LUXURY MAGAZINE Fall/Winter 2022 by Luxury Card

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Issue 29

36 THE FRONT PAGES WHAT’S WHAT From art exhibits and hotel openings to adventure and travel experiences.

48 JEWELRY HAMMER IT OUT One-of-a-kind gold and silver textured creations are trending.

52 WATCHES TAKE YOUR SWEET TIME Red is the color of the season for making a statement.

60 TECH 10 GIFTS WORTH GIVING Devices to excite a variety of enthusiasts on your holiday wish list.

64 THE LUXURY LOOK CHARGING AHEAD Electrified vehicles that bring you to spectacular places without making a sound.

70 GETAWAYS GALWAY, THE GAELIC KINGDOM Go west for your next Ireland adventure.

78 CITY UPDATE CHEAT SHEET NEW ORLEANS The Big Easy is better than ever in this post-pandemic insider’s edition.

82 AUTOMOTIVE POWERFUL BY DESIGN Five manufacturers reshape the conversation around automotive design.

88 MOTORCYCLES ALCHIMIA ITALIANA The essence of a Ducati motorcycle is as apparent as it is elusive.

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92 AVIATION NEXT-GEN JETS These forthcoming aircraft prove the best is yet to come.

98 ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN BET ON THE FARM The updated appeal of the farmhouse kitchen.

118 FASHION UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN Sophisticated, textured, and tailored pieces of art on the Italian countryside.

136 ADVENTURE SAFARI AMONG THE DUNES Namibia’s deserts offer otherworldly experiences.

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108 FURNISHINGS RETURN TO MILAN Highlights from the prestigious world showcase of what’s new in design.

146 ADVENTURE THE HIDDEN HIMALAYA A network of less-traveled six-thousander hiking routes are as rewarding as Everest.

114 WINE & SPIRITS A SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE Amaro is as enhancing as it is mystifying, whether neat or in a cocktail.

154 BOATING ICE, ICE, BÉBÉ! The first cruise ship to double as an all-powerful icebreaker has set sail in polar waters.

160 TRAVEL INTO THE BLUE ICE Helicopter to a remote glacial ice cave in British Columbia and climb inside.

166 SPORTS TRAVEL SKIING THE DOLOMITES The Italian Alps are the world’s largest resort for a snowy mountain escape.

184 ADVENTURE WINTRY WATERS Incredibly remote, cold-water diving in exotic oceanic habitats.

190 REAL ESTATE BUYING ABROAD Americans are snapping up property in foreign countries.

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174 SPORTS TRAVEL VAIL’S HIDDEN TRAILS An insider’s guide to the best runs. Plus, skiing Stowe, Vermont.

194 ARTIST PROFILE STEP AND REPEAT Repetition is the method to the miracle of artist Andrew Dadson.

180 WELLNESS COLD COMFORTS Restore mental and physical health at these nature retreats.

202 THE LAST PAGES WHAT’S NEXT From fun shops and coffee-table books to new restaurants, bars, and spirits.

We are raising the bar on elegance. Once again. We never rest on our laurels—be the first to enjoy the latest in Wynn’s ongoing quest to be the best in Las Vegas, as we debut a new guestroom experience. Use offer code LUX2022 when making your next reservation and receive $100 in RESORTCREDIT For reservations, call (877) 321-9966 or visit wynnlasvegas.com For complete terms & conditions, visit wynnlasvegas.com/luxurymagazine.

On the Cover

LUXURY MAGAZINE’s profile of Andrew Dadson begins on page 194.

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Image Courtsey of Nino Mier Gallery and Artist. Photo Paul Salveson

n the early months of 2021, a 359-page report released by Art Basel and UBS Art Market apan’s indigenous Shinto culture is rooted in the belief that spirits reside in all natural offered an exhaustive analysis of the pandemic’s effect on the international art trade. Neither things: trees, water, wind, rocks, flowers. When Buddhism arrived to the island from the findings nor the author’s forecast was optimistic. Combined dealer and auction house sales China in the sixth century, ikebana—the Japanese art of floral design rooted in religious of art and antiques totaled $50.1 billion, down from $64.1 billion in 2019—their lowest level offerings of flowers to the Buddha—expanded upon the idea that a blossom could open since the 2009 financial crisis. In an interview with The New York Times, the report’s author, Clare minds and hearts to much more than the beauty of the petals themselves. McAndrew, said she did not expect things to return to normal anytime soon. “I see this as another Makoto Azuma, one of the most important floral artists working in the world, did not attend transitional year,” she said of 2021. “I suspect we may see more businesses in trouble.” ikebana school or study artistic composition with the masters. Still, his understanding of nature as What transpired was the opposite. By October, the Big Three auction houses (Christie’s, Sotheby’s, a transcendent and illuminating force seeps through the very pores of his botanical masterpieces, Phillips) hit a record $15 billion in sales. The contemporary art market experienced a record-breaking perpetuating a dialogue around the dualities of tradition and modernity. $2.7 billion in sales at auction, and amid all of this, the ultra-contemporary genre, which comprises The Buddha believed that death could be used as a tool to awaken us to life, and that’s maybe as works by artists born after 1974, established itself as the fastest-growing sector in the auction market close to a summation of what Makoto’s work does at its best. “There exists a kind of beauty that reveals by both volume and value. itself only in the face of death,” Makoto writes in Encyclopedia of Flowers III, a photographic catalog of Emerging artists are at the center of the art world conversation, including British Columbia–based his daily work in Tokyo over a period of two years. When Makoto speaks of flowers, he speaks about painter, photographer, and installation artist Andrew Dadson, who, for more than two decades, has the way they “present themselves to us.” In his Chiaroscuro series, they present themselves in between mined a curiosity of the environments we inhabit, the ephemera of nature, and the act of excavation. life and death. They are “chiaro” (light) and “scuro” (dark), their essence in harmony with the spring Layering, time, and texture all factor heavily into his works. equinox—a time when light and darkness are evenly split, just before light prevails. In Drifting Wave, an oil and acrylic on linen, bits of color—or the essences that remain of them— emerge through a thick, top layer of white paint that moves the eye from left to right. (Morris Louis’ veil paintings from the mid-1950s are a reference point.) As with much of Dadson’s work, a doubleedged sword is at play. “What kind of drifting is happening?” Dadson asks. “Is it a sailboat moving through the water? Or is it bits of plastic floating up to the surface? You’re meant to get up close to it. You’re meant to decide for yourself.”

LUXURY MAGAZINE

PUBLISHED BY LUXURY CARD EDITOR IN CHIEF Deborah Frank CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jennifer Fahey SENIOR ART DIRECTOR Shawn Sullivan SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Marie Sumino PHOTO EDITOR Kristen Hill COPY CHIEF Jennifer Ashton Ryan COPY EDITORS Kersten Deck Jenna Sims

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jorge S. Arango Bailey Stone Barnard David Bertan Chris Brinlee Jr. Alexandra Cheney Mark Hacking April Long Brooke Mazurek Larry Olmsted Irene Rawlings Chris Rogers Shaun Tolson Frank Vizard Nora Zelevansky CONTRIBUTING STYLISTS Angela Carpio Paul Frederick CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Frankie Batista Alessandro Moggi Jonathan Pozniak

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Produced exclusively for Luxury Card members. All contents of LUXURY MAGAZINE are the intellectual property of Black Card Mag LLC and/or Black Card LLC d/b/a Luxury Card (“Publisher”) and/or the respective photographers, writers, artists, advertisers, and advertising agencies; and are protected by intellectual property laws; and may not be reproduced, republished, distributed, transmitted, displayed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in whole or in part in any manner without the express written permission of the intellectual property owners. © 2022 Black Card Mag LLC and Black Card LLC d/b/a Luxury Card. All rights reserved. Views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Publisher, which makes reasonable efforts to verify its content. Publisher expressly disclaims and does not assume responsibility for the validity of any claims or statements made, including content errors, omissions, or infringing content. Any reliance placed on such content is strictly at reader’s own risk. Advertisements and offers are the responsibility of the individual advertising entities, and do not constitute a legal offer by Publisher. Publisher is not responsible for price fluctuations. Prices are based on those accurate at press time. Please consult with a Luxury Card Concierge for current prices. Luxury Card marks are property of Black Card LLC. BLACKCARD is a registered trademark used under license. Luxury Card products are issued by Barclays Bank Delaware pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated, owner of registered trademarks MASTERCARD, WORLD ELITE MASTERCARD and the circles design. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2022 Black Card LLC.

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What’s What ART, CULTURE & DESIGN

Frida Kahlo, Beyond Appearances allows for an intimate look into Frida Kahlo’s life, showing more than 200 objects from Casa Azul (Kahlo’s house in Mexico City), including a rich selection of her Tehuana dresses, pre-Columbian necklaces, cosmetics, medicines, and even hand-painted medical prostheses. At Palais Galliera through March 5, 2023. palaisgalliera.paris.fr Nonprofit organization Faena Art opened its first dedicated exhibition space in Miami. The Project Room (below) launched in November 2021 with Barcelona-based artist Andrés Reisinger’s The Smell of Pink, an immersive, multisensory sitespecific installation. Another example: Photographer Tony Kelly’s series of works, Red Room, based on the life and style of the Faena Miami Beach resort.

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Forthcoming showcases will consider experimental ideas at the intersection of art, science, philosophy, and commerce. faenaart.org La Galerie Dior opened earlier this year in Paris, just down the street from Dior’s original ateliers at 30 Avenue Montaigne. Dior’s studio, the backstage area where models prepared for shows, spotlights original sketches, a library of fabric swatches, and hundreds of miniature and life-size dresses. galeriedior.com

King Tut’s entire treasure trove. grandegyptianmuseum.org Shocking! The Surreal World of Elsa Schiaparelli brings together more than 500 works, including clothing and accessories made by the Italian couturière in the 1920s and 1930s, juxtaposed with paintings and photographs by her avant-garde friends: Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, and others. At Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs through January 22, 2023. madparis.fr

Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum hosts the largest Vermeer exhibition … ever. Loans from all over the world include The Girl With a Pearl Earring and newly restored Girl Reading a Letter at the Open Window. From February 10, 2023 to June 4, 2023. rijksmuseum.nl

Edward Hopper’s New York is the first exhibition to focus on the painter’s six-decade relationship with New York—how the city served as the subject, setting, and inspiration for so many of his most celebrated works. At the Whitney Museum of American Art through March 5, 2023. whitney.org

In Egypt, the much-anticipated opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum at the foot of the Pyramids of Giza has been forecasted for November 2023. See more than 100,000 archeological objects, including a colossal statue of Ramses the Great (never before shown), King Khufu’s 4,600-year-old solar ship, and

Looking across contemporary couture and ready-to-wear, the Africa Fashion exhibition offers a close-up view of the new generation of groundbreaking designers, stylists, and fashion photographers working in Africa today. At London’s Victoria and Albert Museum through April 16, 2023. vam.ac.uk

David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020 shows 116 bright, colorful, and hopeful works (including a bunch of daffodils titled Do Remember They Can’t Cancel the Spring) that Hockney created on his iPad during the fiercest days of the COVID pandemic lockdown. At the Art Institute of Chicago through January 9, 2023. artic.edu

Alex Katz: Gathering (above) shows the American figurative artist’s inimitable portraits and landscapes—combining elements of both abstraction and realism. Beginning with works from the 1940s, this retrospective includes paintings, oil sketches, collages, drawings, prints, and freestanding “cutout” works. The artist himself helped prepare the show, at New York’s Guggenheim Museum through February 20, 2023. guggenheim.org 

Courtesy Images, From Top: Mercedes Benz AG; Gladstone Gallery/David Regen; Faena Art/Tony Kelly

Andy Warhol: Cars (right) shows the Pop Art icon’s Cars series alongside the automobiles that inspired him. Among the extremely rare assemblage are some of the most valuable cars in the world, such as the 1937 W 125, on loan from the MercedesBenz Museum in Germany, and Warhol’s own 1974 RollsRoyce Silver Shadow, which he never drove because he didn’t have a license. At the Petersen Automotive Museum through January 22, 2023. petersen.org

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H E R E YO UA R E A Z .CO M

What’s What HOTELS

SPOTLIGHT: THE BEATRICE Providence, Rhode Island A big little city in the smallest state in the United States, the university town of Providence is having a moment. Students of Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design frequent the trendy bars, cafés, and live music venues. Restaurants are flourishing—everything from high-end chains like The Capital Grille to small piano bars like The George. The Beatrice, a 47-room property named after the owner’s mother, is the first boutique hotel to open in the city in nearly a decade. The restored

1887 Exchange Building has been thoughtfully connected with an adjacent modern office building, creating an atrium-style, light-filled lobby. Rooms spare no expense with Mascioni linens (woven in Milan, Italy), organic toiletries, quiet-and-quick Dyson hairdryers, heated towel racks, and heated bidet toilets. The high ceilings, herringbone wood floors, and massive windows overlooking the city hark back to the building’s history as a bank. Bellini, the hotel’s restaurant, serves classic Italian fare, including handmade

pasta and dishes like fusilli alla norma and the veal scaloppine al limone. After dinner, the espresso martini is a must. The membersonly (but open to hotel guests) rooftop bar serves the Bellini (made with fresh peach puree and prosecco) invented in 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, legendary barman at Harry’s Bar in Venice. For those traveling with pets, expect pet bowls and beds and a homemade treat from local pet bakery Jack’s Snacks waiting upon your arrival. From $250; thebeatrice.com

Newly opened, The Ritz-Carlton, New York, NoMad (from $1,367; ritzcarlton .com) combines contemporary design (right), five-star service, and sky-high culinary offerings by Chef José Andrés. Zaytinya (a play on the Turkish word for olive oil) has an innovative mezze menu, specialty cocktails with names like On a Sidecar to Tangier, and dozens of Mediterranean wines by the glass. One of the tallest buildings in trendy NoMad, the hotel has 250 guest rooms and suites and 16 one- and two-bedroom penthouse residences—all with unobstructed views of New York. Aman New York (from $3,200; aman .com) finally opens after a multiyear transformation of the 1921 neoclassical Crown Building on 57th and Fifth. All 83 suites offer tranquil exclusivity and bathrooms larger than many New York apartments. Aman is world-famous for its spas and this one is no exception: three floors with a tranquil 20-meter indoor pool as its centerpiece. Lining one side of the pool, curved glass fireplaces are surrounded by sink-into lounge chairs and cushioned daybeds. 

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Courtesy Images, From Top: The Beatrice (4); Ritz-Carlton

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What’s What HOTELS Maybe a Spanish finca–style villa on a private island just a few minutes by boat from Ibiza. Or a sleek, sea-view villa with an infinity pool on a Saint Jean Cap Ferrat peninsula. Standard services include a dedicated concierge, in-house chef, and daily housekeeping. From $144,000/week; mandarinoriental.com/ exclusive-homes

Pendry Park City (above) has opened 153 guest rooms and suites in Utah’s Canyons Village with coveted ski-in/skiout access. Swanky mountain modern décor. S’mores outside at the firepits. The rooftop pool has sweeping views, a well-stocked bar, and live music on weekends. From $420; pendry.com The Madrona (below) in Healdsburg, California, was built as a private estate in 1881 and opened as a reimagined hotel and restaurant in 2022, following a $6 million revamp led by San Francisco–based interior designer Jay Jeffers. Find classic hotel rooms in the Mansion, studios in the Carriage

House, and several secluded bungalows. With soaring ceilings, bay windows, and original fireplaces—no two guest rooms are alike. From $750; themadronahotel.com At an elevation of 11,975 feet, Songtsam Linka Retreat Lhasa offers views over a hilltop fortress known as Potala Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the former winter palace of the Dalai Lamas. The all-suite hotel was designed and built to reflect the work of traditional artisans and Tibetan culture. The walls are made of slaked lime with indigo carved windows and a fish-fin shaped façade. In the suites, highly polished wooden floors are covered with Tibetan carpets. A Chinese and Tibetan restaurant serves local specialties along with wines from a nearby valley. Each suite is fully equipped with oxygen concentrators (important at this altitude). From $267; songtsam.com On 50 acres in upstate New York, Piaule Catskill has

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opened 24 cantilevered wooden cabins that seem to float above the landscape. The spa building includes a sauna and steam room, hot pool, and mineral plunge pool. From $1,468/two nights, including breakfast; piaule.com Italy has some of the most beautiful beaches and romantic ruins in the world. The 35-room Borgo Santandrea (from $1,726; borgosantandrea.it) on the Amalfi Coast opened in 2021 with a private beach, jetty, oceanfront pool, and garden terraces filled with fragrant lemon, olive, and pomegranate trees. The oldest hotel on the island, Hotel La Palma, Capri (from $829; oetkercollection .com), has been elegantly reimagined and updated by a team of Italian craftspeople for the Oetker Collection. Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes (in collaboration with StayOne) offers handpicked villas, one-of-a-kind private homes, and yacht charters in prime destinations worldwide.

Ingels Group, looks barracklike and futuristic; inside it is a soothing gray and white with clean, pleasing lines and trees in the lobby. It was built to the most exacting environmental standards, using mostly local materials. Both the spa and restaurant source products exclusively from local producers; the hotel has its own bottling system for spring water from the valley; the air-conditioning is infused with the scent of the forest. “In the winter, you could ski from your room on the top floor straight into the valley,” says General Manager André Cheminade. From $392; hoteldeshorlogers.com 

Courtesy Images, From Top: Pendry Park City/Christian Horan; Hôtel des Horlogers/Christophe Voisin; The Madrona/Matthew Millman

About an hour’s drive outside Geneva, Hôtel des Horlogers (below) is a 50-room hideaway next to the Audemars Piguet headquarters and down the street from the Audemars Piguet museum. On the outside, the hotel, designed by Bjarke

HERE, E VERY DAY

feels like an escape.

Just east of Atlanta, Reynolds Lake Oconee is a private waterfront community where Members from around the country thrive, and where passions and friendships flourish. With six championship golf courses, a lakefront Ritz-Carlton® and a range of acclaimed restaurants, shops and amenities, the vibrant destination is a favorite choice for families looking to retire, relocate or even just change course and reset.

B O O K Y O U R R E A L E S T AT E P R E V I E W to experience our friendly community for yourself as part of our lifestyle visit. Enjoy up to three nights in one of our cottages or at The Ritz-Carlton®, two rounds of golf, a two-hour boat rental and more. Cottage packages are $299 per night and hotel packages are $399 per night.*

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*Rates and availability are subject to change and excludes holidays. Club credit for promotional purposes only. The Ritz-Carlton seasonal rates start at $399 November-March and $499 April-October. Real estate and other amenities are owned by Oconee Land Development Company LLC and/or other subsidiaries and affiliates of MetLife, Inc. (collectively, "OLDC" or “Sponsor”) and by unrelated third parties. Reynolds Lake Oconee Properties, LLC ("RLOP") is the exclusive listing agent for OLDC-owned properties in Reynolds Lake Oconee. RLOP also represents buyers and sellers of properties in Reynolds Lake Oconee which OLDC does not own ("Resale Properties"). OLDC is not involved in the marketing or sale of Resale Properties. This is not intended to be an offer to sell nor a solicitation of offers to buy OLDC-owned real estate in Reynolds Lake Oconee by residents of HI, ID, OR, or any other jurisdiction where prohibited by law. As to such states, any offer to sell or solicitation of offers to buy applies only to Resale Properties. Access and rights to recreational amenities may be subject to fees, membership dues, or other limitations. Information provided is believed accurate as of the date printed but may be subject to change from time to time. The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee is a private commercial enterprise and use of the facilities is subject to the applicable fees and policies of the operator.

For OLDC properties, obtain the Property Report required by Federal law and read it before signing anything. No Federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. Void where prohibited by law. WARNING: THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE HAS NOT INSPECTED, EXAMINED, OR DISQUALIFIED THIS OFFERING. An offering statement has been filed with the Iowa Real Estate Commission and a copy of such statement is available from OLDC upon request. OLDC properties have been registered with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen at 1000 Washington Street, Suite 710, Boston, Massachusetts 02118-6100 and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection at 1700 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20552. Certain OLDC properties are registered with the Department of Law of the State of New York. THE COMPLETE OFFERING TERMS ARE IN AN OFFERING PLAN AVAILABLE FROM SPONSOR. FILE NO. H14-0001. Notice to New York Residents: The developer of Reynolds Lake Oconee and its principals are not incorporated in, located in, or resident in the state of New York. No offering is being made in or directed to any person or entity in the state of New York or to New York residents by or on behalf of the developer/offeror or anyone acting with the developer/offeror’s knowledge. No such offering, or purchase or sale of real estate by or to residents of the state of New York, shall take place until all registration and filing requirements under the Martin Act and the Attorney General’s regulations are complied with, a written exemption is obtained pursuant to an application is granted pursuant to and in accordance with Cooperative Policy Statements #1 or #7, or a “No-Action” request is granted.

What’s What HOTELS

By the end of the year, The Dorchester London (from $1,264; dorchestercollection .com) will complete a massive head-totoe renovation. All the rooms and suites have a new look by Pierre-Yves Rochon (left, top) and the rooftop restaurant Cake & Flowers showcases the talents of the Dorchester’s floral designer and pastry chef. Covent Garden, the heart of the West End, just keeps getting buzzier with new shops, spas, and hotels. One of the most recent, Hotel Amano Covent Garden (from $330; amanogroup.de) has contemporary, design-forward rooms and a rooftop bar (left) with views of The Shard, the Eye, and the London skyline. Walk 10 minutes to Denmark Street, where Chateau Denmark (from $589; chateaudenmark.com) exudes goth grandeur. The accommodations (55 rooms and apartments across 16 different buildings) can be gloriously over-the-top with black leather floors, oversize roll-top bathtubs, graffitied four-poster beds, and grand stone fireplaces.

