American Airlines has upgraded its reservation system and is now expecting third party operators like Expedia and Orbitz to keep up with the times and customer expectations.

The result: A media storm timed perfectly around the holidays.

During the hustle and bustle of a busy holiday travel season, American Airlines announced mid-December that it was pulling fares from Orbitz. This was quickly followed by an Expedia announcement on January 1 stating that American Airlines was no longer an option on their website.

Then, in the midst of this airline vs. middleman showdown, AA fares became really hard to find on Sabre as the rankings dropped dramatically. A rebuff from the middleman club? Perhaps.

AA filed a lawsuit yesterday in response to Sabre’s actions claiming they are “discriminatory and patently inconsistent with… contractual obligations,” although further details about the suit are still under wraps.

So what is the fuss really all about?

AA is working with Direct Connect, a system that allows the company to present more options to consumers. How about upgrading to a Premium Coach seat at checkout? Direct Connect. Or have more flight schedule offerings? Direct Connect.

Sites like Expedia work on a GDS (Global Distribution System) that isn’t currently keeping up with where AA’s business is headed and what customers are seeking. The airline is being vocal about it and appears to be moving away from sites incongruent with these new demands.

But is AA moving more towards exclusive availability on their own website? Spokesman Ed Martelle told TravelPlusWine this isn’t the case. AA currently appears on a number of distribution systems and airline is currently negotiating with Expedia as well as talking with Orbitz about a Direct Connect upgrade. “We want to make it easy for the customer and we understand the scope and reach of these large GDS systems,” states Martelle.

Bottom line: Consumers want low fares and the ability to customize their itineraries… and we want it fast.

It’ll be interesting to see what plays out during this travel industry showdown as both the middleman and airline duke it out for control. Nobody wants their cheese moved, but taking a “my way or the highway” approach isn’t in anybody’s best interest either.

The question is: Do sites like Orbitz, Expedia, and Sabre want to continue being leaders in the travel industry? If so, they’ll need to make this upgrade sooner rather than later.

We’re willing to bet other airlines will soon be following in American’s footsteps.  Change is in the air.

We wrote this 2011 Manifesto because we believe in the power of written word. The document will also act as a guide for a smooth sailing in 2011 as we chart through new TravelPlusWine territory. This post is also an act of transparency on our part. We appreciate your readership because without you, what we’ve accomplished in 2010 and where we are headed in 2011 wouldn’t be possible. Cheers to a first-class year!

Welcome to 2011! Like most people, I can’t believe last year went by so fast! Looking back over the wicked pace of 2010 leaves me breathless in awe and amazement. Without a doubt, it was one of the most rewarding years of my life.

Hard work, persistence, and passion has started paying off because…

2010 in review

What a year we had here at TravelPlusWine! From wine tasting in numerous regions around New Zealand to experiencing a wide variety of local wines in Budapest, Hungary and discovering the amazing Grüner Veltliner in Austria, we’ve developed our palate and furthered our passion for great wine as well as travel.

Wherever we are in the world, whether at home or on the road, the adventure never seems to end, so take a look back at a few of our articles in 2010:

• Sailing Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Spirit to the Caribbean
• Jazzing it up in New Orleans
  
• Luxury at the Napa Valley Marriott & great wineries
• New Zealand’s Nelson, Marlborough, and Otago wine regions
  
• Walla Walla Enchants Wine Lovers
  
• Wining, dining, and pure relaxation at LeBlanc Spa Resort in Cancun, Mexico
• Ancient Treasures in Greece
• Bogotá Up Close & Personal
• Features on Austrian tourism & wine
• Other great wines tasted…
  

Looking ahead at 2011

Writing about premier wine tourism destinations is our passion and essence here at TravelPlusWine. This is something we’ll continue to focus on throughout the year as we introduce new wines and discover fun tasting regions. In addition to wine tourism, we promise to also sprinkle in some luxury travel and tell you where you should grab a beer or cocktail and skip the wine!

