Enjoy this June issue, our first Culinary Issue and a perfect way to start your summer. I hope you have set your travel plans for the coming months. We intend to hit the beaches this summer, and later this fall will take our fourth hosted cruise … this year traveling with Transcend Cruises on the beautiful new Transcend Connect. We will take on Europe, departing from Frankfurt and ending in Brussels. The trip is open to any reader who would like to join us, and we do have a solo rate. Looking forward to touring some of the Christmas markets in Germany!

I also would like to invite applications for new membership on the Global Traveler Globility Board. If interested, please reach out directly to me for an application (fran@globaltravelerusa.com). Board members are invited to participate in annual meetings, join GT-hosted trips and contribute to the continual growth at Global Traveler and our digital brands.

Francis enjoying a round of golf at the Ocean
Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort © Francis X. Gallagher

Congratulations to all the airlines which participated in our annual Wines on the Wing last month at The Ned NoMad in New York. Twenty judges performed a blind tasting of the world’s most renowned wines served in business, first and premium economy classes. Securing the wines remains a logistical challenge; some wines shipped without issue while others were stuck in Customs even though proper Certificate of Label Approval waivers were supplied. It seems the best way to secure the wine is by individual transport, and Global Traveler staff escorted some wine from Miami, London and Los Angeles.

After the judging, which took place 2–4:30 p.m., subscribers, clients and friends attended the Wines on the Wing afterparty at 6 p.m. The afterparty allows the “nonprofessionals” to try airline wine openly, perusing the bottles and the wines from each airline. It is a festive atmosphere, and no other such celebration of airline wines takes place in the United States.

We look forward to our next event — The Trazees (trazeetravel.com) and the Wherever Awards (whereverfamily.com) — to take place at The Peninsula Chicago Aug. 3. We will honor the reader-voted award winners for millennial and family travelers as well as our annual Industry Leader Awards.

Our year wraps up with the 23rd annual GT Tested Reader Survey awards to be held Dec. 7 in the Beverly Ballroom at Sofitel Beverly Hills. Special room rates are available for overnight guests, so please join us!

Happy travels!