PARISIAN RESPITE Paris is always a good idea. In Montmartre, Hotel Rochechouart (from $350; hotelrochechouart .com), built in 1929 in the Art Deco style (left), has been charmingly redone (with Wi-Fi and airconditioning) by married hoteliers Anouk and Louis Solanet of the Orso Hotels group. The rooftop bar (and rooms on the upper floors) have 360-degree views of the Sacré Cœur, the Eiffel Tower, and everything in between. Le Grand Mazarin (legrandmazarin .com) in the Marais is opening in 2023 with 61 rooms and suites decorated with Parisian antiques by Swedish interior

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designer Martin Brudnizki. The first-floor restaurant—combining Israeli and French flavors—takes its inspiration from the Jewish communities who, for centuries, lived in this neighborhood. Also in Marais, Hotel Sookie (from $550; hotelsookie.com) opened in 2021 with 31 chic-but-tiny rooms (the building formerly served as a convent). Cour des Vosges (from $800; courdesvosges.com), on the other hand, has 12 enormous rooms and suites (right), plus a Roman bath and spa in the basement. The former 17th-century mansion sits at the edge of the storied Place de Vosges. 

Courtesy Images, From Top: The Dorchester London; Hotel Amano Covent Garden/John Athimaritis; Hotel Rochechouart/Cyril Duchene; Cour des Vosges

LONDON STAYING POWER

Harbor View Hotel Celebrating over 130 years of island time just off the coast of Massachusetts in the quintessential New England village of Edgartown.

E D GA RT OW N, M A M A RT HA’S VI NE YA RD harborviewhotel.com (844) 979-1056

What’s What ADVENTURE & TRAVEL

Visit the Great Bear Rainforest with Maple Leaf Adventures. Haida Gwaii (known as Canada’s Galapagos Islands) is wild and bursting with natural beauty. Walk the rainforest, soak in hot springs, view marine mammals up close, and explore the grand Kitlope

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(a place of First Nations cultural history and an estuary frequented by bears). Sail aboard a beautiful schooner, a classic converted tugboat, or a modern 12-cabin catamaran (below left). From $5,600; mapleleafadventures.com Embark on TCS World Travel’s World Less Traveled: a Luxury Tour by Private Jet (right) to explore lesser-known UNESCO World Heritage Sites across Africa, South America, and the Arabian Peninsula. February 11–25, 2023. $105,000/person; tcsworldtravel.com Another air journey crafted by award-winning tour operator George Morgan-Grenville, founder and CEO of Red Savannah, and hosted by American Viscountess, Julie Montagu, is the inaugural Grand Tour of Europe by Private Jet. The private driver and guide for independent discoveries, plus private dining at Michelin-starred venues, make this a standout experience. September 12–24, 2023. From $139,500/person; Email Camilla Davidson at inspired@redsavannah.com

royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Onboard: Relax in a hammock on deck, feast on local cuisine, and dance the night away to traditional Arabic music. From $1,930/ six-day itinerary; nourelnil.com

Take a Nour El Nil Nile Cruise and float through Egypt like Agatha Christie in a traditional, but newly built and luxe dahabiya that sleeps up to 18 guests. See ancient monuments such as Luxor Temple and the

The 414-foot expedition yacht Octopus (below), once owned by Paul Allen, is available for the first time for charters in Antarctica. Complete with an ice-class hull, two helipads, and a submarine, it also has a gym and wellness area, cinema, and glass-bottomed aquarium. Sleeps 12 with a crew of 42. From $2.2 million/ week; camperandnicholsons.com 

Courtesy Images, From Top: Roar Africa; TCS; Maple Leaf Adventures/Jonny Bierman; Camper & Nicholsons/Jeff Brown

Roar Africa’s Into the Wild with David Whyte is a small-group journey of peace and purpose set in the majesty of Kenya’s Segera Retreat (above) and led by the internationally renowned poet and philosopher. The itinerary includes daily game drives, Swahili interactive cooking lessons, storytelling sessions, body work, and a reconnection with nature and self. Limited to 12 couples or 24 guests. February 22–28, 2023. $21,700/person; roarafrica.com

BLAZING WOOD.

BRILLIANT FLAMES.

AND A PRIMAL SENSE

CONNECTION.

DISCOVER THE NEW 2022 LINEUP THE GAUCHO GRILL

K A L A M A ZO O G O U R M E T.CO M

Hit the slopes for a day of riding the Tetons with three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. Return to ’60s-glam Caldera House (above) at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for an intimate dinner and après-ski experience in the members’ lounge. $185,000/six people; calderahouse.com One hundred years ago, a committee chaired by Michael Collins drafted Ireland’s constitution in The Shelbourne Hotel (below). To celebrate, the property is offering a private dining experience, inclusive of a classic Irish multicourse meal, in the very room where it happened. $311/person (through December 31). And if your ancestors emigrated from Ireland, you will want to book a

session with The Shelbourne’s own Genealogy Butler, Helen Kelly. She’ll trace your family’s history so, during your visit to Ireland, you can “walk the same roads as your great-grandfather walked.” theshelbourne.com

Guest house Ginette Mo’orea is your own Bali Ha’i. The secret haven in Polynesia—four rustic-chic suites in a traditional Polynesian fare—offer direct access to kitesurfing, snorkeling with lemon sharks, surfing, and sailing. ginette-moorea.com Modern Japanese design meets the West Coast luxury lifestyle at Nobu Ryokan Malibu and Nobu Hotel Palo Alto. The two properties have partnered with Schubach Aviation to offer The Ryokan Retreat Experience (above), inclusive of two nights at each property, private jet transportation, omakase dinners, wine tasting, and personal fitness consulting. From $50,000; paloalto. nobuhotels.com/ryokan-retreat Wheeler Windsor Expeditions— founded by adventurer Dr. Jack Wheeler and Edward Windsor

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(yes, of those Windsors)—takes clients on adventures around the world: for example, through the Himalaya on specially designed, ultra-high-altitude helicopters to visit Everest Base Camp and the Hidden Kingdom of Lo. From $26,000/person; wheelerwindsorexpeditions.com

Take a trip on horseback with Ranch Rider (below) through Jordan to explore ancient ruins of magical stone-hewn Petra and Jerash and Wadi Rum

(where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed). The company offers riding adventures worldwide, including in Argentina (with the gauchos), South Africa, North America, and Canada. From $1,645/person; ranchrider.com

JUST IN CASE … If you’re adventuring far from home, you’ll want the peace of mind that comes with knowing MedJet can dispatch a network of more than 250 private air ambulances to retrieve its members from virtually anywhere in the world and bring them back to their local or preferred medical facility. From $295/year. For more information, see luxurymagazine.com “Hospitalized While Traveling? MedJet Gets You Home.” u —Irene Rawlings

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Bottom Left: The Shelbourne Hotel/Barry Murphy; Caldera House; Ranch Rider; The Ryokan Retreat Experience/Barbara Kraft

What’s What ADVENTURE & TRAVEL

B ECAU S E W H E N DAYS B EG I N L I K E T H I S, YO U ’ V E A L R E A DY WO N

Carolina Mountain & Lake Keowee Real Estate in Seven Private Communities Exciting New Amenities, Lakefront Homesites & Turnkey Homes Recently Released Plan

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I N S P I R I N G I N EV E RY D I R E C T I O N Obtain the Property Report required by federal law and read it before signing anything. No federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. This is not an offer where registration is required prior to any other offer being made. Void where prohibited by law. In South Carolina, Cliffs Realty Sales SC, LLC, 635 Garden Market Drive, Travelers Rest, SC 29690 and 3430 Walhalla Highway, Six Mile, SC 29682, Lauren Fine Buckland, Broker-in-Charge. In North Carolina, Cliffs Realty Sales NC, LLC, 1908 Brevard Road, Arden, NC 28704, Lauren Fine Buckland, Broker-in-Charge. Copyright: © 2022 Cliffs Land Partners, LLC. All rights reserved.

GURHAN Cuban Link necklace in 24-karat yellow gold, $27,950; gurhan.com

Hammer It Out

Perfectly imperfect, hammered jewelry’s rich texture transforms gold and silver pieces into one-of-a-kind creations. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN POZNIAK MARKET EDITOR PAUL FREDERICK

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From left to right: JOHN HARDY Palu bangle in sterling silver and 18-karat yellow gold, $2,200; johnhardy.com LÉLA SOPHIA Ubdi (Eternal) pinky ring, $2,500; lelasophiajewelry.com GREENWICH ST. JEWELERS Bleu Royale ring, $3,000; greenwichjewelers.com

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Take Your Sweet Time

Red is the color of the season for watches that make a tantalizing statement. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN POZNIAK MARKET EDITOR PAUL FREDERICK

CARTIER Tank Louis Cartier, $13,100; cartier.com

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OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra, $6,000; omegawatches.com

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Some Places You Visit. Others You Stay Generations.

Set within the tranquil hush of South Carolina’s Lowcountry is Palmetto Bluff, a protected sanctuary of natural wonder you can call home. Here, 20,000 pristine acres and 32 miles of riverfront offer homeowners endless adventure, boundless beauty, and days that energize, enrich, and inspire. Stay for a little or stay for a lifetime. It never leaves you. For real estate inquiries: 843.891.1303 | palmettobluff.com/luxury

Obtain the Property Report required by federal law and read it before signing anything. No federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. This does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy where prohibited by law. The complete offering terms are in an offering plan available from sponsor. File no. H-110005

HUBLOT Big Bang Unico Red Magic, $28,300; hublot.com

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TAG HEUER Carrera Red Dial, $6,750; tagheuer.com

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H. MOSER & CIE Pioneer Centre Seconds Swiss Mad Red, $13,165; h-moser.com

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TECH

10 Gifts Worth Giving

Whether equipped with an electric motor or advanced camera system, the following devices will excite a variety of enthusiasts on your list. BY SHAUN TOLSON

FOR THE ATHLETE

GOCYCLE G4I ELECTRIC BIKE When it comes to electric bikes, neither size nor portability is compromised with the Gocycle G4i, which features an automotiveinspired monocoque chassis for exceptional stiffness in a lightweight package. A single-sided carbon front fork houses the fully integrated G4drive electric motor. Plus, fold and stow it into a compact package in just 10 seconds. Fully charged, the bike’s motor can last up to 50 miles. A proprietary traction control program enhances stability and grip on loose or slippery surfaces. $6,000; gocycle.com

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FOR THE OBSERVER

FULL SWING KIT Developed in partnership with Tiger Woods, the Full Swing KIT launch monitor zeroes in on a primary objective: to capture and deliver the individual metrics of a swing and its resulting shot. Users easily customize the display to show the data that’s important to them (a total of 16 data points are captured after every swing). Best of all, it records high-resolution video of each swing in slow motion for even more detailed analysis. $5,000; fullswinggolf.com

DWARF II SMART TELESCOPE Equipped with both a wideangle and a telephoto camera, the DWARF II has the ability to capture video images at 30 frames per second (fps) in 4K resolution. It’s compact and offers AI-powered objecttracking with a maximum angular velocity of 36 degrees per second. That means fast-moving objects such as birds and aircraft can be easily photographed. And because a single photograph taken by DWARF II can contain up to one billion pixels, users can capture dynamic pictures of the moon and even nebulas. $395; tinyscope-club.com

INSTA360 LINK In the world of video conferences and Zoom calls, you need a webcam that can move—literally—with the times. The Insta360 Link shoots 4K video at 30 fps or 1080p video at 60 fps from atop a three-axis gimbal. Equipped with AI-based functionality, the camera can move left and right, as well as up and down, tracking your movements so you always stay in the frame and in focus. For presentations, switch to Whiteboard Mode or Overhead Mode, showing a top-down view of your desk. $300; insta360.com

All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer

FOR THE AT-HOME CHEF

SPINN COFFEE MAKER Concealed inside the sleek, cylindrical shell of the Spinn Coffee Maker is the mechanical precision necessary to craft a baristaquality shot of espresso. The app-controlled coffee maker features pre-programmed recipes with customizable brew settings, making it easier to strengthen or weaken a specific pour, whether it’s a doppio, Americano, traditional cup of coffee, or cold brew. Built around a centrifuge that spins coffee at multiple velocities and injects water into the mixture to meet exact requirements for various styles of coffee, the machine uses only whole roasted coffee beans, which eliminates the use of disposable filters or one-time pods. $1,000; spinn.com

FOR THE MUSICAL PURIST

CUISINART EVOLUTIONX CORDLESS COMPACT BLENDER Compact appliances are only appealing if their size doesn’t detract from their effectiveness. In the case of the Cuisinart EvolutionX Cordless Compact Blender, the device packs serious performance into a pleasingly untethered package. That makes it all the more useful. The blender is powered by a 7.4-volt lithium-ion battery that can keep the motor running for 20 continuous minutes. When it’s time to recharge, two hours will fully replenish the battery; however, abbreviated charging periods of 15 or 30 minutes will get you between 25 seconds and almost 2 minutes of run time. $80; cuisinart.com

TECHNICS DIRECT DRIVE TURNTABLE SYSTEM SL-1200G-S Some modern turntables are designed around nostalgic pursuits. The Technics SL-1200G-S isn’t one of them. Conceived in the pursuit of pure analog record sound, it’s equipped with a revolutionary coreless direct-drive motor that features Blu-ray Disc technology for better rotation control, high starting torque, and stability at fast speeds. A high-sensitivity tonearm made of lightweight magnesium offers effective damping. This is an audiophile’s device that redefines directdrive turntables for the modern age. $4,000; us.technics.com

FOR THE TECHNO ELITE

GRESSO SUNGLASSES Laser-cut from high-quality Japanese titanium, Gresso sunglasses have frames that weigh as little as 4.5 grams and feature the brand’s patented “no screws” technology. Consequently, these shades are both comfortable and tenacious, which makes them ideal accessories for almost any outdoor pursuit. Best of all, the company has partnered with Zeiss, a German optical lens manufacturer, to create optical accessories that offer 100-percent UV protection in either mirrored, mono, or polarized finishes. From $375; gresso.com 

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FOR THE ADRENALINE JUNKIE

LIFT3 F EFOIL BOARD Whereas many eFoil boards designed by Lift have been constructed out of carbon fiber, the brand’s latest model, the LIFT3 F, features a proprietary in-house blend of fiberglass. That composition places more emphasis on stability, which is desirable for novice riders. It also reduces the board’s cost, making it an ideal entry point as well for newcomers. Available in two shapes and sizes—sport and cruiser—the board’s standard lightweight battery maintains a 60-minute range; however, a full-range (90-minute) battery can be installed for an additional $1,000. From $9,995; liftfoils.com u Go to luxurymagazine.com for more cutting-edge products featured in “The 100 Best Gifts to Give & Get.”

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All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer

PRODRIVE RACING SIMULATOR Measuring almost 12 feet long and constructed around a sculpted, carbon monocoque cockpit that’s encased by a birchwood canopy with a gloss black finish, the Prodrive Racing Simulator is the first high-tech, high-performance machine of its kind with an appearance as stunning as its capabilities. The curved, 49-inch monitor can support 5K resolution and the computing system runs Assetto Corsa racing software. Designer Ian Callum, a heralded British automotive designer with former ties to Aston Martin and Jaguar, describes the achievement as “something technically stimulating and visually striking.” $44,920; prodrive.com

On location at Montage Palmetto Bluff

Not all fine dining requires linen. The best meal you’ve ever enjoyed probably had as much to do with the place and the people as the food. Some of our grandest affairs have no crystal, silver or white gloves. But there are oyster knives, hot sauce and views like this. Here in the Lowcountry, luxury isn’t always defined by starched cotton and silver. (888) 909-6806

MONTAGE.COM

THE LUXURY LOOK

Charging Ahead

Whether you’re looking to explore unpaved roads this autumn or ride the snow-packed trails a few months later, this duo of electrified vehicles will bring you to spectacular, natural places without making a sound. PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANKIE BATISTA STYLING BY HEIDI MEEK

lectric drivetrain technology has come a long way in recent years; and with those advancements, plug-in motors have taken electric coupes and sedans from mere eco-conscious daily drivers and transformed them into exhilarating rides ready to impress even the most ardent automotive purist. Trucks and other utility vehicles haven’t been overlooked in this regard, and the Rivian R1T (from $73,000) proves it. Equipped with a 128.9 kWh motor, the R1T delivers a staggering amount of power, which translates to outlandish performance and copious amounts of fun. The numbers speak for themselves: The aforementioned powerplant produces 835 hp and 908 lb-ft. of torque, which equates to a top speed of 110 mph, a zero-to-60-mph sprint time of approximately 3 seconds, and maximum towing capability of 11,000 pounds. Not bad for an 18-foot-long, almost 7,000-pound, plug-in pickup truck, eh? The quad-motor all-wheel drive delivers instant power and independently adjusts

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torque at all four wheels. This system enables 4-wheel torque vectoring (the ability for each wheel to independently assist with acceleration, turning, and braking) to enhance performance in all conditions and environments. “On-road and off, we want to give people so much more than they expect,” says Max Koff, Rivian’s director of vehicle dynamics. With an EPA-estimated range of 314 miles per charge and nine driving modes (five of which are dedicated to unique offroad conditions, such as rock crawl and soft sand), the Rivian R1T serves as the perfect vehicle to inject some electrified fun onto those less-traveled roads this fall. When the ground turns snow-covered, you’ll want to trade in the off-road wheels for snow-capable tracks; and if those tracks are attached to a MoonBike (from $8,900), you’ll be able to extend that electrified excitement all winter long. Created by a former aeronautical engineer, Nicolas Muron, the MoonBike is the first-of-itskind winter recreational vehicle, one that’s revolutionary not only for being completely electric but also for its size. Measuring only 28 inches wide, the MoonBike can pass

through standard doorways and is easily transported on a hitch carrier or in the bed of a pickup truck. Plus, it weighs less than 200 pounds, making it three times lighter than a traditional snowmobile. Muron says he wanted “to create a unique way to explore winter with an ultralight electric vehicle that is easy to use, quiet, sustainable, and above all, fun to ride. If we can cut emissions from snowmobiles and off-highway vehicles on the trails and backroads and move to a more eco-conscious option, that’s a step in the right direction.” Thanks to its patented silent propulsion system assembled by Bosch, the MoonBike represents a sizable step forward in that direction, especially because of its performance. The 3 Kw motor provides 125 lb-ft. of immediate torque, which can propel the MoonBike to a top speed of 26 mph. It rides effectively in up to a foot of fresh powder; it can climb groomed slopes with grades as steep as 40 percent; and with the upgrade to a dual-battery system it can do all of that for up to 3 hours. Simply put, it’s the ideal vehicle to explore a winter wonderland.  —Shaun Tolson

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PATAGONIA vest, $179; patagonia.com HUGO BOSS shirt, $298; hugoboss.com PAIGE pants, $199; paige.com SANTONI sneakers, $495; santonishoes.com TUMI bag, $695; tumi.com RIVIAN R1T, from $73,000; rivian.com

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BURTON [AK] GORE‑TEX jacket, $465, and pants, $460; burton.com TIMBERLAND boots, $210; timberland.com POC helmet, $250; pocsports.com OAKLEY goggles, $216; oakley.com ARC’TERYX neck gaiter, $40; arcteryx.com HESTRA gloves, $136; hestragloves.us MOONBIKE, from $8,900; moonbikes.com

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Discover Payne’s Valley by Tiger Woods and TGR Design, recently voted

America’s Best New Public Course. g o l f b i g c e d a r. c o m

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Courtesy Failte Ireland Tourism

GETAWAYS

Galway, the Gaelic Kingdom

The two ends of a large lake called Lough Corrib anchor a West of Ireland adventure. BY FRANK VIZARD

alway, the capital of the west of Ireland, is a place so far removed from the rest of the country that it exists like a Gaelic kingdom left to its subjects long ago by a departing ruler but carrying on splendidly nonetheless. It’s a place once on the edge of the known world that still allows a visitor to turn a back to the Atlantic Ocean and the lands beyond to contemplate the rest of Europe. It’s a place where two languages, Irish and English, mingle to produce everything from an evening of splendid theater written by native playwrights to a night of brilliant craic (Irish for “a good time”) driven by engaging conversation down at the local pub. The city of Galway, in the county of the same name, sits at one end of Lough Corrib, the second-largest lake in Ireland, a gatekeeper to a sliver of river that connects the lake to the sea. But perhaps the best introduction to Galway and its environs is at the other end of the lake. If a kingdom has a castle at its center, then the gray-stoned stronghold that rules the west of Ireland is called Ashford. 

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In the small village of Cong, Ashford Castle (ashfordcastle.com) is technically a few steps over the border into the neighboring county of Mayo. Cong is famous as the location of John Ford’s 1952 film The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. The Quiet Man has done more than any other film to influence American perceptions of Ireland, for better or worse, and both the village and the castle have been milking its association with the movie ever since, catering to the legion of “Quiet Maniacs” delighted to find that many of the fixtures seen in the film, like Pat Cohan’s Bar, are still around. But regardless of its cinematic connections, Ashford Castle is a destination in its own right because as an architectural gem and as a bastion of luxury and hospitality, it has few, if any, peers in Ireland. Steeped in history, Ashford Castle was first built by invading Normans in 1228—the original stones placed by the de Burgo family are still visible in the northwest corner of today’s structure. The de Burgos, soon to become known as the Burkes, were unseated by invading British forces sent by Queen Elizabeth I in 1589 and a fortified enclave was subsequently added for its use as a British fortress. Later, owners added the French château structure that is now the center part of the castle. Development of the

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property toward its modern profile began in earnest when it was acquired in 1852 by Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness of Irish brewery fame. Work continued by his son, Lord Ardilaun, in the ensuing decades. That Ashford Castle still exists is something of a miracle, however. During Ireland’s fight for independence from England that began with the famed Easter Rising of 1916, many of the castles in Ireland were burned or otherwise gutted as they were seen as symbols of oppression. Why Ashford Castle was spared this fate remains a mystery, says local historian Fintan O’Gorman, who is still searching for documents that might explain its survival amid a revolution. But perhaps the castle’s links with the national beverage of choice played a role. By 1939, Ashford had become a firstclass hotel, but it wasn’t until the recently completed $50 million restoration by its current owners, Stanley and Beatrice Tollman of Red Carnation Hotel Collection fame, that Ashford Castle rediscovered its old glory and added many modern amenities. Underground tunnels were turned into wine cellars under the supervision of Head Sommelier Paul Fogerty, who has amassed a fine collection from France and elsewhere with Irish roots in their vineyards. Some bottles date to the Flight of the Earls in the early 17th century

after their defeat by English forces, an event that marked the end of the old Gaelic order. Also added was a separate, modern, countrystyle hotel-within-a-hotel, The Lodge at Ashford Castle (thelodgeac.com). Originally built for the estate manager in the 19th century, The Lodge will be of special appeal to families and wedding parties. Today’s Ashford Castle makes guests feel like a returning earl with 83 guest rooms furnished in Victorian style. Two of the suites are named for President Ronald Reagan and Senator Ted Kennedy, former guests along with celebrities like John Lennon and Brad Pitt as well as royals from abroad. The spa is consistently rated among the best in Ireland. A new, large billiards room with an adjacent outdoor terrace is a redoubt of relaxation, as is a new 32-seat cinema. Three restaurants offer fine dining—but an intimate evening of song, dance, food, and Irish whiskey, mixed with a dollop of blarney, at a cottage used in The Quiet Man should be on the agenda. Ashford also has 350 acres of play space that includes a nine-hole golf course, ponds for fishing, a clay pigeon shooting range, a pier for cruises of Lough Corrib, and a not-to-be-missed school of falconry where a gloved hand meets birds of prey. Guests also can join Cronin and Garvin, a pair of enormous Irish wolfhounds, for their long-legged morning walk.