This year, you also might find us tapping into controversy and being way more opinionated than we have in the past. Being middle-of-the-road is pleasant, but boring… we’re hoping to stir the pot on some issues to encourage thinking as well as to create dialog in the travel and wine circles.

Developing your wine palate

We’d also like to inspire you to take action and develop your own wine palate and tasting opinion. Don’t worry, we’ll help you through the process in 2011. In the meantime, if you have any questions about wine tasting or developing a palate… please, please, please shoot us an email or leave a comment. Your questions will help us help you and everyone else.

Trust me, if you would have asked me a few years back to pick out the tobacco notes in a red wine, I would have given you a blank stare…

Wine Ratings?

One thing people have asked us to implement here on TravelPlusWine is a tasting score system. Why don’t we currently have wine tasting scores?

When using the popular 100- point scale, you need to get to know the palate of the person scoring. A wine that I’d give 95 points could be only worth 81 to your taste buds. We feel the people who pay most attention to this point system are either too busy or lazy to read the reviews (which could be an argument if favor of implementing a TravelPlusWine rating system) or haven’t developed their own palate enough to make sense of tasting notes (which is why we want to help you develop yours).

It bothers us to meet so many winemakers whose value, self-worth, and wine sales depend on 90+ scores from… well, you know who I’m talking about. Again, it’s all opinion based on a single palate.

On the one hand, we want you to know which wines we really like and how it ranks amongst our finds. But on the other hand, we need you, the reader and winemakers, to understand how our rating system works… which will be based solely on opinion. So, no hard feelings, okay?

At this point it looks like we’ll implement some sort of a wine rating system, but we’re looking to do something a bit different… we’re thinking something cool, spiffy, and not at all stuffy.

Widgetizing & Badges

Yes, I think I just made up a word. Also launching, as soon as possible, will be our TravelPlusWine widgets and badges system. If we’ve featured your wine or travel destination on our blog, you’ll be able to post a “Featured on TravelPlusWine” widget on your website.  Or perhaps you are part of a great wine tourism destination? We’ll have “TravelPlusWine Destination” badges available for you to place on your site or marketing material!

When our rating system is up and running, we’ll also supply a few of our favorite wines with a TravelPlusWine seal of approval badge!

Our success

Clearly, 2010 was the year of social media in the wine and tourism industries. We watched more and more wineries, hotels, airlines, tour companies, etc. join the ranks of those who use social media to market to consumers. Whether jumping in or simply dipping their toes, some companies did really well reaching their audience while other companies remained a bit confused as to its usage and how social media can be effective.

TravelPlusWine clearly works. Our traffic continues to climb and the site has become a well-known blog within both the travel and wine industries. Readers buy the wines we recommend and check out the places we mention. We often get messages thanking us for the recommendations, but every once in a great while, we’ll get called out by someone who has other thoughts or tastes… a powerful reminder to stay authentic and be able to back up our opinions and experiences.

Because of our success in just over a year, people in the wine, travel, and blogging industries ask us, quite often, exactly how we manage to do it all!

It’s important for people to know this isn’t my first blog or Ricardo’s. We’ve both learned from experience over the years and have applied what works to TravelPlusWine.

I started working in public relations in 2006 and got started in social media the following year. It’s something I live and breathe, both as a day job and as a hobby with this website. As a bonus, our combined web design experience is icing on the cake.

TravelPlusWine has been a labor of love as well as a way to subsidize our travels and drinking great wine… while connecting with like-minded souls. We hope the travel invitations, media tours, like-minded friends, and wine samples keep flowing and growing! Looking back at 2010, we feel so fortunate and marvel at how much this site has enriched every area of our lives.

Maintaining a dynamic site and keeping a steady stream of information flowing on a blog like TravelPlusWine could easily become a full-time job. As with anything, there’s always room for improvement and that is exactly what we’d like to do!

Monetizing

How do we plan to keep great content flowing in 2011?

Spend more time working on the website! We plan to take our content up another notch both in frequency and quality. In order to do so, we are going to work very hard at monetizing this website in 2011.

Over the upcoming weeks and months, we’ll begin selling ad space on the site. At the moment, we hope to sell the ads directly and some will be paired with the occasional (clearly marked) sponsored post.

