the adjacent Upper Village which are designed in distinctive mountain resort architecture will be an excellent place to stay for visitors.


Mountains and a huge variety of first class restaurants and distinctive shops are easily accessible from Whistler Village and Upper Village. The surrounding valley is blessed with several parks with boat launches, beaches, picnic areas and hiking trails. There are five beautiful lakes, several creeks and rivers with kilometers of conventional trails for hiker, bikers and inline skaters.


The two mountains in Whistler have over 8,100 skiable terrain, one vertical mile, more than 200 trails, three glaciers, twelve alpine bowls and 38 lifts. Over two millions of tourists visit Whistler Blackcomb, the top ski and snowboard resort in North America, annually. It gets an average of ten meters of snow annually.


As it is situated only 40 kilometers inland from the Pacific Ocean, Whistler enjoys moderate temperatures. Most of the people visit Whistler in summer than in the winter season. Golfing, hiking, mountain biking, canoeing and swimming are only a few of the admired summer activities offered in the Whistler area.


Garibaldi Lift Company opened a ski area on the wester side of the Whistler Mountain in February 1966. In 1980, Blackcomb Mountain opened a brand new facility named Whistler Village to complement Whistler Mountain. It was designed by leading architects, planners and landscape professionals from North America. The design of the village highlights outstanding sun exposure and breathtaking views.


A wonderful array of accommodation is available through out Whistler. You can choose your favourite form luxurious mountain chalets to economical hotels. You can also book your accommodation online or with the help of any travel consultants.


During the summer season you can enjoy a sunrise or mid-day ATV tours on Whistler mountain. There are several service providers who are conducting ATV tours. You can contact any one of them to have an ATV tour. Snow-capped peaks, Alpine forests, and indigenous wildlife are just some of the wonders you experience during hiking and walking trails in Whistler.


Heli-hiking is best for experienced explorers. You can hike across rolling meadows against a background of magnificent mountain views. Altogether your trip to Whistler will be a memorable one in your lifetime.


Presently, there is over 9000 permanent residents in Whistler. Whistler has the best ski-in/ski-out accommodation when compared to other recreation resorts in North America. Whistler is home to over 100 hotels and condominiums and bed & breakfasts with more than 4000 well-furnished rooms.


Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains jointly boast 200 runs and 33 lifts and the greatest vertical drop in the continent. Most of the travelers visit whistler with either riding or skiing in mind. Apart from that there are a number of other activities to complement days on the mountain.


People of all ages can enjoy activities such as ice climbing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, dog sledding and even sightseeing. Be there in the mountains of Whistler this winter/summer and enjoy your vacation. Make sure that you will be here for you next vacation.

Cool Mountain Biking Experience in Batam

Batam is best known as the free trade zone of Indonesia’s Riau Islands but now is emerging as an ideal island holiday destination by global travelers. Discountedhotelsinbatam.com has great offers on rooms in hotels in Batam making it affordable for visitors to holiday in this island. Apart from clean beaches and silvery sands one of the most popular activities in Batam is mountain biking. You can hire or even buy a bicycle from one of the shops and start your adventure by taking the 30 kilometer path on the Nongsa peninsula. You can start from the beautiful Turi Beach on the Nongsa Kampung and end at Tering Bay Golf Club. Visitors staying in Batam hotels can see lush green forests which are home to some rare fauna and flora. Tourists on a biking trail can also get to see beautiful virgin beaches and get to pass through dirt roads which add to the challenge. This is one cycling trip which will make remember Batam for life.

If you are running short of time and you want to take a short day trip then a visit to Batu Mera village is recommended. This is one of the oldest villages in Batam and you can get to see the rural life and get to mix with the local people and experience their culture and simple way of life. You would also be amazed by the warmth of their hospitality and an incentive to return to Batam again.

Experience Multicultural Batam

Most of the ceremonies are a combination of dance, music, art and religious chants which would expose visitors staying in hotels in Batam to its spiritual side. Some of the popular local traditional dances are the Batam Zapin Dance, the Jogi Dance and Persembahan Dance which are not only colorful but also melodious.

Drama is also part of the Batam culture and the Mak Yong Drama is a very popular one where the story revolves around a country called Riau and its wise king. Batam is also popular for the various culinary delights that comes straight from its steaming hot kitchens. Seafood is the specialty of Batam and you cannot afford to miss out on the local delicacy called Gong-Gong which is a shellfish and is Batam’s best kept secret. The best place to please the taste buds is the Nagoya, Batu Besar, Batu Merah areas where you can find innumerable restaurants and roadside hawker stalls. Discountedhotelsinbatam.com with their discounts on wonderful hotels in Batam is an ideal way to holiday in this beautiful island.

Excite hotels Offers You Magical Hotels in Batam