Courtesy Red Carnation Hotels (4)

Ashford Castle

But the real secret of Ashford Castle is that the hotel can make you feel like being in one of those spy camps, where arrivées take on a new “legend” or identity. It’s in casual conversation that you might first learn of popular Irish sports like hurling or put oftenheard words like “brilliant” or “grand” on the tip of your tongue—the first steps toward carving English into a more expressive language that reflects the Irish temperament. Rashers, black pudding, and soda bread are added to your culinary vocabulary. The Wellies at the door are calf-high rubber boots that are the preferred footwear for navigating damp fields. A fisherman’s sweater or wool scarf from the nearby Aran Islands is probably in your future, as is an Irishdesigned, lined, waterproof jacket from Jack Murphy. Rain is always in the forecast, but it’s a country where you might think umbrellas seemingly have yet to be invented; the locals know the Atlantic wind bends them into useless foreign objects. Full immersion into the Irish way of life occurs during the various excursions into the surrounding country. The small-party trip with a local guide into Connemara is the most illuminating, if only because of the way the light shapes the mountains, valleys, and lakes of this vast, wild landscape. Stops include a visit to the lovely home of a basket maker whose weavings are works of art, and a more industrial voyage on a boat used for oyster farming in a long, isolated bay. It’s a trip that reveals the character of the Irish soul with a momentary pause at an ancient, isolated graveyard that was the last resting place of the unbaptized during the country’s more zealous days. The sharp-eyed will notice an old fairy fort nearby; the reasoning being that if the new Christian religion wouldn’t take care of these departed, the old, mythical one would. From there, you’ll learn how to pull a pint of Guinness properly (it’s a sevenminute process) at Paddy Coynes—a cozy pub in operation since 1811 in the village of Tullycross—while listening to a father-son team of musicians playing traditional Irish airs. It’s a pub so popular that the dying wish of its most loyal customer was honored; his gravestone is in the back garden. 

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However you get to the city of Galway at the southern end of Lough Corrib and head on to the Atlantic coast, you should do it with Ed Sheeran’s “Galway Girl” in your ears, because it will make the transition easier. Music is virtually a way of life in the City of Tribes—Galwegians often refer to themselves as tribesmen, a reference to the 14 merchant families who dominated political, commercial, and social life between the 13th and 19th centuries—so don’t be surprised to find a girl playing a fiddle in an Irish band. Galway is a city of the arts known for its many festivals as well as the Galway Races (galwayraces.com), the Irish answer to the Kentucky Derby, held in August.

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The best-placed luxury hotel in the city is The Galmont (thegalmont.com), a very modern edifice with 275 rooms, an awardwinning spa, and a delightful restaurant that serves locally sourced food, which means plenty of fish. But its chief attribute may be its proximity to the Latin Quarter, named for the language once spoken by resident medieval scholars. The Latin Quarter is among the most beautiful parts of the city with its cobblestone streets playing host to an assortment of shops, restaurants, and pubs with buskers performing on every corner. Don’t miss Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop (charliebyrne.ie), a Galway institution that has more than 100,000 used and new titles on sale at any one time. The staff will happily

direct readers to Irish literary luminaries like W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, and James Joyce, as well as modern bright lights like Tana French for her psychological thrillers and Mike McCormack, a Rooney Prize winner. Weavers of Ireland (weaversofireland.com) is among the many shops that offer locally made scarves, sweaters, caps, and anything else that can be made off the back of local sheep, while the boutique Hazel Mountain Chocolate (hazelmountainchocolate.com) also offers tours of its factory in the nearby Burren mountains. Claddagh Jewelers (thecladdagh.com) offers Claddagh jewelry, two hands clasped around a crowned heart. Rings worn with the heart facing inward mean the wearer’s heart is taken; conversely,

AdobeStock (2)

Galway

it signals availability. It’s a signifier that may come in handy at one of the many pubs that have nightly traditional music sessions, foremost among them these days being the red-painted Tig Choili pub (tigchoiligalway .com) where a Duke and Duchess named William and Kate raised a glass after “having a go” at hurling. Galway is the kind of place where you know everyone, but just haven’t been introduced yet. There are lots of little places to call your own. Sunny days light up the city like spotlights, so much so that shade feels like it’s in another dimension. At the bottom of the Latin Quarter, Galway meets the sea. Wander in the bright light through the Spanish Arch, built in 1584, onto The

Long Walk, which is actually a short, pretty, harborside promenade. More ambitious ramblers can take the seaside path toward the beaches of Salthill, stopping at the diving tower where an ocean plunge awaits. Another option is to book passage on a Galway hooker, a single-mast, wood-keeled sailing vessel of local design easily identified by its trademark red sails. Ciaran Oliver of Galway Bay Boat Tours (galwaybaytours .com) will make you part of the crew with tales of local fairy women and ghost ships. On a good day, the stony Aran Islands (aranislands.ie) are visible in the distance. The Aran Islands are emblematic of traditional Irish life and inspired J.M Synge’s revered The Playboy of the Western World, a 1907 play

that was ahead of its time in exploring the power of rumor over information. Daylong or overnight trips to each of the three islands via ferry can be booked from your hotel, but the exclusive Inis Meain Restaurant & Suites (inismeain.com), with its five suites and 16-seat dining capacity, is the most monastic in its design and remoteness. No matter how you spend your time in Galway, you will leave slightly changed for the better. Shannon Airport is the nearest and easiest with the most regular flights via national airline Aer Lingus (aerlingus .com). “People talk about coming back to Galway before they have even left,” observed a Galwegian. They are missing it before they have gone. 

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The Wine Geese of Ireland

reland’s Wine Geese is a moniker derived from the Flight of the Wild Geese, 14,000 supporters of England’s Catholic King James who fled to France in 1690 after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne by the forces of Protestant Dutch Prince William of Orange. Additional waves left Ireland for France to escape persecution in 1715 and 1745 and settled around Bordeaux, where many entered the booming wine trade. Wine smuggled into Ireland was often listed as “wild geese” on a ship’s manifest. The list of Bordeaux vineyards with obvious Irish pedigrees includes Phelan-Segur, Boyd-Cantenac, Leoville-Barton, LangoaBarton, Kirwan, MacCarthy-Moula, Lynch-Bages, Pontac-Lynch, Lynch-Moussas, Dillon, and Clarke. Hennessy, meanwhile, distilled wine into brandy at Cognac and is one of the most recognizable brands 200 years after its founding. Irish winemakers soon moved beyond Bordeaux into other winemaking regions like Burgundy. There also are more recent arrivals. In southern France, Domaine

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la Sarabande is a joint Irish/Australian producer founded in 2009, while the 12 investors in the 18-year-old Domaine Sainte Rose are collectively nicknamed the Irish Apostles. The Wine Geese didn’t confine themselves to France, moving across the globe over the years. In the United States, wineries with Irish roots include Concannon Vineyards, Chateau Montelena, Murphy-Goode, Mayacamas, Sequoia Grove, and Thomas Fogarty. In Australia, the Clare Valley wine region is actually named for a county in Ireland. Among the Irish names is the Jim Barry winery—famous for its “Armagh” shiraz. The O’Shea family of Mount Pleasant winery and the Horgan family of Leeuwin Estate also figure prominently. The same is true for Errazuriz and Undurraga in Chile. And in South Africa, Hamilton Russell was started by Irish emigrants in the 1970s. Many of these Irish wine labels are offered in Irish luxury hotels, so if you’re in Ashford Castle, for example, what might not look like an Irish wine list at first glance actually is one. u —F.V.

Clockwise From Top Right: Alamy Images (5); AdobeStock

Mention Ireland and wine in the same breath and eyebrows will rise quicker than a toast. While it’s true that Irish vineyards are as scarce as the snakes St. Patrick banished from the island, it’s an entirely different story abroad.

WHERE TO FIND

Pe a c e o f M i n d

A sunset cruise. Friendship on the fairways. A shoreline stroll with a sweetheart. On Kiawah Island, a private community just minutes from Charleston, SC, nature truly nurtures along our 10-mile beach, rippling marshlands and waterways, and ancient oak forests. When you live on Kiawah, it’s nice to know that peace of mind is no further than your own backyard.

A C U R AT E D C O L L E C T I O N O F H O M E S A N D H O M E S I T E S W I T H C L U B M E M B E R S H I P S A V A I L A B L E .

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Cheat Sheet NEW ORLEANS

Despite having one foot firmly rooted in the past as one of the country’s oldest major cities, New Orleans has not stood still. The Big Easy is better than ever in this postpandemic insider’s edition.

STAY Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans Opened summer 2021, the Four Seasons’ (above) location on the banks of the Mississippi cannot be beat, straddling the lively, famous French Quarter and the Warehouse & Arts District, which has been the emerging hot spot for years and is now home to many of the top museums, galleries, bars, and restaurants. This one-of-a-kind hotel at the foot of Canal Street puts the best of New Orleans within walking distance, and is the terminus for the city’s famous streetcars, with direct service to both City Park and the famous above-ground cemeteries. It’s an easy stroll to many great restaurants, but guests may not want to leave, as the hotel doubled down with two of the highest-profile new eateries in the city (see Eat & Drink), by chefs Alon Shaya and Donald Link. They are the only ones here to have each won the perfect duo of James Beard Awards for Best Chef in the South and Best New Restaurant in the country. fourseasons.com

Virgin Hotels New Orleans In the heart of the Warehouse District, with a notable 13thfloor rooftop bar, Dreamboat, serving up live music most nights and sophisticated cocktails, the Virgin also has a Vegasstyle outdoor pool club, with tropical “umbrella” drinks and resident DJs. virginhotels.com

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot The Four Seasons is the most dramatic addition to the lodging scene, but it is hardly the only one. Also in an excellent location, just a couple of blocks away, is the Kimpton Hotel Fontenot with its showpiece: the “eccentrically opulent” Peacock Room, a jewel box of a bar that serves 19th-century punch-bowl cocktails and doubles as a very good restaurant with an impressive menu by Chef Samuel Peery. His offbeat, global gastropub menu also highlights local favorites with creative options such as salt and pepper shrimp and the Peacock burger with bacon jam and white cheddar. The attraction drawing locals every Thursday is live music with acclaimed jazz singer Robin Barnes, “The Songbird of New Orleans.” kimptonhotels.com

Higgins Hotel New Orleans The most unique entrant is also part of the stunning National World War II Museum. Over the past decade the museum has expanded repeatedly to the point of becoming its own mini neighborhood within the Warehouse District. The Higgins, a Hilton Curio Collection property, opened just before the pandemic. For a museum hotel it is surprisingly upscale and carries its theme throughout, including Café Normandie, an excellent and authentic French bistro (left). Rosie’s on the Roof is an indoor and outdoor bar celebrating the working women of WWII—Rosie the Riveter—where signature cocktails are served in vintage military thermoses and museum artifacts decorate the space. Among New Orleans’ many rooftop venues, it has arguably the best views. higginshotelnola.com

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Courtesy Images, From Top: Four Seasons New Orleans/Christian Horan; Kimpton Hotel Fontenot; Virgin Hotel New Orleans; Higgins Hotel NOLA/Chef Virgile Brandel. Opposite, Courtesy Images Clockwise From Top Left: Four Seasons New Orleans/Sam Hanna; Emeril’s/Romney Caruso; Saint John Restaurant/Randy Schmidt; Four Seasons New Orleans/ Christian Horan

BY LARRY OLMSTED

EAT & DRINK Chandelier Bar & Miss River Chef Alon Shaya oversees Four Seasons’ bar, a lobby spot that has been redhot and buzzing around the clock since the doors opened, showcasing the city’s legendary contributions to cocktail culture with the French 75, Sazerac, and Ramos Gin Fizz. His fine dining restaurant, Miss River (missrivernola.com), is the top new eatery in New Orleans, an ingredient-driven tribute to culinary history, featuring reinventions of beloved local dishes and sourcing from local fishermen and farmers. There’s an emphasis on tableside presentations, including the signature carved whole fried chicken.

Chemin à la Mer Louisiana native Chef Donald Link claims many top New Orleans eateries: Peche, Cochon, Herbsaint, La Boulangerie, Gianna, and Cochon Butcher, and at the Four Seasons he added Chemin à la Mer, located on the fifth floor with indoor and outdoor seating and sweeping views of the Mississippi. The Louisiana and French menu showcases a large selection of oysters, shrimp, crab, and ceviche, all harvested from Louisiana and Gulf waters, alongside plenty of steak options. cheminalamer.com

Emeril’s In a case of everything old is new again, it is time to revisit Emeril’s, one of the city’s most iconic eateries and flagship of a legendary American chef. It’s been more than 30 years since Emeril Lagasse opened his eponymous Warehouse District location, and for more than two decades it has won the highest Grand Award from Wine Spectator. But it also had one of the longest pandemic hiatuses in the city, only reopened in 2021. When it did, Emeril decided it was time to redo the menu, including a highly recommended, nightly multicourse chef’s tasting menu, and he has been in the kitchen and greeting guests regularly ever since. While it may not be “new,” Emeril’s has been reborn to the point where it is often the hardest reservation to get in town—but worth the effort. emerilsrestaurants.com

Saint John Restaurant A French Quarter offering from Eric Cook, chef and owner of beloved Gris-Gris. Cook went back in time with 18th-century Creole recipes for authentically local dishes you may not find anyplace else, such as turkey necks slow braised in brown gravy. saintjohnnola.com 

Alma For the ultimate locals’ find, head to Alma in Bywater, very close to new art exhibit JAMNOLA (in See & Do). Alma is a chef-owned modern Honduran restaurant that opened two years ago and has quickly become the neighborhood favorite, fusing Honduran classics with impeccably sourced local seafood and produce for stunningly flavorful dishes and varied menus spanning breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They also serve killer sangria and homemade fresh fruit agua frescas—with or without booze. eatalmanola.com

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SEE & DO National World War II Museum Though not entirely new, parts of it are. It opened as The National D-Day Museum, but the interactive, compelling, and emotional museum proved so instantly popular that its scope expanded to include all theaters. Voted as one of the country’s best museums, it is a must, and next up is the final major addition, the Liberation Pavilion, opening in 2023. Three floors explore the end of the war, the postwar years, and the war’s continuing impact today. Opening on Veterans Day 2022 (November 11) is Expressions of America, which uses 4D technology. nationalww2museum.org

JAMNOLA In Bywater, the acronym stands for Joy, Art, Music - New Orleans. Set in a 5,400-square-foot space, the experience is an immersive, interactive walk that takes audiences (small, ticketed, scheduled groups) of all ages through the city’s unique cultural gems such as Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, local cuisine, and more via 12 exhibits curated by local artists. jamnola.com

Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience The first new cultural attraction to open during the pandemic, it highlights the rich history of a small but profound Jewish subculture throughout the Southern United States, including a poignant short film and two floors of exhibits. The interactive technology and displays were designed by the same standout firm that did the WWII Museum, and whether you are Jewish, Southern, or neither, you will be surprised by the stories inside. The full-blown museum was born as a tiny exhibit at a Jewish summer camp in Mississippi, and after years found this permanent home. msje.org

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Courtesy Images, From Top: NOMA/Richard Sexton (2); Louisiana Children’s Museum; Sazerac House. Opposite, Courtesy Images From Top: The National WWII Museum; JamNola (3); Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience (2)

New Orleans Museum of Art Located in City Park, it features the outdoor Besthoff Sculpture Garden. It opened in 2003, but doubled in size at the start of the pandemic, and now spans 11 acres of mature pines, magnolias, live oaks, and two lagoons, with more than 90 sculptures by internationally acclaimed artists including Frank Gehry and Maya Lin. noma.org

Sazerac House “The City That Care Forgot” has never shied away from its close association with adult beverages, and one of the most prominent new attractions, right on Canal Street, is Sazerac House. It sits just a few hundred yards from the long-vanished 1850 Sazerac Coffee House, where the eponymous cocktail was introduced. Based here, Sazerac is one of the nation’s largest liquor companies, with hundreds of brands including Buffalo Trace bourbon and Corazon tequila in addition to its namesake Sazerac Rye Whiskey and famed Peychaud’s Bitters. Sazerac House was built as a corporate flagship and has a range of self-guided tours featuring immersive exhibits that allow guests to dive into the French Quarter in the 1800s, take a seat at a replica of the original Sazerac House café tables, taste spirits and cocktails, see a working distillery, and shop a massive retail area. sazerachouse.com

Louisiana Children’s Museum Relocated to an all-new, state-of-the-art 8.5-acre campus in City Park, it was purpose-built from the ground up, and is one of the best of its kind in the world, an absolute must for anyone visiting with children 10 and under. Full of interactive programming and exhibits, activity and education centers, it has ample outdoor space, and boasts one of just two permanent installations by high-tech Japanese “fog artist” Fujiko Nakaya, which goes off every 30 minutes. The museum also houses one of the most notable lunch spots in the neighborhood, the new indoor/outdoor Acorn café by local powerhouse Dickie Brennan’s restaurant group, manned by chefs who run the kitchens of its award-winning French Quarter eateries. lcm.org u

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Powerful by Design

If design is subjective, then consider this: Humans are hardwired to respond to shapes found in nature, particularly beautiful shapes. The same guiding principle applies to cars. Here, we look at five automotive brands reshaping the conversation around automotive design. BY MARK HACKING

Ferrari 296 GTB First things first: The Ferrari 296 GTB is a stunning car, an absolute rolling work of art, inside and out. The sheer sophistication of the powertrain is balanced by the styling of this mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car. The proportions are brilliant and the compact footprint of the vehicle evokes the 1963 250 LM, considered one of the most coveted Ferrari models of all time.

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It’s no real surprise, then, that the Ferrari design team, captained by Flavio Manzoni, walked away with a coveted Red Dot Design Award for their work on the 296 GTB. In their assessment of the vehicle, the jury had this to say: “The design of the 296 GTB with hybrid drive redefines the mid-rear-engined berlinetta and gives it a modern look.”

Exactly so, the car is a masterful execution in mechanical form. But that’s just the start because the 296 GTB is also an uncontested thrill ride, the latest in a growing line of hybrid Ferrari performance cars that are incredibly fun and remarkably easy to drive. Speed around a track in the 296 GTB, as we did at Circuito Monteblanco in Spain, and you quickly come

Courtesy Ferrari (4)

to appreciate two things. First, the car has the wherewithal to make you look like a genuine star. Second, push a little bit harder and you quickly understand that the weak link in the driver-car chain is not the car. For the record, the 296 GTB features a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 gasoline engine, an electric motor, a 6.0-kWh battery pack, an 8,500 rpm redline, and 819 total system

hp. The most extreme of purists might gripe about a Ferrari with a V-6 engine or a hybrid system or a combination of both. My advice: These people should sit this one out. The 296 GTB is prodigiously quick; the sprint to 60 mph takes just 2.9 seconds. It’s also ridiculously fast, with an estimated top speed of 205 mph. And it sounds fantastic— so good, in fact, the Ferrari brain trust refer

to the hybrid engine as il piccolo V-12 or “the little V-12.” To round things out, with the e-manettino switch on the F1-inspired steering wheel set to eDrive, it has an allelectric driving range of just over 15 miles. This is more than enough to slip through the typical Spanish town unnoticed. Or, that is, unnoticed until people get a look at the car in all its glory. From $333,255; ferrari.com 

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Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II Here’s the thing about the Rolls-Royce Phantom: In terms of physical presence alone, it’s unlike anything out there. Then, when you add in an exhaustive list of opulent features, the Phantom eases away from other vehicles like the morning mist burning off under a strengthening sun. The Phantom is, without debate, the ne plus ultra of luxury motoring. The new Phantom Series II is an update on the eighth-generation model released five years ago. If this latest Phantom looks similar to the previous Phantom … well, that was all part of the plan. This utterly unique model needed no updates. The brand’s clientele asked for no updates. So, revisions undertaken by Felix Kilbertus and the design team revolve around fine-tuning: subtle modifications

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to the iconic Pantheon grille (including illumination), laser-cut bezel starlights that surround the headlights, new wheel designs, and a rich collection of new bespoke options. Personalization is the key point here. Every version of the new Phantom is exactly the same from a mechanical perspective— case in point, the 563-hp, twin-turbocharged V-12. In terms of dimensions, there are just two choices: a standard-wheelbase model and a long-wheelbase model, which adds 8.6 inches to the overall length. Yet, despite all the similarities, each Phantom has its own distinct character. During the launch event, held in the sunny south of France, 10 examples gathered together in downtown Nice. No two were

alike—from the outside or the inside. Parked side-by-side near a buzzing town square, the cars triggered a massive red-carpet moment. Crowds appeared with cell phones raised, ready to capture videos of celebrities—but the only celebrity there was the Phantom itself. In a sense, driving the Phantom is not the main attraction. The engineers at Rolls-Royce have certainly figured out how to make such an imposing car a genuine pleasure to drive. But the narrow streets of Europe are daunting, the car remains imposing, and the backseat is impossibly inviting. So, it’s enough to simply arrive at your destination, thoroughly wellrested, and to emerge from the back seat, feeling incredibly special. From $493,000; rolls-roycemotorcars.com

Courtesy Rolls-Royce (4). Opposite: Courtesy Aston Martin/Philipp Rupprecht (4)

Aston Martin DBX707 The designers at Aston Martin, under the guidance of longstanding director Marek Reichman, have a hard-earned reputation for brilliance, including one of the latest examples—the Aston Martin DBX707. The leveled-up version of the brand’s sole SUV, the DBX707 makes a menacing statement along any stretch of tarmac and holds its own across unpaved surfaces. A unique selling proposition: It’s the most powerful luxury SUV in the world right now. The twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 engine smuggled under the hood generates a whopping 707 metric hp (thus, the name), or a shade under 700 ponies in North American terms.