But, rest assured, we will be very careful to not sacrifice the integrity of the blog we have so painstakingly built with our own hands brick-by-brick, word-by-word. We’re not selling-out; we’re simply following our passion while making a living doing what we love!

Because of my love for social media, hands-on experience, as well as close proximity to the wine and travel worlds, I’d also like to help businesses in these industries learn how to use these tools to grow. Because so many of these companies have casually asked me about the state of their industry in social media as well as how they can better market online… I’ve been thinking about ways I can help.

Over the past few months, I’ve quietly launched TravelPlusWine Social Media Marketing… but consider this an official announcement. I’m currently offering social media marketing and consulting services to those in the travel and wine industries.

Behind the scenes, I’m working on making social media knowledge and implementation more accessible and easier on everyone in the travel and wine industries, particularly the smaller guys and gals. Keep your eyes peeled for products!

Throughout the year, I’ll be posting free industry-specific social media and public relation tips on the blog.

For your own travel and wine enjoyment, we’ll be launching some fun, dynamic products for TravelPlusWine. We’d tell you, but then we’d have to poison your wine! Just kidding, of course…

Walk the walk, cork the cork

In social media and public relations, I work with deadlines and editorial calendars on a daily basis. Companies who are serious about social media rarely write and publish a post on the same day because it has all been carefully crafted and planned ahead.

When we plan ahead with TravelPlusWine, we feel organized and it enables us to concentrate on immediate, important tasks like syndicating the content. As the end of the year approached and other projects picked up, we started to see the editorial calendar slip away as we often posted without much time to spare. The last 2 weeks of December, we barely posted at all.

Blog fatigue happens when you don’t plan ahead and we won’t let this happen in 2011. We’re starting strong and are committed to staying on course throughout the year.

Conferences

2009 was the first full year we spent on TravelPlusWine and we were fortunate enough to meet, both online and in person, some amazing bloggers and industry professionals. Over the summer, we attended the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington where we not only discovered a whole new region of wines, but travel and wine-loving soul mates.

In October, we trekked to the European Wine Bloggers Conference where we rekindled friendships, met wine bloggers from around the world, and discovered wines we had never tasted. We also attended the LA Time Travel & Adventure Show, a great place to connect with those in the travel industry and find new blog content without leaving home!

In 2010, we plan to hit up the same conferences and travel shows, plus make our way into a few more.  We’d also like to let it be known that we’re available for speaking or panel discussions!

Conclusion

There’s no doubt we have a lot on our plate with the blog in 2011, which promises to be a big year. Writing this Manifesto has really helped us shape and put into words what we want and where we’re headed over the next 365 days.

I’m sure we’ll be adding and updating this as the year moves forward. We’ll be paying close attention to Analytics and what our readers like, so please, let us know what you’d like to see more of on TravelPlusWine.

Thanks again for being such loyal readers and we wish you all the best in 2011!

-Katie & Ricardo

If you love wine, be sure to check out Adegga.com, a social network for wine lovers. You can post your wine tasting notes, share what you think, and discuss wines with fellow wine enthusiasts.

Adegga also gives you an opportunity to engage with wineries promoting their wine on the site. Ask questions, leaves comments and tasting notes, or simply stop by and see if they have any new offerings. You’ll also find dynamic video and news updates from many of the wineries.

Joining Adegga is free and a great way to discover new wines and become part of a close-knit online community who share one thing in common… great wine! Come find me on Adegga and check out our tasting notes. A few might not be listed here on TravelPlusWine.

Guest Post by Natalie MacLean

“Wine is one of the few presents that makes both the giver and the receiver look good,” says Natalie MacLean, the red-nosed e-sommelier behind nataliemaclean.com, one of the largest wine web sites. “You look like you spent a bundle on the gift (even if you didn’t) and the recipients are happy that you think they know something about wine (even if they don’t).”

