AMERICA’S 76 MILLION BABY BOOMERS HAVE CAUGHT THE TRAVEL BUG WHEN IT COMES TO CELEBRATING LIFE’S MAJOR MILESTONES. AARP TRAVEL HAS FOUND THAT TAKING A CELEBRATION VACATION HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR WAYS TO COMMEMORATE SPECIAL OCCASIONS SUCH AS ANNIVERSARIES, BIRTHDAYS OR WEDDINGS. NEW RESEARCH FOUND THAT 78 PERCENT OF PEOPLE 45+ HAVE TAKEN OR INTEND TO TAKE A CELEBRATION VACATION IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WHILE 87 PERCENT SAID THEY WOULD CHOOSE A VACATION FOR THEIR ANNIVERSARY INSTEAD OF THROWING A PARTY, GETTING A PIECE OF JEWELRY, PURCHASING A NEW CAR OR OTHER BIG-TICKET ITEMS FOR THE HOME.
THE NEW AARP TRAVEL RESEARCH ALSO SHOWED THAT U.S. DESTINATIONS ARE THE HOTTEST SPOTS - WITH 63 PERCENT OF THE RESPONDENTS TAKING CELEBRATION VACATIONS IN THE U.S. AS OPPOSED TO INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.
FIND EXPERT ADVICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHERE TO EAT, SHOP AND STAY AT AARP TRAVEL’S WEBSITE, THE SITE ALSO INCLUDES THE NEW “WEEKEND GETAWAYS” TOOL THAT RECOMMENDS LOCAL ESCAPES LESS THAN THREE HOURS FROM HOME FOR A QUICK AND EASY TRIP.
SAMANTHA WILL SHARE HER TRAVEL EXPERTISE AND MEMBERS WILL HEAR FROM OTHER AARP AMBASSADORS, CELEBRITIES AND ENTERTAINERS.
LARRY VAN AALST, CHRISTIAN BUTZKE (CHIEF JUDGE) AND JILL BLUME (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)- INDY WINE TASTING
Nearly 3,000 entries from 15 countries and 40 US states will be evaluated by our distinguished judges at the 2014 INDY International Wine Competition. Wine writers and winemakers, winegrowers and enologists, chefs and sommeliers, wine distributors, retailers and consumers meet every year in the heart of America, a truly central place for your wines to be seen and recognized.
ABOUT DR. CHRISTIAN BUTZKE
Dr. Christian BUTZKE is a Professor of Enology in the United States’ leading food science department at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Trained as a German engineer, he is past president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture and chief judge of the Indy International, one of the largest wine competitions in the US. His Extension responsibilities include the planning and teaching of a wide variety of professional education programs as well as individual winery consultations. He is the editor of the technical book “Winemaking Problems Solved” for commercial winemakers, and author of the textbook “Wine Appreciation” written for the over 300 students he teaches every semester.
Prior to teaching at Purdue, Dr. Butzke was Director of Winemaking for Sakonnet Vineyards in coastal New England. An award-winning commercial winemaker and one of the leading enologists in the US, he has been featured in the Economist, the Financial Times, Wine Spectator, Rolling Stone Magazine, Food and Wine, and many other publications. Prior to making wines professionally, he was a tenured faculty member in the world-renowned Department of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis where he conducted his well-known research on wine shipping conditions, cork taint, and wine yeast nutrition.
Professor Butzke is the co-founder of the Joint Burgundy-California-Oregon Winemaking Symposia, and served on the managing committee for the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, the largest annual conference for the American wine industry.
ABOUT JILL BLUME
As the Enology Specialist, Jill is responsible for performing laboratory analyses on wine and juice samples from commercial Indiana wineries. She is involved in producing research wine made from grapes grown at Purdue farms and carrying out various research projects. She trains and supervises undergraduate students on winemaking techniques and assists in the coordination of workshops, newsletters, and the Indy International Wine Competition.
www.indyinternational.org