With that kind of power, allied to a special 9-speed automatic transmission, launch control, and an all-wheel drive system that shuttles torque around like a game of three-card monte, the DBX707 is a rocket ship off the line. Sixty mph appears in a blistering 3.1 seconds. Top speed is an earth-shattering 193 mph. Get behind the wheel and—lofty seating position aside—you may well forget that you’re not driving a sports car. It’s no mean feat to design a goodlooking SUV—let’s face facts, some of the Aston’s competitors are missing the mark completely. But there’s one thing Reichman’s team really excels at: proportions. The

original DBX followed the basic rules of sport utilities that resemble tall station wagons but added plenty of originality and character along the way. The DBX707 takes that solid canvas and adds splashes of aggressive intent. The list of exterior enhancements includes a larger front grille bedecked in satin chrome, new air intakes, brake cooling ducts, a rear lip spoiler, a larger rear diffuser, quad exhaust tips, and gloss-black touches on the front splitter and side sills. This thing looks like it belongs on the racetrack, so it makes sense that the DBX is an Official Medical Car for the Formula One World Championship. From $236,000; astonmartin.com 

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The all-electric RZ (below left and center)

The RX grille

This year, the Lexus brand celebrated the 10th anniversary of its contentious spindle grille. Considering the amount of criticism the brand has faced for this single design element, it’s a celebration honoring those who stick to their guns. The spindle grille premiered in 2011 with the CT and was revised a year later on the LF-LC concept car. Over time, it was incorporated into all Lexus models in one shape or another. To be fair, some of the executions were more than a little awkward. But there were also some outright wins, including the Lexus LC, a gorgeous car from

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any angle. This year, the spindle grille morphs into something more: a design element that flows seamlessly to create a more cohesive look overall. This effect is evident in two new releases, the latest generation of the popular RX SUV and the upcoming all-electric RZ. The RX front grille consists of a lower mesh section and an upper section that merges with the hood of the vehicle. The effect is very slick and it reinforces the fact that the spindle is a cornerstone of Lexus design. The RZ, on the other hand, features yet another interpretation: a spindle shape without the mesh opening that

blends a body-colored central panel with contrasting black sides. The designs are striking and so, too, is the performance. The RX 500h F Sport Performance is the go-to model for serious drivers. The turbocharged 2.4-liter 4-cylinder hybrid powertrain develops 366 hp. The all-wheel drive system, rear eAxle, adaptive suspension system, and dynamic rear steering provide everything needed to put the power to the ground and keep it to the ground. The RZ will be available in early 2023, and the RX is expected later this year. Pricing not available at press time; lexus.com

Courtesy Lexus (4). Opposite: Courtesy Genesis (4)

Lexus RX + Lexus RZ

Genesis GV60 + Genesis Electrified G80 If you want to kick-start a nascent automotive brand in the biggest possible way, follow the Genesis model. The South Korean luxury automaker shifted into high gear in 2015 with the hiring of chief designer Luc Donckerwolke, previously with Bentley and Lamborghini. A year later, another ex-Bentley designer, SangYup Lee, joined the effort. Another year later and it was time for Alexander Selipanov, formerly with Bugatti, to get involved.

The impact of these top creative minds has been profound; for evidence, you need only look at the G70 sedan, the GV80, or any one of the recent Genesis concept cars. Now, we have two new all-electric models to consider— the GV60 and the Electrified G80—and they take a slightly different approach to design. The Genesis GV60 is an all-new model, the first dedicated production EV for the brand. The GV60 shares electrified underpinnings with two multiple award-

winning EVs from the Hyundai Group: the Kia EV6 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5. The Genesis designers favor a massive front grille—the Electrified G80 has one of those, but the GV60 does not follow suit. Instead, the front fascia incorporates elements from the brand design language in more subtle ways. The result is a more sensuous and less aggressive look; some might call it more feminine in nature. GV60, from $58,890; Electrified G80, from $79,825; genesis.com u

The all-new GV60

The Electrified G80 (above left and center)

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Alchimia Italiana

The essence of a Ducati motorcycle is as apparent as it is elusive. BY DAVID BERTAN

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Courtesy Ducati North America

hen you see a Ducati motorcycle, you cannot help but want to touch it. You want to run your fingers along the lines, straddle the seat, and otherwise be a part of it. As Andrea Ferraresi, Ducati’s head of design, says, “Ducatis are sensual, not just beautiful. If people must touch the bike, sit on it, we’ve achieved our results.” Ducatis are often described as the Ferraris of the motorcycle world. But the title, while complimentary, is inaccurate: Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A is actually owned by Lamborghini, which is owned by Audi, which in turn is part of the Volkswagen Group. What this means, aside from interesting corporate board meetings, is that Ducati benefits from technology that trickles down from VW’s other subsidiaries, such as Porsche and Bentley. Electronics that have worked their way into Ducatis include wheelie control, advanced ABS systems, and even traction control. Add in modern design and manufacturing processes, and you end up with a sexy, reliable, two-wheeled piece of art. In order to make their motorcycles functional and beautiful, Ducati designers work closely with engineers from the beginning of the process. Unlike a car (where most of the working parts are covered by bodywork), on a motorcycle, everything is in view. Ferraresi upholds that Ducati bikes be authentic, sensual, and recognizable as ambassadors of “sporty Italian beauty.” With the recent release of the redesigned Monster and the new DesertX off-road motorcycle, Ducati’s designers and engineers have hit their respective targets, both in looks and in performance. 

The redesigned Monster

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Standing tall with a 34-inch seat height, the DesertX’s blocky tank and bodywork with slightly softened angles make it look every bit the part of Ducati’s version of a Paris-Dakar rally bike, while the LED headlights add a modern, almost futuristic touch. Ducati’s previous adventure bikes, such as the MultiStrada, were essentially street bike chassis reverse-engineered for off-road use. The DesertX, on the other hand, was specifically designed from the ground up as an off-road machine, with some street-related functions added in later. The DesertX electronics package includes Bluetooth and there’s upgraded ABS cornering, with lean angle sensors, traction, and wheelie control, along with six customizable riding modes and Ducati’s quickshift (clutchless gear shifting between second and sixth gears). An optional rallystyle rear fuel tank adds 2.1 more gallons of fuel to the fire.

The new DesertX

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Courtesy Ducati North America (2)

The Monster’s aluminum front frame saves 4.5 kilograms in weight.

Although history is important for Ducati in considering new designs, technical issues also have a priority. According to Ferraresi, he must balance deference to history with technical innovation in a way that keeps the design faithful to the brand’s heritage, while also pushing performance forward. This struggle was front and center in the uproar surrounding Ducati’s replacing the Monster’s steel trellis frame for an aluminum front frame, saving 4.5 kilograms in weight compared to the 821 model, and making the frame and the motorcycle more compact and more agile. To many Monster-owning Ducatisti, the change was heretical. The online forums exploded with chats, and the volleys back and forth grew heated. Imagine the “Ford vs. Chevy” debate, but in Italian, and with harsher language. Ferraresi understood the traditionalists’ anger, but noted that if the design can be improved, “we must catch this possibility”; to him, the furor was worth it for the weight savings. Moving forward, the designers at Ducati are keeping sustainability issues in mind. Italian law requires the use of recycled material in motor vehicles, and Ducati is working to incorporate

recycled plastics in fairings and other body pieces. Racing experience helps the engineers tweak aerodynamics, reduce emissions, and lower fuel consumption; these savings quickly move into the production bikes to make them more environmentally friendly. Ducati’s investment into e-bike racing provides the same benefit; while a consumer e-bike is not yet in production, the racing series is providing engineering and design know-how that will make an e-bike a first for Ducati, with the performance, style, and handling the Ducatisti would expect. According to Ferraresi, Ducati owners don’t buy their motorcycles just to ride them. The bikes are fast-moving pieces of art that grant their owners a ticket to an exclusive club. For Ducati, the design and engineering process must create a motorcycle that is not only thrilling to ride but is also beautiful to look at. Every detail, from engine noise to seating position, must remind the rider they are on a Ducati. Ferraresi’s target remains simple: When you sit on a Ducati, even if you are blindfolded and the engine is off, you will know you’re on a Ducati. Nothing less will do. ducati.com u

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As the private aviation industry continues to soar, these forthcoming aircraft prove the best is yet to come. BY BAILEY STONE BARNARD

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rivate aviation is in the midst of a historic boom. The pandemic has driven more travelers to private travel than ever before. To accommodate the surge, aircraft manufacturers have introduced new private jet models, designed with greater capabilities and comforts than the industry has ever seen. Flight service providers like NetJets, Flexjet, and VistaJet have made massive investments to increase their fleets and get their customers access to these next-generation jets. Beyond the newest small-cabin personal jet, the HondaJet Elite S (which took to the skies in 2021) or the latest private airliner, the Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty (entered into service in January), private aviation’s leading manufacturers—Gulfstream, Dassault Falcon, Bombardier, and Cirrus Aircraft—are designing for the future with these forthcoming models.

Courtesy Dassault Falcon

Next-Gen Jets

DASSAULT FALCON 10X Last May, Dassault Falcon announced its intention to compete with Gulfstream and Bombardier in the large-cabin, ultralong-range segment, with the introduction of the Falcon 10X (above and opposite), its largest-cabin, longest-range, and fastest jet. “Our cabins are considered offices or homes in the sky,” says Agnès Gervais, Dassault Aviation’s manager of industrial design. “They give a feeling of being in a living room. So that direction is not new. But with the 10X, we really enter a new dimension.” The cabin is more than 9 feet wide and 6.5 feet tall—wider and taller than Gulfstream’s G700 and Bombardier’s Global 8000—and nearly 54 feet long. Gervais and her team designed the 10X from the inside out, pushing walls and organizing the technical systems to

create a clean, open-feeling cabin filled with a “French touch,” as she calls it. “We are facing a new generation of cars, trains, and working environments,” says Gervais, noting that their approach for the cabin moves away from transportation design and toward architecture, interior design, and product design. “The limits between the different activities are becoming blurry—we can work everywhere, for instance—so, we have designed this cabin as a penthouse, a corporate headquarters.” Design highlights include embossed veneers that enhance reflections to improve ambient lighting, 3D textiles that reduce cabin noise and improve the quality of entertainment audio, and stone flooring in the lavatory to help create a spa-like space.

“Our goals were to create well-being by designing beauty and functionality and giving back the control and the choice to the customer,” says Gervais. The team implemented real switches for controls like lighting, crew calls, and window shades. “We need to be able to turn the reading light on and off without entering a menu,” says Gervais. Of course, if passengers prefer to control the cabin from their phone, the Bluetooth system can localize their position to allow responsive control of their specific environment. “It is your home in the sky,” says Gervais, “so you’re in control.” Dassault Aviation plans to begin delivering the Falcon 10X (about $75 million) in 2025. dassaultfalcon.com 

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BOMBARDIER GLOBAL 8000 AND CHALLENGER 3500 In May, Bombardier introduced its new flagship, the Global 8000, which builds on the successful platform of its 7500 with increased speed and range. Bombardier expects the Global 8000 to enter service in 2025 and will offer Global 7500 owners the option to retrofit with the enhancements of the Global 8000. The Canadian manufacturer says the Global 8000 ($78 million) will be the world’s fastest and longest-range business jet, but perhaps equally exciting is the new Challenger 3500, Bombardier’s upgrade to its super-midsize Challenger 350 with a reinvented cabin. Awarded “Best of the Best” in the 2022 Red Dot Product Design category, the Challenger 3500 sets new high standards of style and comfort for the super-midsize segment.

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“The aircraft’s signature canted winglet shape was the inspiration for the interior design and is an integral part of the aircraft’s styling identity,” says Laurence Casia, Bombardier’s manager of industrial design and cabin innovation. “This signature shape can be found throughout the cabin, in the Nuage seat shape, the side ledge, the Passenger Service Units, and even in the smallest details, such as the cabin switches.” Casia notes that Bombardier carved all unnecessary interior volume out of the 10-passenger Challenger 3500 to let all cabin elements breathe, which helps create further spaciousness in what is the widest cabin in the category at 7 feet 2 inches wide. That interior volume affords myriad customization options, which Bombardier designed to

minimize the environmental impact of the Challenger 3500’s cabin. “For each material we considered, our engineers looked at the whole production cycle and worked with our suppliers to obtain a lifecycle analysis,” says Casia. “For example, eucalyptus hardwood veneer is a rapidly renewable resource since growth only takes a few years, and upcycled wool is a durable and versatile seat cover to mix into designer cabin palettes. Finding high-end interior options that are genuinely more sustainable and satisfy all the safety requirements is not easy, but we are committed to this and continue to work hard to significantly expand the offering.” Bombardier expects the Challenger 3500 ($26.7 million) to enter service by the end of the year. businessaircraft.bombardier.com

Gulfstream G800

Courtesy Gulfstream. Opposite: Courtesy Bombardier

GULFSTREAM G800, G700, AND G400 Gulfstream leads the pack with three new jet models introduced in recent years. The Savannah, Georgia, manufacturer debuted the large-cabin, ultralong-range G700 in 2019 as its new flagship, with greater range and cabin capacity than its already industry-leading G650. The G700, which boasts the industry’s most spacious cabin, is currently in testing on its way to entering service in the first half of next year. Meanwhile, last fall, Gulfstream introduced the G800, with a 10-foot shorter cabin but a 500-nautical-mile longer range, alongside the large-cabin G400, which is a step up from its super-midsize G280. “Gulfstream designs customer-centric aircraft, and our ultimate goals are comfort and flexibility,” says Tim O’Hara, the company’s director of design innovation. “Our customers

want to make a seamless transition from their home and office to their aircraft. To achieve that, we create distinct living areas in the cabin that can easily flex—from a relaxation space to a space fostering productivity, for example, or dining to conference room.” This flexibility is to be expected from an aircraft like the G800, with a cabin that is nearly 47 feet long and more than 8 feet wide, accommodating as many as four living spaces. It can seat up to 19 passengers and sleep 10. For the G400, that flexibility helps make the most of its cabin, which is more than 36 feet long and 7.5 feet wide. The plane can seat as many as 12 passengers and sleep up to five, with comfort being Gulfstream’s chief design objective. O’Hara notes that the final seat designs

are the result of extensive comfort and ergonomic studies conducted across various early prototypes and tested over many hours until just the right build, pressure points, and cushioning are achieved. “Once built out, the seating is hand-covered in the finest leathers and fabrics and hand-sewn by Gulfstream artisans in our own seat shop,” he says. To customize each cabin, Gulfstream’s interior designers work with new jet owners to select carpeting, upholstery, leathers, plating, veneers, and cabinet hardware. Flight service providers Flexjet and Qatar Airways’ Executive charter service both have placed orders for the G700 ($78 million). Gulfstream says it has also received many orders for the G800 ($72.5 million) and G400 ($34.5 million). gulfstream.com 

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At the other end of the private aviation spectrum, small so-called personal jets have soared in popularity since the HondaJet entered service in late 2015 and Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision Jet a year later. The Vision Jet has been the most-delivered private jet for the last three years and, in 2021, Cirrus Aircraft introduced the latest iteration, the G2+ Vision Jet. Upgrades to this version include improvements to the plane’s single engine that result in up to 25 percent greater thrust during takeoff, allowing it to operate from shorter runways, as well as the addition of onboard Wi-Fi

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to enable a connected cabin experience. “The Vision Jet cabin was inspired by the customer to create a smooth transition and travel experience from your car to personal jet,” says Zean Nielsen, CEO of Cirrus Aircraft. Owners can configure the modular cabin 28 different ways to seat as many as six passengers, plus the pilot. “The Vision Jet cabin was designed around the comfort of all occupants,” says Matt Bergwall, director of the Vision Jet product line. “It offers easy ingress and egress for the pilot and copilot seats, a spacious area in the back for passengers,

a convenience console for rear occupants to continue working, a large in-flight entertainment screen, and a panoramic view for all occupants.” That is an impressive feature set for a vehicle not much larger than an SUV that can make the 600-plus-mile trip from Denver to Las Vegas in less than 2 hours. (The same trip in a car would take almost 12 hours.) Cirrus Aircraft began delivering the G2+ Vision Jet (starting at $3 million) last year, with about 100 G2+ Vision Jets now in service. cirrusaircraft.com u

Courtesy Cirrus Aircraft

CIRRUS G2+ VISION JET

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Bet on the Farm

Cozy and warm, evoking thoughts of home and hearth is the enduring appeal of the farmhouse kitchen—now updated. BY JORGE S. ARANGO

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AMAGANSETT, NEW YORK Architecture: Kathryn Fee Architect, kathrynfee.com Interior Design: Michael Del Piero Good Design, michaeldelpiero.com Square Feet: 2,800 Farmhouse Features: 19th-century farm table, salvaged wood beams, pewter faucet and taps

Courtesy Good Design/Michael Del Piero

Composed of two black-stained barn structures united by a glass entry hall, this home may look modern, especially when you consider its steel I-beams and kitchen countertops with an integrated concrete sink. But its vernacular references are as old as the surrounding hills, which is why the basic elements of a farmhouse kitchen work so well. These were the utilitarian, workhorse spaces of every rural home so they “needed to be simple,” says Michael Del Piero, “simple layout and not too many materials—just concrete, black-stained wood, and natural pewter.” The oak’s grain and brown tones are visible through the black stain, and the overhead beams, reclaimed from old barns, bring in the country textures. They’re complemented by a 19th-century French farm table and, Del Piero says, “overscale rustic natural pewter faucets that are not perfect and maintain the barn-like feel of the architecture.” 

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Architecture: Paul Mrozinski, marstonhouse.com Interior Design: Homeowners Square Feet: Just under 1,000 Farmhouse Features: Various 19th-century country cupboards and tables, beadboard walls, exposed overhead beams, open shelving, antique pottery pitchers

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When Paul and Sharon Mrozinski renovated this mid-19th-century post office from North Haven, which had been moved to Vinalhaven on Penobscot Bay in 1906, they let their antiquarian predilections be their guide. The ground floor accommodates Marston House, their antiques business, and the upstairs is their living quarters. “We’re extremely practical people,” says Paul. “There were no preconceived notions. We had this furniture and decided to use it.” In fact, that’s exactly how classic farmhouse kitchens came together. This “collected look” complemented other genre features: beadboard walls, an original painted plank floor, exposed beams. The Mrozinski trove, naturally, included top-notch collectibles such as an American cupboard and a table that doubles as an island (both mid-1800s), an English 1860s–70s farmhouse table that functions as a counter and storage, a slab of wood from Tuscany (also a counter), and an old slate lab sink. Of course, the pottery collection, china, and silverware are also antiques.

Courtey Marston

VINALHAVEN, MAINE

MILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA Architecture: Studio C2, studioc2@gmail.com Interior Design: Casey Design Planning Group, Inc., caseydesignplan.com

Courtesy Theresa Casey

Square Feet: 4,691 Farmhouse Features: Rustic beams, worn 1880s worktables, farmhouse sink, patterned tile floor

Like a phoenix, this residence literally rose from the ashes. After the 1862 farmhouse burned to the ground, it was reimagined by architect Craig Crane and interior designer Theresa Casey as a trio of buildings—two stone structures connected by a more modern wooden one. Within the latter is this generously proportioned kitchen that, despite its modern functionality, toes a cozy farmhouse style. “I wanted to honor the history of the old farmhouse but bring new life to it,” says Casey. “I didn’t want it to be a complete contrast.” Amid all the modern white cabinetry and Silestone by Cosentino countertops are salvaged beams and two circa 1880 worktables (complete with old wood vise) discovered on the property and joined together as a kitchen island. Spanish tiles exude an Old World vibe but are practical because they are porcelain and patterned (every crumb doesn’t show). “It’s a farmhouse aesthetic,” observes Casey, “but still really clean.”

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Architecture: Groves-Raines Architects Studios, Ltd., gras.co Interior Design: Ruth Kramer, rk@brucke49.ch Square Feet: 7,750 Farmhouse Features: Stone floors, nickel board wainscoting, exposed shelving, utilitarian lighting, farm table

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High-level functionality and farmhouse hominess are not mutually exclusive concepts, as Lundies House—a manse built in the early 1840s and now a guesthouse with luxury accommodations—proves. Designer Ruth Kramer worked with Sarah Picton, senior designer at cabinetmakers Plain English, to bring both to this gut renovation. “We chose a warm palette that played off the landscape of the highlands,” says Picton. “We created intimate areas where guests could sit and chat with the chef, who could be cooking for up to 20 guests at any given time.” The range, though Old World aesthetically, is actually state-of-the-art Molteni. Plenty Derbyshire fossil stone counters and brass Officine Gullo fixtures combine with Plain English’s traditional joinery, shelving brackets, and hardware to create an updated “Scandi-Scot” look with 21st-century capabilities. “It’s smarter and more refined than the usual farmhouse kitchen,” believes Picton.

Courtesy Plain English/Alex Macleod

LAIRD, SCOTLAND

LUCA, ITALY Architecture: Unknown Interior Design: Studio Joris Van Apers, vanapers.be Square Feet: 10,765

Courtesy Joris Van Apers/Michael Paul

Farmhouse Features: Reclaimed oak and pine, reclaimed terra-cotta tile floors, stone walls, antique tile backsplash, farm table repurposed as an island, hand-troweled plaster walls

“Using reclaimed materials in the right way will make your interior timeless,” believes Joris Van Apers, who designed this kitchen in Tuscany. Reclaimed materials, in fact, are one of the studio’s signatures, imbuing all their work with a tactile materiality that feels warmly aged and embracing. “The historic 17thcentury context of the villa had to be respected in the kitchen design,” explains Van Apers. Almost everything here, from tile backsplash to floors to marble on the countertop next to the cooker, is reclaimed. Newly built elements also incorporate reclaimed materials, such as a storage cabinet under the large farm table whose exterior is reclaimed oak and conceals a contemporary storage system that maximizes practicality. The client discovered the blue-and-white tile backsplash at a local market, then Van Apers used an antique fireplace surround to frame it. Faux marble painting enlivens newer cabinetry to add still more character. 