Here are some wine recommendations for the Top 10 Tough-To-Buy-For People on Your Holiday List:

1. Hairdresser: For the person who combines humor and optimism every time she styles your mop. Go for a light, gulpable wine like a dry rosé. It’s versatile and fuss-free—a great quaff for your coif.

2. Psychiatrist: Of course, he’ll analyze whatever you give him so choose a wine that’s all about balance. Easy-drinking pinot noir is medium-bodied yet packed with flavor. Surprise him with a large-format bottle, like a magnum. Big thinking means big progress for you. This wine also works for psychologists, marriage counselors and bartenders.

3. The Boss: Pick too pricey a wine and your boss will think your last raise was too much; go cheap, and she’ll think you lack judgement. Focus on a label with a lot of white space since that makes the bottle look more expensive. A castle in the distance also works, but avoid fluffy animals.

4. Personal Trainer: Think a muscular, robust red would work? Hold that position. Instead, try riesling: this light white wine pairs well with a health-nut diet of salad and seafood, plus it’s low in alcohol. You can also give it to Pilates instructors, yoga masters and Tai Chi coaches.

5. Financial Planner: You and he both know it’s going to take decades before your portfolio recovers after the crash of 2008. With that long-term view, vintage port makes the perfect gift. This fortified wine from northern Portugal, with its long aging potential, will be around for both of you into your retirements.

6. Travel Agent: She’s been everywhere and seen everything, so go local with your choice of wine. Even better, if you live close to the winery, get the bottle signed by the winemaker.

7. Teacher: If you can’t find a suitably obscure wine with a Latin name, there’s always cream sherry. It’s the tipple of Oxford dons, not to mention the centerpiece of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Case of the Amontillado.

8. Mail Deliverer: Go for a winery that’s consistent year after year in producing a wine that can be enjoyed in snow, rain, sleet or hail. Try an Australian shiraz or Argentine malbec.

9. Mechanic: Yes, there’s a wine called Red Truck, but try to be more imaginative. Why not give a wine made by Mario Andretti in California or Ferrari in Italy?

10. Online Date: So you’re on your second or third rendezvous with the person you met on eHarmony or Dating.com. If you’re not sure yet whether marriage is a possibility, try something middle-of-the-road, like merlot. Yes, it’s the soft jazz of wine, but until you know, play it safe.

And after all that shopping, don’t forget yourself: even Santa’s little helpers need more than milk and cookies. Try something with high-alcohol like Italian Amarone or Rhone syrah: these big reds easily drown out tone-deaf caroling and pair beautifully with tired feet.

GUEST AUTHOR: Natalie MacLean is an independent journalist and author of the bestseller Red, White and Drunk All Over.

More than 115,000 wine and food lovers subscribe to her free monthly e-newsletter. Nat was named the World’s Best Drink Writer at the World Food Media Awards in Australia. View her bio at NatalieMaclean.com.

Looking for excellent, exotic wines from around the world but aren’t able to just jet across the world to taste them for yourself? Welcome to the club!

Actually, it’s more like welcome to the International Wine of the Month Club. Their highly selective tasting panel spits so you can enjoy only the best wines in the comfort of your own home!

There are 3 membership types available ranging from 2 months, 12 months, or open- ended. Prices range from $29.95 – $65.95 per month depending on the wine you wish to receive. Each package gives you the choice of red wine, white wine, or both.

TravelPlusWine was recently sent a sample membership for review and we were very impressed with both the quality of wine and educational aspect of the International Wine of the Month Club. Each wine bottle is packaged with a Cellar Notes newsletter containing tasting notes, information about the grape variety, food accompaniments, and a recipe.

We tasted a 2007 Cannonball Cabernet Sauvignon (California) as well as a 2009 Domaine Talmard Mâcon Chardonnay (France). Both wines have the quality and elements in place to sip alone or enjoy with food.

Not sure what food to serve with these wines? Consult your Cellar Notes, it’ll all there!

Don’t forget the holidays are fast approaching. If you’re not sure what to get a wine- loving friend or family member, you won’t disappoint with these wines!

The International Wine of the Month Club offers great value with a wine education making this a definite TravelPlusWine recommendation!