I was picked up in the afternoon by Blake, one of our wine representatives from The Wine Source in Alabama. A welcome sight after numerous delays coming from New York and Charlotte. Flying into Birmingham Alabama, I was surprised at how hilly and spaced out the town was. I was taken to a new, very modern hotel called the 'A Loft' which is on the edge of town. A quick run up to the room, bag drop, and then off to meet the team at 'Satterfield's', a very swish restaurant in Vestavia Hills.

Blake introduced me to the full sales team from The Wine Source, our distributors in this state. The idea was to taste through and discuss the wines in the portfolio. This we did accompanied by a great meal. What excited me was that the chef tries to use as much local produce as possible and has a great kitchen to work in. The fact he had an old-style wood oven made for the restaurant intrigued me.

I returned to the hotel for a few nightcaps and met fellow Barossite, Steven Black, from Small Gully Wines. We shared a few stories. An interesting comment made to me that night was that one Aussie is lots of fun and two Aussies can be lots of trouble!

The next morning, the first calls made were with Frank. Frank has a great pickup truck which was fun to ride around in. Our first call was at 'Western Wines' in Mountain Brook. It is a nice store, and the manager Richard (who calls himself a Wine Therapist) was in, and despite it being his day off, he enjoyed tasting with us.

The next stop was 'Western Wines' in Vestavia with Russell. This call was lots of fun and the jokes were flying. It was here that I realised that the people in Alabama really do have a good sense of humour and are fun to be around. Frank was familiar with the store and was quite happy to unpack and price some wines whilst I talked about the wines with Russell.

At this point I met up again with Blake and did a swap. Our first call was to the oddly-named 'Piggly Wiggly' in Mountainbrook. Here we sat outside by the Cahaba River and tasted with Tasha. Tasha has had an interesting journey to be a wine steward. While studying Art at college she worked in a wine bar. Ultimately, Tasha would love to become involved in local sustainable agriculture, and enjoys the cultures of other countries.

The next visit was with the eccentric 'Smitty' Smith of the shop called Overton and Vine, who is a truly unique character in the world of wine shop owners. This was a unique little store and really suited his style and sense of humour. We all had many laughs about the unusual things that he had collected to adorn his shop over time.

The gratifying thing to this point was how well the wines were being received in this market, and that the Riesling (made by Christa) was a real winner, as was the Halliwell Shiraz Grenache.

Next visit on the agenda was with Wendy at 'Whole Foods' in Mountain Brook. I always love to stroll and experience these stores as they have such a great and unique selection of, not only fresh foods, but great cooked meals of all styles and types. The fact that they cook the food onsite gives the store a wonderful fresh and lively aroma. This aroma was so strong that we had to move out into the storeroom to taste the wines!

Lunch was calling so Blake and I went to a great wood fired pizza place that seemed to be a favourite of Blake's. As we have a pizza oven at the winery and run our successful Friday Pizza Nights, I am used to the true favours that a great pizza oven can produce. These pizzas were on a thin base and had great flavours from their simple toppings.

Our first visit after lunch was at the very smart 'Highlands Bar and Grill'. This fine establishment is part of the group which includes 'Bottega', where we went for lunch, and 'Chez FonFon'. Gray, the wine guy, tasted through the wines and gave us a placement for the Heinrich Shiraz Mataro Grenache. The reputation of this place is high and I will make sure I dine there on my next visit.

Not far away we visited the aptly named 'Hot and Hot Fish Club'. This was a lovely, tight, and very small space with a separate seating area, and the menu looked exciting. Here we had a fun tasting with John and enjoyed some laughs.

The next visit was an intriguing wine shop called the 'Vintage Wine Shoppe'. Patti already had some of my wine and was excited to taste the full range with me. Patti told me of a recent tasting she had held in the store which featured our Hales Shiraz. It was a runaway success and now had many happy returning clients. The store is a great mix of wine, gifts and condiments, making a pleasant change from other shops.

Our final wine call for the day was at 'The Wine Cellar', an exciting store in Vestavia Hills. Heather Love was the wine steward for my visit and Frank was also visiting at the shop. We tasted through the wines and Heather, who had a very dry sense of humour, was most amused at my typical Australian expressions.

Overall it was a great day on the road, one of many laughs and I felt that I experienced some truly great Alabama hospitality. Thanks to ya all!