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CORNWALL, CONNECTICUT Architecture: Peter Zimmerman Architects, pzarchitects.com Interior Design: Barlas Baylar, hudsonfurnitureinc.com, in collaboration with Peter Zimmerman Architects Square Feet: 8,066

“It’s almost like an English or Irish manor house that’s been let go and the finishes are coming off,” says Peter Zimmerman of this kitchen. “It’s a house that’s deconstructed, where you see the skeleton rather than the luxurious finishes.” That’s an apt description of farmhouse kitchens in general. They were utilitarian, not glamorous, spaces. Even more surprising, however, is that this house, built for furniture designer Barlas Baylar of New York–based Hudson Furniture, is brand new, yet it looks like it’s been here for centuries. That’s because of all the reclaimed materials—old brick, flooring made of repurposed hayloft wood planks, antiques like the worktable “island” and cupboard. There’s also an enormous walk-in fireplace across from the cooking and prep area like farm kitchens of yore and, before it, antique Windsor chairs around another worktable. At almost 750 square feet, this is truly the hearth and heart of the home.

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Courtesy Peter Zimmerman Architects/Durston Saylor (2). Opposite: Courtesy L’Atelier de Paris

Farmhouse Features: Chiseled stone sink, 1900s work tables, salvaged brick and flooring, antique farm cupboard

COASTAL SOUTH CAROLINA Architecture: Unknown Interior Design: Homeowner, in collaboration with L’Atelier Paris Haute Design, leatelierparis.com Square Feet: 3,500 Farmhouse Features: Hand-troweled plaster walls, exposed shelving, collected look island, wide-plank wood floors, tile range niche

The wife of this couple is an avid cook and hostess, so she wanted “an actual working kitchen,” says co-founder/ creative director of L’Atelier Paris Haute Design Maria Moraes, who was asked to design the space. “Tiling everything would look too modern. The hand-troweled plaster had more warmth and texture,” and the hood’s wood lintel—a typical farmhouse accent—“was a nobrainer because it added character.” To impart a sense of age and use, Moraes opted for texture, wire-brushing oak shelving, cabinets, and wide-plank oak flooring, and giving shelves and floor an oil finish. The island, in still another finish, looks like a worktable added later. Naturally, there’s a custom-made L’Atelier Paris 48-inch Provençale 1200 French range tucked into a tiled niche. “One of the beauties of using burnished brass on the handles,” says Moraes, “is that it’s easy to maintain because you don’t have to do anything to it. It patinas with time.” 

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Courtesy deVOL/Helen Parker (2)

BATH, ENGLAND Architecture: Watson, Bertram & Fell, wbf-bath.co.uk Interior Design: Homeowners, in collaboration with deVOL Kitchens, devolkitchens.co.uk Square Feet: 1,650 Farmhouse Features: Apron sink, stone walls, open shelving, rough-sawn cabinetry with different stains

“My husband Michael [Holloway] is a chef,” says Hannah Holloway of the man behind catering firm Wild Fork West in Bath. “So having a good kitchen is incredibly important.” But to Hannah, owner of fashion and lifestyle brand Maze, aesthetics was just as integral. When they built this kitchen/dining room addition to their 1830 Georgian, which incorporated the home’s exterior stone wall, they worked with deVOL designer Emma Wraithmell and the company’s creative director, Helen Parker. “It’s bold to incorporate an outside wall into your room and mix it with concrete worktops and floors,” says Parker. “But the colors and the surfaces are subtle and tactile, whether smooth or rough. Our beech Sebastian Cox model cupboards have a subtle band-sawn texture to them, which also feels like an actual piece of wood, so this fits perfectly with the natural design of this kitchen.” u

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FURNISHINGS

Return to Milan

Salone del Mobile, the prestigious, twice-yearly world showcase for what’s new in design, returned full force this spring with these worthy highlights. BY JORGE S. ARANGO

Zaha Hadid Architects introduced three limitededition rug designs for Illulian that boast the firm’s signature animated geometries: Interlace, Perspective 01, and Perspective 02 (shown). All are 50 percent wool and 50 percent silk, and measure roughly 8 feet by 10 feet. $11,800–$12,100; illulian.com

As part of their new Re-connecting collection, Zanotta introduced the Za:Za sofa by Venicebased studio Zaven. It takes cues from 1970s design but is made of recycled materials with no glued elements, making disassembly easy. Matte black or red frames available. $9,450–$11,790 for two- to three-seaters; zanotta.it

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The new outdoor seating Dharma collection by Studiopepe for Baxter takes a sculptural, postmodern approach to form. Made of lacquered polymer and including a bench, chair, beach lounger, and corner chair, the pieces come in four color varnishes with removable cushion options in outdoor fabrics and leathers. Price upon request; baxter.it

All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer

Ethnicraft’s new PI shelves seem to take their cue equally from midcentury design and the studio furniture movement, with a handcrafted wood profile that comes in modules, offering versatile and expandable storage for any room. The system comes in two-, three-, and five-shelf units. From $590; ethnicraft.com

Porro introduced Piero Lissoni’s Nebbia chair and Ryoba table. Nebbia was shown in black-stained ash (a ubiquitous finish this year). Ryoba’s narrow profile invites more intimate dining, while respecting the width of the milled trees it’s made from. Olive ash or black-stained ash available for both top and legs. Nebbia, $1,450; Ryoba, $9,450; porro.com

Exemplifying the cross-cultural origins of Inoda+Sveje— founded by the design duo Kyoko Inoda and Nils Sveje—the asymmetrical Lars sofa (shown) and Yoko cord chair for Minotti blend her Japanese aesthetic with his Danish modern leanings in elegantly light, sculptural designs. Sofa $14,530; chair $4,525; minotti.com 

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One of the most elegant relaunches this year was Exteta’s Poltrona Bergère, designed in 1939 by Franco Albini—arguably one of Italy’s greatest interpreters of chic. Consisting of a woven back and seat over a wood frame, it’s available in four wood finishes and multiple fabrics and leathers. From $7,755; available at ddcnyc.com

For Kaleido of Life, a new limited-edition collection of rugs designed by Marcel Wanders Studio for Sahrai, each of the three wool-andsilk patterns represents an element of nature (earth, wind, or water) depicted by computerized graphics, such as lush plant life for Earth’s “Charm.” Only six versions of each pattern in roughly 9-by-13-feet and 20-by-15-feet sizes are available. $43,250–$115,050; sahrai.com

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Jean-Marie Massaud’s Brera sofa for Poliform reflects a Salone trend toward lighter, more tailored sectional silhouettes. It has an architectural presence without skimping on comfort and a graceful curve that allows its components to conform to a variety of environments. Pricing inquiries can be sent to info@poliform.com; poliform.com

All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer

Lake Orta, Italy–based luxury bath fixture company Fantini partnered with the legendary, 100-year-old Murano glass studio Venini to debut extensions to its Venezia handles collection. The handles mix multiple liquid shades within each knob or employ glass caning patterns. Pricing not available at press time; fantini.it

The quest for a leaner and meaner kitchen continues with the new 36-inch XT induction built-in cooktop with integrated hood from Bertazzoni, which was previewed at Salone’s Eurocucina section and is set to launch this fall. It includes sensors that automatically detect cookware size to adjust heat to their exact footprint. $5,200; us.bertazzoni.com

Salone Extension

Every year at Fuorisalone (meaning literally “Outside Salone”), design showrooms host debut collections that expand on the offerings of the main showcase, including these 10 favorites.

All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer

Patrick Norguet’s Flar table and floor lamps for 72-year-old lighting brand Lodes are inspired by intense bursts of light, called flamboiement in French. The glass diffuser is available in honey and turquoise while the base comes in champagne and terra, a warm tone combining hints of pink, orange, and brown. Medium, $1,900–$2,145; large, $2,645–$2,880; lodes.com

To celebrate Lee Broom’s 15th anniversary, the designer presented an exhibition of new lighting on Via Palermo inspired by places of worship. Of six new styles, Vesper—in brushed silver or gold and available as Duo or Quattro (two or four lights)— offered a divine twist on Brutalism. Duo, $3,400; Quattro, $7,080; leebroom.com 

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Giorgetti debuted the celestially inspired Borealis three-panel room screen by Roberto Lazzeroni. It’s so named because the two-toned leather straps that loop from frame to center and back again resemble the effects of the aurora borealis. Available in two heights. From $12,100; giorgetti.eu

Poltrona Frau’s Aurora Tre bed was designed by Tito Agnoli in 2005 but not produced until now. It features a padded, hand-stitched headboard available in Pelle Frau leather or any number of fabrics. The trapezoidal base is available in two finishes or can be ordered with a cylindrical, black-lacquered metal base. From $3,570; poltronafrau.com

Refractory, a Chicago-based design studio that draws inspiration from the rugged terrain and geology of the American West, debuted several pieces at the Alcova venue, including these geode-inspired Okenite vessels of cast bronze with shagreen-textured interiors. A round cast glass bowl is also available. $3,800– $5,500; refractory.studio

Paul Smith’s Everyday Life collection for De Padova includes a series of low and side tables that utilize Pietra Pece and Bianco Pece, respectively brown and white limestones from the only existing quarry in Ragusa, Sicily. They interpret Smith’s iconic stripes in lines etched into their surfaces rather than bright colors. $2,465–$7,000; depadova.com

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Pebble Rubble is a new, visually captivating 15-piece modular seating system for Moroso by Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna Lindgren of Swedish design studio Front. The team 3D-scanned actual forest rocks to come up with the organic shapes. Combinations and color options are infinitely changeable. $2,340–$9,870/element; moroso.it

All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer

For his Face à Face tub for Agape, French architect Jean Nouvel took inspiration from Jacques-Louis David’s famous painting The Death of Marat. A series of black or white marble orthogonal and inclined planes are connected by a system of invisible joints, creating a sense of simultaneous lightness and volume. From $22,000; agapedesign.it

The incomparably luxurious Henge showed the Ozone kitchen in rare Breccia Medicea dell’Acqua Santa, a favored stone of the Medici family for Renaissance churches (especially baptismal founts) and Michelangelo’s tomb. The firm bought the last blocks of this highly figured, rosecolored marble from the now-closed quarry. Price upon request; henge07.com

Giuseppe Bavuso created the Aliante glass cabinet for Rimadesio. The vitrine with suspended glass shelves and wooden drawers elevates its contents to the status of being a treasured, precious object. Its aluminum and glass are recyclable, and it’s made using eco-friendly Ecolorsystem lacquers. From $15,012; rimadesio.us u

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A Spirit of Adventure

With few regulations dictating what an amaro can or cannot be, this spirit category is as enhancing as it is mystifying—for mixologists and cocktail drinkers alike.

here are moments when a dose of liquid courage can do wonders. When it comes to exploring the diverse flavors of amaro, however, just tasting the liquid sometimes requires courage in itself. “The spirit category is challenging to get into,” says craft cocktail specialist Joaquín Simó. “There’s deliberate obfuscation from the producers. None of them want to talk about their ingredients or what their processes are. Everything is a family secret and very hush-hush.” Simó helped open Death & Co. in New York City in 2006 and later spent a decade at the helm of Pouring Ribbons, also in Manhattan’s East Village. “Cocktail drinkers should be confused,” he says, “but not uninterested. They should just know going in that it’s going to be challenging. It’s not going to be easy to find information or transparency.” Unlike other categorical spirits like bourbon or Scotch whisky, which are strictly regulated and defined by resolute parameters, the classification of amaro (or plural, amari) is largely lawless. Formal regulation is limited to just three words: bitter, sweet, liqueur. Says restaurateur Sother Teague, “if it’s got a bittering agent, a sweetening agent, and it’s alcoholic, you can call it amaro.” In 2011, Teague threw all caution to the wind and opened Amor y Amargo, an amaro- and bitters-focused cocktail bar in New York City. Even the term “amaro,” the Italian word for bitter, is somewhat misleading. Beginning in the 15th century, members of monastic orders, including Franciscans, Marists, Benedictines, and Dominicans, began macerating botanicals for their medicinal uses and combining them with alcohol as a means of creating tinctures. Such practices occurred across Western Europe, but it was the Italians who passionately embraced these liqueurs centuries later, adopting them into their gastronomic cultures. Consequently, the word “amaro” is an eponym for the entire category of bittersweet liqueurs. Italians

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may claim that only bittersweet liqueurs made in Italy can be called amari or opine that only those designated as digestifs qualify, but the category is too broad and loosely defined to warrant these narrow classifications. In the United States, mixology has been a welcomed gateway. Walk into most reputed craft cocktail bars today and you’ll likely find a menu peppered with concoctions that require measures of various amari. But mixology can also be challenging for the home bartender when amari are involved, since very few are interchangeable. “There’s literally dozens of ingredients in every single one of these, so it’s not so much of how is this going to play with the bourbon or tequila or rum,” says Simó, “but how is it going to play with that fortified wine that might [also] contain 40 ingredients?” In other words, don’t try this at home without the correct ingredients. If you come across a cocktail recipe that calls for an amaro you can’t find, you’re better off waiting until you can source that specific liqueur before attempting to mix the drink. Don’t assume that an amaro produced in the same region will deliver similar flavors as the one you cannot find. With Italian amari, regional proximity doesn’t produce flavor equality. As Simó explains, Italians are fiercely loyal to their own regions and typically don’t venture outside of them when it comes to food and drink. For that reason, examples of a particular category of liqueurs will be diverse within a single region because, as Simó says, “that’s the only variety those Italians are going to get.” Despite the enigmatic nature of the category, there’s an amaro out there to suit every taste. Here, we’ve broken them out into groups that align with the consumer’s level of experience. Whether you enjoy them neat before or after a meal, or as a complex component in a cocktail, these amari—and plenty more—will deliver a welcome moment of warmth as the cold weather rushes in this winter. 

Courtesy Amor y Amargo/Sother Teague. Opposite: Touring Club Italiano/Marka/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

BY SHAUN TOLSON

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All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer (9). Opposite: iStock

Friendly Introductions

Strengthening Relationships

Complex Rapports

Approachable amari for novices

For those who know they like bitter

Best reserved for experienced palates

AMARO MONTNEGRO With gentian root as its foundational bittering agent, this Italian amaro, born in Bologna in 1885, is the product of a proprietary recipe of 40 botanicals and delivers familiar flavors such as cinnamon, cloves, and sweet citrus. “This is a no-brainer for me, one that I use all the time to welcome people into the category,” says Teague. “I’ve never had it lose when someone tastes it as their first-ever amaro. Sometimes they’ll say, ‘Wow, this is amazing! You’re opening my eyes.’ At the very least they’ll say, ‘This is good.’ But no one has ever shoved this back and said, ‘I can’t do this.’”

CYNAR As the most popular “carciofo”-style amaro, which means its primary ingredient is artichoke, Cynar is—as you might expect—quite vegetal. Despite its earthy and savory character, Cynar finishes with a pleasant caramel sweetness. “You can lengthen it beautifully with effervescent mixers like tonic or sodas,” Simó says. “It actually likes that hint of quinine [in tonic water]. It emphasizes the vegetal notes and is one of those two-ingredient drinks that’s way more intense than you would think. Cynar also has a wonderful affinity with agave distillates. They have that shared vegetal bond.”

BONAL GENTIANE-QUINA Described by importer Haus Alpenz as a “spicy, earthy aperitif,” Bonal Gentiane-Quina incorporates wild plants and herbs from the foothills of the Chartreuse Mountains in southeastern France, and its prominent flavors include dried fruits, anise, fresh citrus, and cola notes. “It’s a step up from a vermouth in terms of complexity and bitterness,” Simó explains. “There’s a lot going on there, but the proof is really low.”

JÄGERMEISTER Forget all your previous Jägermeister experiences, especially if you’ve only taken a colder-than-ice shot of this German bittersweet liqueur. In that scenario, your taste buds only pick up Jägermeister’s bracing bitterness. You’ll miss the cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, licorice root, and star anise—all flavors that come to the surface when you sip the liquid at room temperature. “Jägermeister is dark, rich, and viscous,” says Teague. “However, in the world of amaro, it’s pretty sweet. It’s got lots of familiar notes. In fact, one of its biggest components is grapefruit.”

SFUMATO RABARBARO With Chinese rhubarb as its foundational ingredient, this unique and complex amaro presents that fruity character up front, then transitions to a profound earthy smokiness that lingers on the finish. The presence of candied orange peel is easily detected; however, you may also uncover flavors of celery salt, flint, and green strawberries. “I quite enjoy sipping it, but I find mixing with it really fun too,” says Simó. “That smokiness has so much depth to it, and it wants to stand out. It allows this amaro to hold its own in small amounts with aggressive mezcals, peaty Scotches, and overproof rums and whiskies. It can go punch for punch with the big boys.”

CAMPARI “If you’re trying to break into the world of amaro, you need to have a negroni in your life,” says Teague, referencing the classic cocktail made with gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari—an aperitivo that boasts bitter orange notes balanced by floral undertones and faint herbal character. “But I would start you off with an Americano made with small amounts of both Campari and a good, sweet vermouth, and then make it really long— flood it with seltzer—so you get to dip your toe into the bitterness that is Campari.”

RAMAZZOTTI At 207 years old, Ramazzotti is one of the oldest commercial amari available, and it’s an interesting example for being both approachable and complex. Bitter oranges, cardamom, clove, and myrrh are all key ingredients, though the full recipe includes 33 fruits, herbs, and botanicals. “It’s a kola-nut amaro, so it’s got those heavy cola notes, but it’s also got a lot of dried fruit happening,” says Teague. “If I put an ounce in a glass with ice and seltzer, it’ll taste like Dr Pepper.”

OPAL The genesis of this Icelandic bittersweet liqueur can be traced back to hard, chewable salted-licorice candies of the same name. For the better part of half a century, however, the company has produced a mentholated, brennivin liqueur (a form of aquavit) that showcases those same flavor profiles. Commonly called “svarti dauði,” which in Icelandic means “black death,” brennivin is Iceland’s national spirit. For many outsiders it’s an acquired taste—Opal, in particular. “It’s like eating licorice right after brushing your teeth,” says Teague. “It’s just bracing, cooling, and salted, but it’s magical. It raises eyebrows, that’s for sure.” ELISIR NOVASALUS At only 16-percent ABV, Elisir Novasalus is light in alcoholic potency, but heavy on bold and bracingly bitter flavors. “The sweetening agent is the sap from a pine tree, so this amaro is powerfully astringent and lip-curlingly bitter,” says Teague of the dry, Marsala wine-based amaro from Italy’s northernmost region. “It’s for those who have tried it all.” u LM FALL/WINTER 2022 117

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN

Fashion as art is a signature look on the Italian countryside—sophisticated, textured, and tailored. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALESSANDRO MOGGI STYLING BY ANGELA CARPIO

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From left: MICHELE NEGRI jacket, $2,500; michelenegri.com IL BORGO CASHMERE sweater, $865, and pants, $535; ilborgo.it MACK WELDON T-shirt, $48; mackweldon.com AÑEL RACER COLLECTION shoes, $790; anelracercollection.com

ROBERTO CAVALLI dress, price upon request; robertocavalli.com WEEKEND MAX MARA boots, $420; weekendmaxmara.com Shot on location at TOSCANA RESORT CASTELFALFI, situated in the heart of the medieval village of Castelfalfi and amid 2,700 acres of protected vineyards, olive groves, lakes, and a wildlife reserve. From $400/night; castelfalfi.com

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On him: MICHELE NEGRI jacket, $2,500, and shirt, $350; michelenegri.com GUCCI pants, $980, and shoes, $970; gucci.com BVLGARI vintage watch, stylist’s own On her: RETROUVER dress, $585; @ceretrouver YVES SAINT LAURENT boots, $1,695; ysl.com BVLGARI watch, $60,500; bulgari.com

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IL BORGO CASHMERE vest, $1,360, and pullover, $953; ilborgo.it MACK WELDON T-shirt, $48; mackweldon.com GUESS jeans, $108; guess.com ROLEX watch, $9,500; rolex.com RAY-BAN sunglasses, $165; ray-ban.com

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WEEKEND MAX MARA coat, $1,045; weekendmaxmara.com RETROUVER dress $280; @ceretrouver

VINCE silk shirt, $345; vince.com WEEKEND MAX MARA pants, $295, and belt, $115; weekendmaxmara.com HERMÈS scarf, $360; hermes.com STELLA MCCARTNEY sunglasses, $175; stellamccartney.com

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RETROUVER dress, $280, and belt, $115; @ceretrouver Opposite from left: IL BORGO CASHMERE leather jacket, $2,715, pants, $535, and shoes, $230; ilborgo.it STEPHANO RICCI shirt, $750; stephanoricci.com RETROUVER coat, $980; @ceretrouver IL BORGO CASHMERE turtleneck, $575; ilborgo.it WEEKEND MAX MARA boots, $625; weekendmaxmara.com GUCCI vintage belt, stylist’s own

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IL BORGO CASHMERE jacket, $1,440, and shirt, $535; ilborgo.it MICHELE NEGRI trousers, $195; michelenegri.com GUCCI vintage belt, stylist’s own

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WONGVALLE coat, $455, and dress, $290; wongvalle.com

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GUCCI jacket, $3,600; gucci.com NAKED CASHMERE hoodie, $425; nakedcashmere.com

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IL BORGO CASHMERE sweater, $1,148, and skirt, $438; ilborgo.it

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ROBERTO CAVALLI jacket, price upon request; robertocavalli.com IL BORGO CASHMERE shirt, $340; ilborgo.it BONOBOS pants, $100; bonobos.com

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On him: IL BORGO CASHMERE sweater, $3,500; ilborgo.it GUALTIERO M.G. pants, $145; gmgfirenze.com AÑEL RACER COLLECTION shoes, $944; anelracercollection.com On her: WONGVALLE jacket, $340, and pants, $235; wongvalle.com MAISON CASHMERE turtleneck, $118; maisioncashmere.com BVLGARI scarf, $490; bulgari.com

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Safari Among the Dunes

New lodges in Namibia have opened the young African nation to travelers looking for luxury, wildlife, and desert landscapes like they’ve never seen. BY LARRY OLMSTED

lmost everyone experiences their first African wildlife safari by visiting either East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) or South Africa, and then returning home with one compelling question: Where to go next? The hot answer right now is Namibia. “You can go to any safari lodge in Africa and see elephants and giraffes, but you can only see desertadapted elephants, black rhino, and giraffes here,” says Orlando Haraseb, longtime senior naturalist guide at Ultimate Safaris, the operator of high-end safari lodge Onduli Ridge. “Namibia is only 32 years old since independence, and we are the first and only country in Africa with the protection of the environment written into our constitution. There are very detailed rules on development, most of the desert is protected, and all of the primary natural assets from the minerals in the ground to the tallest branches of the trees are owned by the government—as is every black rhino. Protected conservation areas total more than 40 percent of the country, and there are a lot of plants, animals, birds, and insects that can be found in Namibia and no place else on Earth. We are unique in tourism because we are unique in nature.” 

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Courtesy Wilderness Safaris

The 300 unforgiving miles of harsh shoreline on the Skeleton Coast were called “The Gates of Hell” by Portuguese sailors. The combination of high winds, strong currents, and rocky seaboard have long made it extremely treacherous, and as a result, there are hundreds of shipwrecks of all sizes strewn across the region, sunken or sinking into the sands and dating as far back as 1530. Some, such as the 310-foot Eduard Bohlen or the 510-foot Dunedin Star, are so big as to have become tourist attractions easily visible from the air, with flightseeing trips popular here. But the best way to get up close and personal with the rusting hulks dotting the region is on a 4x4 tour. As a bonus, the Skeleton Coast is also dotted with huge seal colonies, where hundreds can be seen at once, which makes it popular with desert-adapted lions who come to prey on the seals, while elephants wander the coastline to beat the heat with ocean swims.

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Haraseb is right. Namibia is a land of superlatives, where just about every facet comes with an -est attached—biggest, oldest, tallest, driest, and so on. The third-least-densely populated country on the planet (behind Greenland and Mongolia), it is larger than Texas with fewer people than Brooklyn (2.5 million). Visitors enjoy the same kind of jaw-dropping game viewing available elsewhere in Africa, but also see many unequaled sights and ecosystems. The most common description by first-time visitors is that it is like visiting another planet. At the end of every day, the night skies are a stunning reminder that there is something very special almost everywhere you look—up from the ground, down from a plane or helicopter, out from a safari vehicle, or all around you on foot. The flora, fauna, sand, and even the rock itself speak to visitors in a way that will always be remembered. “We get a lot of repeat customers, people who have traveled with us four, five, or six times, who visit Africa and then want to come back with their friends or kids or grandkids,” said Alan Petersen, lead safari director and one of the most veteran guides for Micato Safaris, the choice of travelers including Natalie Portman, Hillary Clinton, and Warren Buffett. Based in Johannesburg, Petersen has covered all Southern African safari destinations for more than 30 years. “Especially after the first time, people still want to see amazing wildlife, but they also want to experience more of what makes Africa so unique. South Africa has the wine country, golf, and Cape Town. Zambia and Zimbabwe have Victoria Falls. Botswana has always been popular because of all the water and the Okavango Delta. But in recent years Namibia has just exploded, because the tourism infrastructure has gotten so much better, new lodges like Onduli Ridge and the Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, which have a lot of extra activities beyond game viewing. The new lodges are attracting more of our customers, but they come for the things that have always been special in Namibia—the desert, the wildlife, the dunes, the Skeleton Coast, the landscape.” 

From Left: imageBROKER/Alamy; Courtesy Micato Safaris/Sara Heidinger. Opposite, From Top: Cavan Images/Robert Caputo; Courtesy Micato Safaris/Paul Bruce

WATERFRONT WRECKS

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Little Ongava

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DESERT-ADAPTED WILDLIFE Like South Africa’s smaller Kruger, Etosha National Park (the sixth largest in Africa) is ringed with private game reserves offering the best of all worlds, park access, and private land, with luxury accommodations. Tops here is 85,000-acre Onguma Safari Camps (onguma.com), encompassing a traditional tented camp, a bush camp, and the unique Onguma - The Fort—the top-tier offering in the form of a Moorish-style castle surrounded by a dozen villas. Private reserve Little Ongava (ongava.com) remains quite exclusive with just three swank suites and 74,000 acres. Etosha, Onguma, and Ongava each have all the animals people go to Africa to see, from big cats (lions, leopard, and cheetah) to rhinos, giraffes, elephants, zebra, and all kinds of antelope, along with more than 300 species of birds. In terms of wildlife, a big distinction here is the manner in which certain animals have evolved due to the dry, hot climate, as Namibia is the driest place in sub-Saharan Africa. You will see plenty of action during the day, but due to the heat, animals that are purely diurnal everywhere else have become active after dark here, making night drives spectacular (typically not allowed in National Parks, but common practice within private game reserve lodges, including Onguma and Ongava). The national symbol is the oryx, an antelope whose body temperature can reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and survive, thanks to its unique ability to cool the blood flowing to its brain. More obvious to the naked eye are the desert-adapted lions,

leaner than their peers elsewhere, but with thicker coats for the cool nights and the unique ability to survive without drinking, as they get all the moisture needed from their prey. Likewise for the desert-adapted Hoanib giraffes, who get sufficient water from the leaves they eat. One researcher said that in five years in Namibia he never saw one drink, while these creatures are regulars at watering holes across the rest of Africa. Also observable to visitors is their lighter color, thought to aid camouflage in the local sand setting. Desert-adapted elephants are smaller bodied but have longer legs and trunks and visibly wider feet for traversing sand. It’s a common myth that elephants never sleep laying down, one perpetrated by the rarity of such sightings, because they only do it when they feel completely safe. In the open desert, they can see a long way in every direction, so you are likely to witness this state of utter relaxation (which most African safari-goers never see). Desert black rhinos are among Africa’s most endangered animals, and are larger than other black rhinos, with longer horns and larger feet as well. The cheetah here are no different from those in the rest of Africa, but the quality of sightings is much better and more memorable. The fastest land animals on Earth, these predators can reach up to 80 mph, and the main event is to see them in action, running full speed and showing off their blazing acceleration. But such sights are virtually impossible in thick bush, or even tall grass, while the stark desert sets a perfect backdrop. 

Courtesy Images, From Top: Onguma the Fort/David Rogers; Little Ongava. Opposite: Courtesy Wilderness Safaris

Onguma Safari Camps

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OTHERWORLDLY LANDSCAPES While the wildlife viewing can be spectacular, Namibia’s big tourism ace in the hole is its unique and incredibly varied landscapes. The Namib desert is the world’s oldest, estimated to be 55 million years old. It is located within Namib-Naukluft National Park, which is technically the largest game reserve in all of Africa. But it’s less famous for wildlife than for its incredible scenery—a landscape of rolling red sand dunes, including some of the world’s highest. An area in the park known as Sossusvlei

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(meaning “the land that time forgot”) is for many the country’s unforgettable highlight. Here a series of dunes as big as mountains tower above stark, white, flat salt pans, randomly dotted with gnarled, twisted, and distinctive 900-year-old blackened trees that are dead but so dried out as to be perfectly preserved. A photographer’s wonderland, the area is a cross between a post-apocalyptic landscape and a Lord of the Rings movie set. The single biggest attraction in Sossusvlei is the exceptional and unique experience of

hiking up one of the huge dunes, something visitors come in droves to do. From the entrance gate to the Sossusvlei area, the dunes stretch for nearly 40 miles on either side of the main park road, and most are named for their distance in kilometers from the gate, with huge Dune 45 said to be the most photographed. It is also a relatively easy ascent, given that the loose sand, heat, and total lack of protection from the sun make the hikes much more difficult than their length and altitude gains would suggest. The

PETROGLYPHS Damaraland is a harsh desert landscape set among the high mountains that separate the Skeleton Coast from the country’s interior, an area especially rich in desert-adapted wildlife. In addition, it is home to the some 6,000-year-old Twyfelfontein petroglyphs. This, one of only two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Namibia, is a very extensive set of rock engravings that depict travel away from and returning to the area by bushmen, recounting watering holes and animals they had seen, suggesting trips as far off as the remote coast. A series of pathways, stairs, and bridges runs through the boulder pile of a site, which has more than 2,500 carvings and paintings on over 200 different boulders and rock slabs, the largest such collection in Africa. It is a must-see and well worth the two hours or so it takes for a guided excursion. Twyfelfontein is usually combined with a visit to the nearby Organ Pipes, a mind-boggling geological formation of towering basalt columns. Around 150 million years ago, lava seeped into a slate rock formation and erosion left only the columns, which now resemble the pipes of a giant outdoor organ. Damaraland has several luxury lodges: Onduli Ridge ultimatesafaris.na Hoanib Valley Camp theluxurysafaricompany.com Damaraland Camp wilderness-safaris.com Mowani Mountain Camp chiwani.com

From Left: Courtesy Namibia Tourist Board; Felix Lipov/Alamy

Desert Rhino Camp wilderness-safaris.com 

top prize, the Everest of the Namib, is named Big Daddy, and it’s the highest dune in the park at over 1,000 feet. While challenging, it is quite attainable, and the reasonably fit make it up in just under an hour. Besides panoramic views over the dunes, including the adjacent and just slightly shorter Big Mama, the payoff is the descent down the backside, followed by the crossing of a jaw-dropping, tree-strewn salt pan. Just about everyone who comes to Sossusvlei tries their hand at summiting one of the dunes, and fortunately there are options for every ability.

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THE DETAILS GETTING THERE Windhoek is the capital and has the sole international airport in Namibia; most visitors arrive on a connection via South Africa, with nonstops from Cape Town and Johannesburg. This allows the option to combine Namibia with South African safaris, golf games, winery visits, city tours, and beach days. But the best way to travel from the United States is on Qatar Airways (the fastest routing), which flies one-stop from several US gateways to Doha and then directly to Windhoek. Qatar also wins World’s Best Business Class just about every year with its unique and private Qsuite cabins and its lounge in Doha also is usually ranked the World’s Best. Windhoek is clean and safe but largely forgettable, and if flight timing allows, it is best to transfer directly to the bush flight to your lodge and onward to much more interesting adventures. If you do need to overnight, the top choices are The Weinberg (gondwanacollection.com), a boutique spa hotel in the city, or Zannier Hotels Omaanda (zannierhotels.com), a luxury safari lodge and private game reserve about 30 minutes from the airport.

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andBeyond’s Sossusvlei Desert Lodge and one of its private plunge pool suites (below)

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Bottom Left: &Beyond (2); Onguma the Fort; Micato Safaris/Duncan Willetts

WHO TO CALL

WHERE TO STAY The top lodges are Onguma - The Fort and Little Ongava for traditional wildlife safari viewing and access to Etosha National Park; Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (andbeyond.com) for exploring the dunes and Namib-Naukluft National Park; and Onduli Ridge, Damaraland Camp, Mowani Mountain Camp, Desert Rhino Camp, and Hoanib Valley Camp, a joint venture between local communities and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, for desert-adapted wildlife viewing. Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is a flagship for andBeyond, one of the top luxury safari lodge operators with properties across Africa and now South America as well. It combines luxury accommodations in 10 individual modern, stone-and-glass, air-conditioned suites boasting private pools with easy access to Big Daddy and the other dunes. The property includes its own well-hidden collection of petroglyphs in a small cave-like recess, easily accessible on guided walks. Other on-site activities include purpose-built trails for e-mountain biking, so you can get some fresh air while exploring the desert landscape around the lodge, hiking, guided quad buggy (ATV) tours, a helipad for flightseeing, and world-class stargazing. The lodge sits within an International Dark Sky Reserve and has a staff astronomer and powerful telescopes for nightly guided astronomical viewings, while the suites all have retractable skylights so you can view the night sky from bed.

While the hospitality infrastructure has improved greatly in recent years, there are far fewer top-tier, high-end luxury lodges than in other South African countries, and accommodations should be chosen carefully. One potential pitfall is that there has been a wave of architecturally impressive, high-design properties, especially in the Skeleton Coast, which have gotten a lot of favorable press and images in travel publications because they are so distinctive, but that disappoint US travelers because they offer little to do and no game viewing, built more as monuments to themselves. The best lodges are also linked by chartered small planes, making the entire process logistically difficult to self-book. Instead, either use a quality travel agent/advisor or a top-tier safari specialty tour operator. With dedicated offices in New York, Kenya, and South Africa, Micato Safaris (micato.com) has been excelling at this for over 55 years, is the most awarded such company in the world, and was one of the first to start promoting travel to Namibia, with its own full-time excellent guides rather than subcontractors. Bonus: strong local connections. u

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The Hidden Himalaya

On hallowed high ground, a network of less-traveled six-thousander hiking routes may be more wondrous and rewarding than the ever-famous climb to Everest Base Camp. A new outfitter specializing in these so-called “trekking peaks” reveals their secrets. WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHRIS BRINLEE JR.

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Photo Credits

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or many, the mention of Nepal conjures thoughts of prayer flags, elaborate high-altitude temples full of chanting monks, and queues of climbers below the Hillary Step on Mount Everest, awaiting their chance for a snapshot atop the highest point on Earth. For those who are intrigued by the Himalayas’ mystique but feel that an endeavor to the 8,848-meter (29,031-foot) Roof of the World is out of reach, a trek to Everest’s famous base camp is the obvious consolation. However, that latter experience provides little actual connection to hallowed Himalayan high slopes. Luckily there’s a secret hiding in plain sight. Nestled among giants lies the hidden Himalaya—the 6,000-meter (19,685-foot) “trekking peak” climbs often overlooked by both trekkers and climbers alike, perhaps due to their confusing classification. The Nepal Mountaineering Association describes this collection of around 30 specific six-thousanders as “trekking peaks” to provide differentiation from Nepal’s “expedition peaks”—you know their lore: Everest (the Nepali name for it is Sagarmāthā; the Tibetan name is Chomolungma), as well as Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Annapurna, and more. Nepal’s trekking peaks, which often possess technically demanding sections that require specialized equipment, are not simply walk-ups as their nomenclature would imply; hikers are thus deterred from attempting them. Nor does their classification imply any actual climbing, so many mountaineers fail to consider them as objectives worthy of their resources. As such, most of these peaks tend to exist in a realm of ambiguity and obscurity for all but the most astute Himalayan adventurers.

Enter Transcendent Expeditions (transcendentexpeditions.com), launched this year, specializing in curating trips to climb these mountains—which includes Imja Tse, Lobuche East, and Kyajo-Ri, among others in the Khumbu region of Everest. These climbs provide a legitimate high-altitude Himalayan experience, albeit a truncated one accessible to both novice and veteran mountaineers. In fact, while at camp and on route, it’s possible that your only other company is prolific alpinists who are using the mountain to acclimatize for significantly more committing objectives. An examination of

Nepal’s trekking peaks are not simply walk-ups as their nomenclature would imply. They exist in ambiguity and obscurity for all but the most astute Himalayan adventurers. what makes these trekking peaks unique also begs the question, “Why don’t more people climb them?” In many regards, 6,000 meters, is a sweet spot for Himalayan climbing. Peaks at that altitude are about as high or higher than any point in North America (Alaska’s Denali at 6,190 meters is the highest in the United States)—so they facilitate an excellent opportunity to test your physiology and psyche at high altitude—but they’re not so high that they require months of acclimatization like the eight-thousanders do.

A fit person, accustomed to mountain movement and on a rapid acclimatization schedule, can realistically approach and climb Lobuche East (6,119 meters / 20,075 feet)— located a day’s walk southwest of Everest Base Camp (EBC)—and then return in as little as two weeks. Though the elevation profile of Nepal’s trekking peaks is very similar to that of a Denali climb, only a day or two will be spent on glaciers or climbing, compared to all of it on the remote Alaskan expedition. Instead, the majority of approach and acclimatization for trekking peak climbs is facilitated by a European-style infrastructure of fully catered “tea houses,” which are essentially mountain lodges located along the trekking routes. These modest but comfortable establishments provide adventurers with hot meals, cozy rooms, and occasionally warm showers. That infrastructure—along with support from equipment porters (not necessarily Sherpa, which is the name of an ethnic group of people indigenous to Tibet and not always synonymous with high-altitude workers or guides)—allows climbers to travel relatively light, carrying only their day pack with personal items and clothes. This conserves energy for the climbs, supports Nepalis with good jobs that have competitive wages, and makes the overall experience of approaching the mountain significantly more accessible and enjoyable than it would be otherwise. All those factors considered, climbing trekking peaks in Nepal is most akin to climbing “side peaks” while trekking through the Alps, though everything in the Himalaya is quite a bit higher—and obviously, Tibetan culture creates the distinct atmosphere. 

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PICK A PEAK Nepal’s Himalaya can be divided into three major regions: East, Central, and West; and further subdivided into areas characterized by the regions’ most notable features—often named for the most prominent mountain around. Most visitors in Nepal stick to the Everest, Annapurna, or Langtang areas; because of this, there’s strong infrastructure in each one. The Annapurna area is perhaps best known for its trekking circuit, which has been described as one of the most incredible long-distance walks in the world, and Everest is known for its climbing potential. Unsurprisingly, the most notable trekking peaks are all in the Everest area. The Everest area, often referred to as the Khumbu, is usually reached by fixed-wing air travel from Kathmandu. The 45-minute, stunningly scenic flight, aboard a short takeoff and landing (STOL)-capable de

Imja Tse

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Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, concludes with an epic descent onto a precarious airstrip at the infamous Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla—one of the most dangerous airports in the world. The village of Lukla rests at an elevation near 2,860 meters (9,380 feet)—about the same as Silverton, Colorado—though the first day’s walk drops a significant amount of altitude. You’ll regain it on day two and continue gradually upward until your peak climb. The second night is spent in Namche Bazaar—with multiple bakeries, banks, and gear shops, this will be the last semblance of civilization for a while. Stock up on TP; pull out any additional cash you may need; and watch an Everest movie at the Liquid Bar. From here, itineraries diverge, depending on what peak you will climb.

Lobuche East

IMJA TSE (6,189 METERS / 20,320 FEET) Imja Tse is likely the most popular trekking peak in the region, if not all of Nepal. The mountain is easily recognizable from several vantage points throughout the Khumbu: a spur cascades from Everest’s more impressive sister, Lhotse, creating an island of rock trapped in a sea of ice—hence its nickname, Island Peak. Base camp is a seasonal fixture, situated alongside a moraine that separates the establishment from a slate-colored glacial lagoon. The place is alive with altitude workers, camp cooks, and climbers. The experience feels more authentic than a trip to EBC as a trekker. Ascent begins with a 1 a.m. wake-up call from your guide. Breakfast is served in bed. A simple porridge, boiled eggs, and yak cheese— it’s not luxurious fare, but it gets the job done. Once suited up and kitted out, it’s time to leave camp. A hike along the moraine leads to a rocky slope and the beginning of the climb. The first few hours are spent scrambling up; as the sun nears the horizon, you reach the glacier, strap on crampons, and rope up with your team. Now the mountaineering begins. A meandering path is tracked out across the glacier. Equal spacing and steady movement throughout the rope team help to mitigate the potential risk of a crevasse fall until you reach the headwall. This imposing 300-meter (1,000-foot) wall of ice presents the crux of the climb. The rope team breaks apart, and each climber attaches themself to the fixed lines using a mechanical ascending device called a jumar. This method allows for upward progress at an individualized pace. Oxygen is scarce, so reach deep and rally hard. To stand on the summit will require all that you are. If it starts to feel too hard, just remember that whether you summit or not, a good night’s rest awaits at the end of the day. LOBUCHE EAST (6,119 METERS / 20,075 FEET) This pyramid of rock and ice dominates the skyline as trekkers head north toward EBC—though most will simply pass by it without a single inclination to explore its existence. The intrepid few who do venture up into Lobuche’s alpine realm will be treated to an absolutely exquisite adventure.

Kyajo-Ri

Base camp is reached by a three-hour hike along goat paths that wind up from the village named for the peak that towers above it. Tents are established on a flat rocky outcrop next to a tarn, which provides a source of freshwater for drinking and cooking. Compared to the bustle of Imja Tse base camp, this is a tranquil retreat. An alpine start, along with the usual preparations, leads to climbing straight out from camp. The first section is characterized by mellow slabs of rock, along with the occasional boulder hop. Halfway between your tent and the summit, you’ll don crampons, grab your axe, and rope up with your team. Mellow but exposed glaciated snow slopes define the next part of the climb, eventually giving way to a steep, snowy headwall dotted with fixed lines. The summit is gained atop a knife-edge ridgeline. Your reward: views of Everest to the northeast; Ama Dablam to the south; and the imposing north face of Cholatse to the west. KYAJO-RI (6,186 METERS / 20,295 FEET) Remote, steep, and technical, yet accessible for fit, motivated mountaineers with previous climbing experience, Kyajo-Ri has a southwest ridge that ups the ante—and hot damn, it’s an impressive route. Featuring legitimate rock climbing in mountain boots with crampons, steep snow, and easy alpine ice, this summit day draws comparisons to Ama Dablam, though it’s a little lower in elevation—and it doesn’t have any of the crowds. As the highest point of the range that separates Gokyo Valley from its infrequently visited neighbor to the west, Kyajo-Ri commands an impressive point of view. Though it is centrally located in the most popular mountain region of Nepal, it boasts one of the wildest venues in the Khumbu. Access is afforded by a three-day, mostly trailless walk up a series of hanging valleys, which are completely isolated from the region’s typical trekking circuit. When you’re up there, you’ll feel totally alone—because you are. This is by far the toughest mountain on this list, but it’s also the most rewarding. A true expedition feel, superb technical climbing, and impeccable summit views make this one a worthy reach. 

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G E A R U P L1

Sleeping bag

Courtesy The North Face (6)

APPAREL The North Face Advanced Mountain Kit (AMK) apparel (thenorthface.com) represents a radical leap forward in technical clothing systems designed for alpine climbing. Created in conjunction with the brand’s athletes, who represent some of the best climbers on the planet, five new fabric and construction technologies were developed to ensure that every piece of this collection is at the tip of the spear. The L1 DotKnit crew ($175) and pant ($125) move moisture away from the body. The L2 pullover ($275) and pant ($225) utilize FUTUREFLEECE to provide incredibly breathable, active insulation during highly aerobic activity in cold conditions. The L3 pant ($500) and pullover ($650) use 50/50 down to provide additional breathable warmth. The L5 FUTURELIGHT jacket ($700) and pant ($600) are the most breathable waterproof layers that TNF has ever created. Finally, the L6 parka ($1,000) and pant ($800) are essentially a wearable sleeping bag stuffed with ultra-premium, 1,000-fill power down insulation. The entire system was designed to excel at climbing 6,000-meter peaks all the way to the Roof of the World. In fact, TNF athlete David Goettler used the AMK during his May 2022 Everest no-O2 summit. SLEEPING BAG In addition to the apparel system, The North Face created a special series of equipment designed to the same pinnacle performance standards as the rest of the AMK line. The Superlight 10 sleeping bag ($1,350) is comfort rated to 10 degrees, yet the regular length only weighs 1 pound, 10 ounces—which is very likely the highest warmth-to-weight ratio of any sleeping bag ever commercially produced. That incredible ratio is achieved with a generous amount of 1,000-fill down insulation and an aluminized nylon shell that actively reflects heat back to the body. It features a boxy cut around the torso, allowing a down parka to be worn inside it, which can help the bag punch way above its weight during the coldest nights of your expedition. FUTURELIGHT panels around the hood and footbox protect vital areas of the bag from tent wall condensation and a center zip makes anchoring during an open bivvy a cinch. u

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Ice, Ice, Bébé!

The first cruise ship to double as an all-powerful icebreaker has set sail, accessing pristine polar waters off-limits to virtually any other traveler.

hen the French-flagged Le Commandant Charcot breaks through the polar sea ice, it can sound like a house is crashing down around your ears. But there is no cause for alarm. The Charcot—the first luxury cruise ship to also be an icebreaker—has opened up polar voyages previously off-limits. And while the Charcot meets and often exceeds every measure of luxury, it’s also the first cruise ship to have a science officer aboard whose job it is to coordinate the work of an onboard team of climate researchers. Among superb sustainability credentials, the Charcot ranks as the first polar exploration cruise ship primarily powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electricity from batteries instead of diesel, providing a model for future shipbuilding. Icebreakers remain among the rarest types of vessels. The United States has two such ships, both aging members of its

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Coast Guard fleet. In a class of its own, the PONANT-owned Charcot made its first-ever voyage up the ice-choked coast of East Greenland, illustrating the ship’s capabilities; its arrival often surprising the Arctic’s full-time residents: polar bears, seals, walruses, and whales. Residents of a small Inuit coastal village normally don’t see ships arrive until the ice melts but were delighted to shuttle passengers over their still-frozen terrain via dogsled. Cruise ship veterans will be familiar with the required safety drills, but the Charcot adds a twist that speaks to the unique environment the vessel traverses: a polar survival suit stored under the bed. As the Charcot departed from Reykjavik, Iceland, for its East Greenland voyage, a whale was spotted a few hours later, its plume seemingly marking the ship’s passage into polar waters. Another ship was not to be seen until arriving in Svalbard 12 days later. 

Courtesy Le Commandant Charcot/Mike Louagie. Opposite: Courtesy Le Commandant Charcot/Olivier Blaud

BY FRANK VIZARD

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he vessel is well-named: Jean-Baptiste Charcot was a French polar explorer and among the first to explore East Greenland. Ship’s Captain Patrick Marchesseau admires Ernest Shackleton, the legendary Irish explorer of Antarctica who epically survived, along with the 27-man crew, the loss of his ship Endurance. Completed in 2021 at a reported cost of $324 million, Charcot sails where few dare, visiting polar locations earlier in the year that wouldn’t normally be accessible, but in a state of luxury polar explorers now and then would envy. The cabins are well appointed with interiors that direct your gaze toward the balconies for the outside views and are equipped with heavy curtains as the sun never sets during the length of the Arctic voyage. Rumbles and shudders heard in private quarters and across the nine decks are routine as the Charcot breaks through the ice. Almost worth the cruise by itself, the superb Alain Ducasse

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restaurant Nuna is the first one at sea from the renowned French chef. Casual dining is available in Sila on the observation deck, and French wine flows freely in both eateries. Other amenities include a spa, gym, indoor swimming pool, gaming room, cigar bar, and small library (whose volumes are understandably in French). The atrium features a 30-foot-high, ever-changing digital art installation called Oscillations that was inspired by ice landscapes and commissioned for the ship from Miguel Chevalier. A wraparound deck equipped with spotting scopes works as a walking route or vantage point to see the ice—as outside temperatures in East Greenland generally hover at just below freezing. Recycled exhaust gases heat outdoor tubular benches and fresh water comes from the ocean itself thanks to a saltwater filtration system, eliminating any need for plastic bottles on board. Ship life feels cordial, if not intimate with 245 passengers in 123 cabins. The Charcot crew numbers 215.

From Top: Frank Vizard; Courtesy Le Commandant Charcot/Gilles Trillard (3). Opposite, Courtesy Images From Top: Le Commandant Charcot/Olivier Blaud (2); Le Commandant Charcot/Morgane Monneret

A Daring Sail

Eco-Conscious Maneuvers

ervice, interiors, amenities, and location notwithstanding, the ship itself holds attention as the main attraction. It is the first Polar Class 2 vessel in the world, measuring 492 feet long and specifically designed to operate in temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit). With a double hull built for icebreaking, it can pass through 8-foot-thick ice packs and obstacles such as ice ridges measuring nearly 50 feet in size. There’s also a bridge in the stern that makes it easy to back out of thick ice the way it came in, as the underwater Azipod propellers can rotate as required. Top speed in open water is 17 mph. A major innovation, the use of LNG as a fuel source, coupled with the ability to store energy in banks of onboard high-capacity batteries, allows the Charcot full autonomy in polar areas for two months, if necessary. This hybrid capability reduces the Charcot’s carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent, as compared to diesel-powered ships. An all-electric, zeroemission mode can be employed for one to two hours, useful when operating in particularly environmentally sensitive areas. The option also reduces engine noise that might scare off wildlife. The Charcot’s ability to sail silently in near proximity to polar bears, for example, is impressive. Low sulphur marine gas oil remains at-the-ready as a backup. Satellite imagery and ice maps from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) informs specialized ice routing software and an onboard scout helicopter helps the Charcot find its way through the ice pack, taking advantage of breaks in the ice called polynyas that offer the path of least resistance. 

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he Arctic is a study in ice and while it may at first appear to be a vast white frozen desert, the ice is actually extremely variable. Icebergs are formed from broken-off pieces of freshwater glaciers and may be surrounded by sea ice, with the oldest bits sometimes having an otherworldly blueish or greenish tint. Much of what the Charcot encounters is sea ice, which freezes at a lower temperature of around minus 2 degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenheit). Sea ice gets various names depending on its age and texture: A newly frozen thin film that can support the weight of a bird is called frazil ice, and there are numerous names for the ice in its formative stages. The solid layer that begins to form is called pack ice, and the boundary between open water and the pack ice is called the ice edge. Other variants include pancake ice—large circles of ice. Hummocks are piles of broken ice, often quite large, forced upward by pressure that can block progress, as can bergy bits and growlers, smaller pieces

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of very hard floating ice that can be tough to spot. Aboard Charcot, a low-tech but reliable stick gauge attached to the side of the ship and easily visible from the bridge measures ice thickness. The polar sky is a helpful navigation aid as well—dark bands in the sky are reflections of open water, while white bands are indicative of ice—ship captains prefer the former while dogsledders or mushers like the latter. In practice, this doesn’t mean always avoiding large white spaces on the chart. The Charcot will search for an ice floe big and thick enough to allow passengers to disembark for an exhilarating hike, chaperoned by veteran expedition guides, across the slightly crunchy ice underfoot. In more open water, kayaking is an option. Zodiac boats also are used to ferry passengers on various excursions. The ship supplies a warm parka, life jacket, and knee-high boots for off-ship trips, but passengers are expected to bring their own waterproof pants, gloves, hats, sunglasses, and other coldweather kit items.

Courtesy Le Commandant Charcot/Daniel Ernst. Opposite: Frank Vizard

A Frozen Tableau

Land Ho

he one planned stop in Greenland is at the small Inuit village of Ittoqqortoormiit, population 254, one of just two settlements on the east coast. The village is reached by sailing north past a region choked with ice floes called the Blosseville Coast, named for a French explorer who vanished here along with his ship’s crew, and into Scoresby Sound, the longest fjord on Earth, which is ice bound upon the Charcot’s arrival. While the Charcot punches its way through the ice relatively close to shore, dogsled teams ferry passengers on the final leg to land. The astute will notice that Greenland sled dogs don’t form up in pairs. Greenlanders travel on sea ice so the dogs are aligned in a more spread-out fashion—if one dog should fall into a hidden crevasse, it won’t take the whole sled and the other dogs with it. Any polar bear sighting is always a reason for an unscheduled halt, no matter the time of day. Polar bears living on the southern half of the East Greenland coast are attracting the attention of scientists, as they appear to represent a distinctive sub-population that is adapting to fewer days of sea ice by using icebergs broken off from glaciers that persist most of the year as a hunting lodge of sorts. A strong, cold current running south from the Arctic Ocean brings icebergs within reach, serving as a base for pursuing seals, their primary food source. Scientists estimate that only about 26,000 polar bears remain across the expanse of the Arctic. Other stops may seem random, but they are not. Traveling free of charge on the East Greenland voyage is a team of scientists under the supervision of science officer Daniel Cron. The ship stops periodically so the scientists can test the waters for toxic algae, oxygen levels, and microplastic

pollution. As the Charcot will visit East Greenland annually, a long-term record can be compiled, an important undertaking as such climate change data in the Arctic is scarce. Most scientists agree that the loss of sea ice due to warming temperatures means climate change is occurring in the Arctic at a much faster clip than the rest of the planet. What’s called the “sea ice minimum” is occurring later in the year as the melting season lengthens. “When you think a luxury cruise, you don’t think science,” says Cron, the first science officer attached to a cruise vessel. “It’s new.” Onboard laboratories with sophisticated equipment were part of the

ship’s construction from the beginning. “What we discover here will affect everyone later,” says Cron. Roald Amundsen, the famous Norwegian who ventured to both poles and the Northwest Passage in the early 20th century, is Cron’s favorite polar explorer. Everybody on board the Charcot has one. Microplastic pollution is a particularly hot-button issue. Scientists know that tons of microplastic is dumped into the ocean annually, but “the location of 95 percent is unknown due to a paucity of information,” says Aaron Beck of the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research from his onboard

lab. “More data equals less uncertainty.” The onboard scientists share their work with passengers in a series of briefings. Microplastic pollution along the remote East Greenland coast appears to be absent, but that’s not the case as the Charcot sails farther east and north to Svalbard, Norway, where ship traffic and a warm ocean current from the south brings both pollution and somewhat warmer temperatures in the mid40s degrees Fahrenheit. Svalbard is an island archipelago about halfway between Norway and the North Pole. Once considered a no-man’s-land, Norway administers Svalbard and the 2,400 residents from 51 countries living in one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas. There are more polar bears in Svalbard than people, and the location is so remote that it was picked to house the doomsday Global Seed Vault, a massive collection of the world’s agricultural biodiversity. But Svalbard is where you’ll encounter the first ships since leaving Iceland, so it feels positively bustling. The Charcot stops for an excursion by Zodiac boat to a stunning glacier in Magdalenefjord. The next day it’s two other fjords called Poolepyten—aka Walrus Beach for the colony that lives there—and Trygghamma, before arriving at the town of Longyearbyen. This is where nearly everyone in Svalbard lives, on the largest island of Spitzbergen, and it’s the ship’s final destination for this particular cruise. The Longyearbyen airport is the most northern place with regular air service. In the ice-free port, two passengers, both veteran Arctic travelers, converse on the observation deck while an LNG supply ship pulls alongside to refresh the Charcot’s tanks before it sails on to more polar adventures. “I miss the ice!” says one. “Always,” says the other. u

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Into the Blue Ice

Helicopter to a remote glacial ice cave in British Columbia and climb inside. Enthusiasts call it “living in the blue.”

he rotor wash of the helicopter creates a ripple across the glacier, turning its snowy surface into a moving white sea. At an altitude of 6,400 feet in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, a wide expanse of unmarked glacier called the Pemberton Icefield spreads down as far as the eye can see. The snow runs deep here and a walker can easily sink in to their knees. But there is a rectangular patch of firm ground ahead that’s about half the size of a football field. It’s big enough for a helicopter to land. Though it lacks a formal name, it’s known as Snow Beach, a natural patio of sorts that’s the result of a sandy landslide dropped thousands of years ago from atop one of the mountains the glacier slides among. Snow Beach was found only recently, but it’s not the reason to travel here. Just yards away, you can see the black hole. This glacial ice cave is the main event. From Whistler, Head-Line Mountain Holidays (headlinemountainholidays.com), a company that specializes in luxury wilderness experiences, has flown guests of Shangri-La Vancouver (shangri-la.com) to Snow Beach, which it has outfitted with deck chairs, a snowmobile for recreational driving, an extremely customized Sno-Cat, and gourmet food with glasses of Champagne. Head-Line also supplies the required winter gear, including a caver’s helmet and flashlight.

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It’s best to visit glacial ice caves during winter, when the ice is its most stable. The cave entrances shift year by year, but climate change is making these moves more dramatic. The descent is hardcore; steps shoveled out of the snow can be climbed down backward ladder-style for about 40 feet. The deeper you descend, the more the all-pervasive whiteness of the glacier ice takes on a blueish tinge, until you’re “living in the blue.” Because glacier ice is thicker and denser than regular ice, it absorbs all the colors of the spectrum except for blue. Beyond a screen of stalactites, the world suddenly changes. The floor of the cave becomes a dry, stony, sandy light brown. Above is a transparent ceiling of ice where specks of sand and rocks the size of your head are gripped in frozen suspension, as if caught mid-tumble an eon before. It’s an amazing contrast that gets driven home the farther you go, with a Head-Line guide pointing out particularly curious spots of interest to demonstrate the cave’s formation, while also noting 26 feet of vertical ice has been lost due to climate change. Head-Line devotes 3 percent of its revenues to its White Is Green ice cap research initiative with Simon Fraser University. This is an experience that may not last forever, even though in person, the glacier itself seems timeless. From $1,395/person; shangri-la.com 

Courtesy Ice Caves Heli Adventure (2)

BY FRANK VIZARD

Photo Credits

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Courtesy Ice Caves Heli Adventure (6)

Photo Credits

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Cold Facts The biggest ice cave in the world is called Eisriesenwelt, which translates as “world of the ice giants.” Located 15 miles outside of Salzburg, Austria, near the town of Werfen, Eisriesenwelt is 20 miles long. The first half mile, with its amazing ice sculptures, is open to the public. Discovered in 1879, scientists say the ice cave is between 50 million and 100 million years old. eisriesenwelt.at

The best glacial ice caves in the United States are in Alaska. While there are numerous caves in the United States that get cold enough for ice to form, visiting a glacial ice cave means heading north to Alaska. The Matanuska Glacier and Spencer Glacier outside Anchorage are the most accessible. The Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau is a draw for the adventurous, and booking a local guide is advisable. u

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From Top: Courtesy Eisriesenwelt/Gruber Michael; imageBROKER/Alamy; Ruth Peterkin/Alamy

The country with the most ice caves is Iceland. With 269 named glaciers, Iceland abounds in a mix of natural and glacial ice caves. The Vatnajokull ice cave system is among the most popular and there is even a yearround, man-made ice cave called Langjokull that’s basically a cold apartment of five interconnected rooms. guidetoiceland.is; adventures.is

AFTER A GRAND MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR RENOVATION FAIRMONT OLYMPIC IS SEATTLE’S PLACE TO BE TO FIND OUT MORE CONTACT US AT 206 621 1700 OR FAIRMONT.COM/SEATTLE

Skiing the Dolomites

Spectating a World Cup ski race or whizzing down the slopes of the world’s largest resort are reasons among many for a snowy mountain escape to Italy.

Val Gardena

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Courtesy Val Gardena Tourism

BY LARRY OLMSTED

very December, the best skiers in the world converge on the slopes above the charming Italian village of Santa Cristina, and if you have never witnessed a World Cup speed race in person, you should be there too. Among the world’s mythic sports venues, the Saslong run is the one for ski racing. Built for the 1970 Alpine Skiing World Championships, it has since hosted every famous man on skis, including legendary champions Franz Klammer, Ingemar Stenmark, AJ Kitt, Hermann Maier, and the winningest American in history, Bode Miller—who maintains that the Dolomites are his favorite ski destination on Earth. The course is two miles long and drops more than 2,500 vertical feet with a precipitous average grade of 24 percent and maximum grade of 57 percent. What really makes it special for travelers is that the finish line for both the downhill and super-G is right in town, which is very unusual and spectator friendly. The main ski area of the Dolomites encompasses two adjacent valleys. Santa Cristina is one of three main villages in one of the valleys, Val Gardena. The slalom and giant slalom races are held on the even steeper Gran Risa trail, hitting a 69 percent grade, in the neighboring sibling valley of Alta Badia. There are few (if any) better places to see a ski race, and thanks to very reliable, early winter snowfall here (plus some of Europe’s best snowmaking), the four World Cup races are held annually the week before Christmas, a wonderfully off-peak time for a ski vacation, with everything just polished up and opened for the impending peak festive holiday window, yet before crowds arrive. 

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both, you will be spoiled for choices, because while there are refugios all over the Alps, the Dolomites are famous for them and have a much greater density. The sheer scope of the skiing is hard to wrap your head around, but so is the landscape, geologically unique enough that the region has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Part of the Southern Limestone Alps, the key feature of the Dolomites are 15 enormous vertical rock massifs towering 9,000 to 11,000 feet over the landscape and always in dramatic view. The main part of the Dolomiti Superski network in Val Gardena and Alta Badia wraps around the Sella Massif, and a complete circumnavigation known as the Sellaronda route, with about 18 miles of skiing, is widely considered one of the most epic days of skiing on Earth, yet is as attainable as it is fulfilling. The Sellaronda can be done by intermediate skiers entirely on groomed trails, and experts can add detours to tackle the Saslong and Gran Risa racecourse slopes for a bigger challenge. Many visitors ski it twice, clockwise and counterclockwise, on two different days, to see both views. The combination of trails and lifts comprising the Sellaronda is clearly marked on maps and signs, but skilled guides are plentiful and available—and they know all the best places to eat. When you combine the almost incomprehensible amount of skiing, the charming towns, the stunning scenery, and the food—this is Italy after all—a ski trip to the Dolomites becomes an easy decision. What’s a bit harder is deciding where exactly to go, because the area is vast, with three main options and plenty of choices within each.

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Top Left: Val Gardena Tourism; Rosa Alpina/Alex Moling; Alta Badia/Freddy Planinschek

Bigger is not necessarily better, but when it comes to skiing, terrain is how destinations are compared, and there is no bigger ski resort anywhere on the planet than Dolomiti Superski (dolomitisuperski.com). Technically the group is 15 different resorts, but you would never notice since they share a single lift ticket and the majority are completely and smoothly interconnected by lifts, with no tedious bus transfers or the like. The concept is very similar to the big French connected, multiple-resort areas such as Les Trois Vallées, but even bigger, with around 30,000 skiable acres (more than four times that of the largest US ski resort), more than 8,000 feet of vertical, and just shy of 900 marked trails served by 450 lifts, including many modern heated chairs, bubbles, gondolas, and trams. Dolomiti Superski is also part of the popular Ikon Pass network (Aspen, Deer Valley, Jackson Hole, etc.), so passholders can ski free. The trails and lifts link about 50 villages, most set on valley floors with the slopes and lifts surrounding them. As a result, it’s not just the best hotels that are ski-in/ski-out; entire towns are. This also makes it easy to stop for lunch and have a great meal, and there are no corporate resort cafeterias that are common in the United States. Most everything is passionately family-owned, including the high-altitude refugios, humbly known as mountain huts, but typically full-service rustic alpine restaurants up on the slopes, many with standout cuisine, and some boasting wine lists that put urban gourmet restaurants to shame. Many also have lodging, so you can do a hut-to-hut ski safari and never leave the slopes, though this misses out on the village action below. But whether you eat or stay or

Val Gardena

Aman Resorts’ Rosa Alpina

Alta Badia

VAL GARDENA & ALTA BADIA These neighboring valleys house the bulk of the Dolomiti Superski network and form one large regional vacation destination with several main villages. Stay in any of them and you have incredible access to all the skiing, including the Sellaronda. The top luxury choice in the Dolomites—and one of the best ski hotels anywhere—is the famed Rosa Alpina (rosalpina.it) and its Michelin three-star restaurant St. Hubertus. Now part of Aman Resorts, it sits in the tiny Alta Badia hamlet of San Cassiano. Another top choice is the La Perla (laperlacorvara.it), a five-star, family-owned passion project full of charm and personality with a fantastic ski-in/ski-out location in the pedestrian heart of one of the most well-rounded villages, Corvara. It has a Michelin-starred eatery with an over-thetop wine cellar and one of the world’s best collections of Super Tuscans, plus three other dining outlets, a legendary après-ski scene, and a lavish spa. Val Gardena’s Ortisei, known for its long pedestrian main street, is home to the five-star Adler (adler-resorts.com) and the just-renovated five-star Gardena Grodnerhof (gardena.it), both showcasing extensive spa and wellness programs. Selva in Val Gardena has an understated, family-owned hidden gem, the four-star Hotel Tyrol (tyrolhotel.it), with a Michelin star–worthy gourmet restaurant, an excellent casual osteria, full spa, indoor and outdoor pools, and amazing service. 

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The indoor pool at Rosa Alpina

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Alta Badia

Local specialties at Hotel de Len

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Top Left: Rosa Alpina/Alex Moling; Hotel de Len/IDM Südtirol/Alex Filz; Hotel de Len/Piatti; Alta Badia/Feddy Planinschek. Opposite, Courtesy Images Clockwise From Top Left: Hotel de Len/Helenio Barbetta; Chalet del Sogno Hotel/Christos Drazos; Cortina Tourism; Chalet del Sogno Hotel

Cortina d’Ampezzo

The spa at Hotel de Len

Cristallo

Gourmet dining at Chalet del Sogno

Chalet del Sogno

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO

MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO

The “Queen of the Dolomites,” Cortina is Italy’s most luxurious ski town, with many swank boutiques, but it is still low key compared to Aspen or Gstaad. Along with Milan, it will host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games (the 1956 Winter Olympics were also here), and James Bond famously skied here in For Your Eyes Only, with Sir Roger Moore trading the signature 007 Aston Martin for a white Lotus Esprit Turbo with ski racks. The big appeal of Cortina is the town itself, larger and with more restaurants and shopping than its neighbors, and it is also easier to reach, less than a two-hour drive from the Venice airport, an hour closer than the twin valley region. But the skiing is more limited, with three resorts above town, none ski-in/ski-out, and less interconnection, though a brand-new gondola improves this and the collection includes one of the Dolomites’ most famous runs, the 5-mile Hidden Valley. The resorts are part of the Dolomiti Superski pass, so with transfers you can ski in Cortina and elsewhere in the region. The top hotel here has always (for more than 12 decades) been the five-star Cristallo (marriott .com), which was just taken over by Mandarin Oriental and will become the luxury group’s first ski property. However, an extensive pre-Olympics renovation will close the hotel for the winters of 2023–2024 and 2024–2025. In the meantime, Cortina’s newest option is a luxury boutique property that debuted in 2022, the Hotel de Len (hoteldelen.it), with 22 rooms and suites, a terroir-driven restaurant emphasizing local specialties, and extensive spa facilities.

More of a true ski town, this jewel is in the Brenta Dolomites—a smaller separate mountain range that sits closer to Lake Garda, south of the main Dolomites region, and still part of the UNESCO World Heritage area. The town sits in an amphitheater valley, completely encircled with three interconnected ski resorts that form a contiguous 360-degree circuit and make the entire village ski-in/ski-out. Between them there are 57 lifts and gondolas, many very modern, and more than 90 miles of trails. It is well known in Europe for impeccable grooming and endless corduroy, but unlike the twin valleys, there is also tree skiing and more severe expert steeps, as well as high alpine bowls. It also has a lot more in terms of terrain parks, including Ursus, one of the world’s largest, and a unique three-mile toboggan run with rental sleds available. A self-contained destination, Madonna di Campiglio is larger than most of the other Dolomite villages with more hotels, shops, and restaurants, and an excellent choice for those who want a turnkey, one-stop, walkable destination, or a second-time Dolomites vacation. There is no standout luxury hotel, but the extremely ski-in/ski-out Chalet del Sogno (hotelchaletdelsognocampiglio.com) is an upscale, rustic, all-suite, eco-friendly 17-room property with an exceptional gourmet restaurant owned by hands-on local celebrity and three-time Italian Winter Olympian Alberto Schiavon. 

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Rosa Alpina

The Details GETTING THERE The main gateway for the region is Venice, with direct international flights from across Europe and the United States. A private car transfer is the best way to get from the airport to the slopes, two to three hours depending on where you are headed. Alternative access points are Innsbruck, Austria, a little farther away, and Milan, with the most flights but an additional one to two hours in a car.

Photo Credits

BOOKING A STAY Until luxury operators Aman and Mandarin Oriental arrived recently, the Dolomites prided themselves on having no chains represented. There are still no large brands, and the vast majority of properties are small and independent, with many hidden gems, often cuisine driven, which is why it is best to book through knowledgeable travel agents or ski vacation specialists.

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Courtesy Images, From Top: Alpine Adventures/IDM Südtirol/Harald Wisthaler; Alta Badia/IDM Sueditrol/Alex Moling; Hotel de Len/Joern Dreier. Opposite, Courtesy Images From Top: Alta Badia/Alex Filz; Alta Badia/Alex Moling

TOUR OPERATORS The major luxury ski travel specialists offer pre-set and custom trips to the region, including Aspen-based Ski.com (ski.com) and Alpine Adventures (alpineadventures .net). But local (with a US office) specialist Dolomite Mountains (dolomitemountains .com) does nothing else and is extremely knowledgeable and well-connected for one-stop shopping, specializing in gourmetfocused ski trips, fully guided vacations, transfers, luxury hotels, combining multiple stops, and refugio hut-to-hut tours. All of these are for both alpine skiers and snowboarders and the fast-growing subset of alpine touring (AT). Dolomite Mountains also covers Madonna di Campiglio and the Brenta Dolomites region. GUIDES, TICKETS & RENTALS There are a wide variety of lift ticket options depending on how much skiing you plan to do, but for most foreign visitors, one of the all-access Dolomiti Superski passes (5 of 6 days, 10 of 14, family, etc.) is the best bet. Unlike the United States, ski schools are not operated by the resorts but are independent with multiple options in just about every town, so it’s best to book through your concierge or tour operator for the best guides and instruction. Modern quality ski and snowboard rentals are widely available. u

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Vail’s Hidden Trails

An insider’s guide to ski where only the locals know to go on the mountain’s not-to-be missed runs. BY CHRIS ROGERS

n 1962 Vail Ski Resort opened in a nearly uninhabited Colorado valley with two chairlifts and the first gondola in the United States. Founders built the resort over six months to be the best ski resort in the world, “Like No Place on Earth” a slogan would later boast. Interstate 70 would arrive in the 1970s, connecting the haven to state capital Denver and cementing its success. From the beginning, the base area’s winding streets echoed a Bavarian ski village design and now there is the enduring draw of 195 named runs, the wide-open “Legendary Back Bowls” plus the north-facing gladed trees of

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Blue Sky Basin to make Vail Mountain a world-class, one-of-akind ski destination. There’s plenty more offerings in the summer with more than 20 miles of hiking trails and 40 miles of freeride biking trails. In winter, standing on any peak and taking in the panoramic view of 5,317 acres of skiable terrain, endless miles of groomers to carve, zones to explore, or new lines to find, it’s easy to be wowed, and just as easy to be overwhelmed. Without a guide, skiers and snowboarders can spend all day just looking at the trail map, so here’s a breakdown of a few secret spots based on your ability.

Courtesy Vail Resorts/Tomas Cohen. Opposite, Courtesy Images From Top: Vail Resorts/Jack Affleck; Vail Resorts/Daniel Milchev

ABILITY LEVEL: GREEN CIRCLE

ABILITY LEVEL: BLUE SQUARE

ABILITY LEVEL: BLACK DIAMOND

Located off Sourdough Express (#14) in Northeast Bowl, Tin Pants, Boomer, and Sourdough are shorter green runs ideal for getting away from the crowds and working on turns. The north-facing terrain means the snow is always soft, and the groomers seem to pay special attention to making sure the corduroy is perfect. When you’re ready for a break, from the top of the lift you’re only a few steps away from Two Elk Lodge. Named for a 14-year-old who skied into a then-undeveloped area of Vail, Lost Boy (don’t worry, he found his way out!) is a long, groomed green run in Game Creek Bowl. This part of the mountain benefits from some of the best afternoon sun, making for warmer runs even on the coldest days. The adjacent blue and black runs funnel to the new six-person Game Creek Express (#7) chairlift, making this a great area for families of mixed abilities to explore and regroup at the lift. From the top of the Eagle Bahn Gondola (#19), Simba is a long, wide-open winding run for skiing and snowboarding from the top of the mountain all the way to the base. Although this area is easily accessible, it is often uncrowded and makes for a great warm-up to the day.

Vail is probably best known for its phenomenal intermediate terrain. Northwoods is a long, groomed blue run with rolling terrain that allows for easy rest stops after steeper pitches. As the name implies, this north-facing terrain is sheltered from the sun and is one of the best places to find soft turns all season. Served by the Northwoods Express (#11) six-person chair, this is one of the best blue runs to lap all day long. When you’re ready to explore Vail’s backside, Poppy Fields East and West offer a great introduction to the treeless, wideopen experience that defines back bowl skiing. From the top of Sourdough Express (#14), a short road lets you traverse across and drop in. The Orient Express (#21) brings you back to the top of China Bowl and Two Elk Lodge. Blue Sky Basin is as far away from the base area as you can get and offers exceptional intermediate skiing to explore. Big Rock Park off Skyline Express (#37) and Grand Review off Pete’s Express (#39) are two favorite runs where you can experience world-class grooming that winds through open trees. Snowboarders, be aware that runs in Blue Sky require cat-roads out.

Riva Ridge is one of the definitive black runs at Vail and is the longest run on the mountain with over four miles of steep pitches from Mountain Top Express (#4) to the Vail Village base area. When it’s freshly groomed, Riva is a dream for steep corduroy and there are gladed trees on either side for those looking for softer snow or more challenge. This is a go-to run on a powder morning. While everyone else is headed out to the back bowls, you can lap Riva with others in the know. Forever is a backside black run under High Noon Express (#5) that rides down the ridge separating Sun Down Bowl from Sun Up Bowl. With exceptional black terrain and numerous trails, including the wideopen bowls and pitches off either side, you can find steep bumps, trees, and optional cliff drops. Only rarely groomed, Blue Ox (black) and Highline (double black) offer some of the longest, steepest bumps around. Served by Highline Express (#10), there’s never a lift line, and no easy way down. vail.com 

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Where to Stay

Vail’s enduring spirit of fun and adventure is celebrated at the new Hythe hotel. When Earl Eaton and Pete Seibert, both avid mountaineers and skiers, hiked seven hours to the top of what is today Vail Mountain Resort, they looked over the back of the peak to the powder-covered bowls and thought they’d found heaven. Quickly and quietly they secured permits and financing, and over the summer of 1962 built ski lifts, cleared runs, and opened the country’s newest ski resort. Sixty years later, The Hythe, A Luxury Collection Resort, Vail (hythe means “haven” in Old English) has opened its doors, revealing a black-and-white, mural-size photo of the mountain the friends climbed that day, marked with their handwritten notes for laying out various runs. Their vision for the place was clear from day one. Another nod to Vail’s beginnings is the lobby bar, called 10th Mountain for both the local distillery partnered with the hotel and the 10th Mountain Division in which Seibert served during WWII. The team of elite US Army skiers fought in Northern Italy, and only half returned home. Many of those who did worked to create Vail, transforming the newly acquired, undeveloped ranch land into an alpine playground. Open for breakfast,

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Margie’s Haas focuses on flavors of the Italian and Austrian alps, where 10th Mountain Division soldiers spent time in the home of the local cook, Margie, for whom the restaurant is named. While rooted in the past, the hotel remains focused on what today’s travelers look for in a premier destination: a convenient ski-in/ski-out location (1,000 feet from Eagle Bahn Gondola in Lionshead Village), sleek yet comfortable mountain décor by Wilson Ishihara Design, and amenities including the Well & Being Spa and a menu of outdoor experiences available through outfitter Adventure IO. The centerpiece of the cavernous lobby, styled like a modern Alpine chalet, is a circular glass fireplace surrounded by lounge seating. Formerly Vail Marriott Mountain Resort, which opened in the coveted location in the 1980s, the hotel makes a studied use of texture more than color to enhance the new interiors. Swathed in faux furs, leather upholstery, flannel, wool, wood, and stone, public spaces, 344 rooms (including 22 suites), and 16 residences maintain a sense of place and newness. Even with a budget of $40 million, it’s

hard to take a property that wasn’t luxury and turn it into a five-star resort. The Hythe has done it. Rooms outfitted with high-top desks and leather rocking chairs complement their greatest feature: mountain views through wood-trimmed windows. In many accommodations, floor-to-ceiling sliding doors open to large balconies furnished with comfortable director-style chairs. Skiers begin and end their days at the hotel, with in-room ski fittings and Revel Lounge on the second floor for après dining of shareable, copious portions and cocktails such as Margie’s Reprieve made with gin, pomegranate, and honey syrup. The Well & Being Spa is equipped with every tool needed after a day of skiing. The concept takes healing your body beyond the jets in the hot tub, with massage therapists to hit all the pain points and a Himalayan Salt Inhalation Lounge to restore respiratory function. Recharged, The Hythe can arrange a day of heli-skiing with an Olympian or, in warmer months, customized fly-fishing excursions to see Vail Valley in all its glory without the snow. From $700; thehythevail.com —Jennifer Ashton Ryan

G E A R U P

WINTER TECH TO GET THE EDGE THIS SEASON SPORT COACHING APP With a subscription to Givego you can experience ski and snowboard coaching from some of the top experts in the world. Upload your 20-second video, share what you’re working on, and shortly you’ll receive video analysis with voice-over, drawings, and full annotation. Not just for alpine sports, Givego has thousands of qualified experts and provides coaching in golf, wake surfing, and most major sports and activities. The app also includes a library of tricks, tips, and drills so you can always find something to work on. From $15/session; givego.io HEATED SOCKS The Therm-ic Sock Set V2 UNI S-1400B is a unisex, fitted sock designed for skiing and snowboarding. A flexible, removable battery attaches to the sock above the calf and hugs your leg just above the boot. Heat settings can be controlled from an app to quickly adjust the temperatures independently for each foot. Set them on 1–3 for a gentle heat throughout the day, and on colder days bump them higher so that toes remain warm. $330; us.therm-ic.com

All Images Courtesy Listed Manufacturer. Opposite: Courtesy The Hythe (5)

DIGITAL SKI COACH Carv lives in your boot with 36 pressure sensors in each footbed to track your movements 20 times per second. Review your stats on the Carv app, which can teach you how to improve your skiing. In Training Mode, watch a video of a drill and then try it yourself with real-time audio feedback through your headphones. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can improve your performance. The 3 mm footbed fits any ski boot, even those fitted with custom orthotic footbeds. You have to ski the revolutionary technology to believe it. From $298; getcarv.com SKI POLES Ditch annoying ski pole straps with LEKI poles, equipped with the company’s Trigger 3D grip system for a click-in/out experience. Each pair comes with lightweight straps that attach over your glove. The all-carbon construction Carbon 14 3D ($170) is one of the lightest poles on the market, allowing for precise pole plants, a favorite for freesking. The durable Spitfire Vario 3D ($160) offers quick adjustment between 110–140 cm pole lengths. For even better integration, LEKI’s full line of gloves and mittens, like the goatskin Patrol 3D ($130), have the grip connector built-in. leki.mwrc.net GLOVE WARMER The incredibly thin Hestra Tactility Heat Liner warms hands using innovative heated yarn technology that can be set to automatically heat up on the chairlift and cool down on the downhill when you are generating your own heat. Hands stay warm regardless of what outer glove you are wearing. $320; hestragloves.us —C.R. 

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Stowe, Vermont

Great ski towns are the heart and soul of a winter vacation. The average skier hits the slope for just five to six hours a day, while most of the trip is spent eating, drinking, shopping, trying other outdoor recreation, or diving into the spa and après-ski scene. But while the mountains of the West are full of legendary ski towns—Aspen, Jackson, Telluride, Park City, and so on—ski resorts in the East are typically standalone offerings with an access road instead of a quaint village. Here the ski town concept is almost non-existent—except for Stowe, which happens to be the nation’s oldest. From its walkable Main Street with 19thcentury church steeple and country stores to art galleries, craft breweries, an outdoor sculpture garden, a famed multiuse recreation path, and three different Nordic ski systems, the loveable Vermont town, founded in 1763, is awash in both charm and accolades. The ski resort birthed the nation’s first ski patrol and spans two peaks, including the highest in Vermont, Mount Mansfield, at 4,395 feet. An influx of European immigrants brought telemark skiing here in the 19th century,

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and Stowe is also home to the nation’s first commercial cross-country ski center, the Trapp Family Lodge (of Sound of Music fame). These transplants still leave an indelible mark on the town, which features Swiss, German, and Austrian restaurants and inns serving up schnitzel and fondue alongside more quintessentially Vermont options such as pancakes, maple syrup, and cheddar cheese. The Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory, a hugely popular attraction, is just down the road. But as charming as the town is, the skiing is the main winter draw, and Stowe is especially infamous for its double black “Front Four” (National, Starr, Goat, and Liftline), all very steep, usually heavily bumped up, and intimidatingly obvious as you pull up to the mountain. These trails have been drawing experts for years, just as Corbet’s Couloir at Jackson Hole, KT-22 at Palisades Tahoe, and other sinisterly named trails do out West. But Stowe has a kinder, gentler side and like Sun Valley, features a second excellent teaching mountain, Spruce Peak, which may well be the best place in New England to

learn the sport. Between the two, there is a staggering array of terrain for all abilities, including glades, bumps, and groomers, and a wave of upgrades in recent years finally added a gondola linking the two mountains into a single 127 trail behemoth. The gondola was part of a complete redevelopment of the Spruce base area into an upscale ski-in/ ski-out village along the lines of Colorado’s tony Beaver Creek and Snowmass, complete with an ice rink, performing arts center, Bob Cupp–designed golf course (ranked number one in Vermont), members club, lots of luxury homes and condos, shops, and restaurants (there’s even a WhistlePig Pavilion, celebrating Vermont’s most famous spirit and the world’s most collectible rye whiskey). The village also includes Stowe’s fanciest hotel and only ski-in/ ski-out option, The Lodge at Spruce Peak, which is very dog friendly, with a great spa and a high-end, locally sourced, ingredientdriven farm-to-table restaurant. A few minutes down the road from the slopes, other excellent full-service resort choices include Topnotch and The Stoweflake.

Adobestock. Opposite: Courtesy Stowe Mountain Resort (2)

Vail Resort’s East Coast gem has a surprisingly West Coast vibe.

The ski resort is now owned by Colorado-based giant Vail Resorts, and the improvements and major investments keep coming. The next big upgrade is the replacement of the old Mountain Triple with a high-speed six-passenger chair, the Sunrise, which will debut this season and alleviate lines at the two most popular lifts: the Fourrunner Quad and the main Gondola. Vail’s industry-leading global lift ticket, the Epic Pass, has helped make Stowe a top choice for Eastern skiers who also vacation out West (or in the Alps or Japan) when not driving to the slopes, as the pass is good at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Park City, Whistler, and dozens of other top ski resorts worldwide. The luxury residences at Spruce Peak have proven a desirable secondhome destination for those from Boston, Connecticut, and New York, but Stowe is surprisingly popular in summer for South American travelers, mainly from Brazil, Argentina, and Peru, escaping the Southern hemisphere winter for amazing hiking, mountain biking, golf, and Vermont’s world-famous fall foliage viewing. The town of Stowe has long been home to an endless series of summer festivals and farmers markets, from concerts to classic car events, but the redevelopment of Spruce Peak helped make it a true four-season mountain town destination—the best in the East. stowe.com u —Larry Olmsted

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Clockwise from above: The Gunnison River rushes by Taylor River Lodge’s serene setting in Colorado; the lodge’s new Bathhouse features a saltwater pool and hot tub; The Barns at Troutbeck offer soulnourishing yoga classes, while local and seasonal dishes nourish your body.

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Cold Comforts

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Top: Taylor River Lodge (2); Troutbeck/Nicole Franzen; Troutbeck/Matthew Mancuso

Restore mental and physical health by getting back to nature at these winter retreats.

Taylor River Lodge (elevenexperience.com), an intimate, off-the-grid property in the Colorado mountains, has cornered the market on a luxury that has become increasingly difficult to come by: quiet. True moments of stillness are touted ad nauseam on meditation podcasts, but rarely actually found. That is, until this bastion of rustic splendor, from authenticity-focused hotelier Eleven Experience made the decision to open Taylor River’s doors at the height of winter, with wellness at the forefront. “This setting is as serene as it is remote,” says the resort’s wellness program manager Caith Norton. “Connecting with nature lowers our blood pressure and quiets our hectic minds. The cocooning effects of winter days, along with the peaceful hush of longer evenings, underpin the atmosphere. We connect guests to the spirit of hibernation, undisturbed centeredness, to achieve longlasting rejuvenation.” “Time and time again, I am reminded to listen to the pulses and energies of the body, which invite me to slow down and hibernate along with the season’s natural cadence,” says Norton. “Our bodies are required to work harder to stay warm in these elements and this deep rest replenishes our energy resources like nothing else.” That’s part of what inspired the lodge to open its doors in winter 2020, in the early, most stressful pandemic days, after previously only hosting guests in warm weather as an upscale hiking, rock climbing, and lauded fly-fishing retreat. There’s no high-octane downhill skiing on property (that’s 45 minutes away in Crested Butte). By contrast, guests of the six standard cabins and two family

cabins emerge outside each morning to find themselves in solitude, awash in the sounds of a crisp mountain breeze wheezing through the trees, the Gunnison River rushing below or the hush of a recent snowfall. That calming connection with the great outdoors is reflected in the overall aesthetic of upscale earthiness. The atmosphere among the slatted timber structures is made magical in the evenings by twinkle lights and unobstructed starry skies reflected on

“Our bodies are required to work harder to stay warm in the winter and deep rest replenishes our energy resources like nothing else for lasting rejuvenation.” —Caith Norton, Taylor River Lodge the sparkling snow. Indoors, the vibe is unpretentious, integrating modern woven textiles, taxidermy, reclaimed wood coffee tables, and bookshelves stacked with colorcoordinated tomes and found knickknacks, much of it locally sourced. At the new Bathhouse, you can sink into a saltwater pool or hot tub, or warm up in the steam room and sauna hub, with milehigh lofted ceilings and windows filling the space with incredible natural light and Rocky

Mountain views. On the warm stone tiles surrounding the thermal therapy plunges, enjoy calming experiences from yoga Nidra classes to snowfall meditations. Because of the small number of guests, the property is able to make everything customized, from spa treatments to forest bathing experiences, during which guests find themselves snowshoeing among Colorado blue spruces, Lodgepole pines, aspens, Douglas firs and evergreens while spotting elk, deer, and ermine tracks in the snow. Culinary offerings shift daily based on what’s seasonal, plus guests can order off the menu, requesting favorite dishes they’ve tasted in the days before—which can be as unexpected in this environment as a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich. In addition to snow bathing and thermal therapies, spa treatments include winter-specific specialties such as the Fire and Ice massage, designed to boost immunity and flush toxins via warm river rocks and tension-releasing modalities, bolstered by Tata Harper products. On the East Coast, where the Hudson Valley meets the Berkshires, Troutbeck (troutbeck.com) brings its own upscale country lens to winter hibernation. The rustic property, which came under new ownership in 2016, features historic elements like the walled garden, which dates back to 1916 and transforms into an autumnal canvas of changing leaves in fall and a winter wonderland as it grows colder. After temporarily closing its doors for the pandemic, this property reopened in 2020 with a bevy of new features and a fresh focus: self-care. 

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the outdoors, especially after a fresh snowfall. There is a peace and solace to be found in these 250 acres.” Most recently, the intimate 37-room property redid its Benton House rooms, which, like the rest of the property, feel fresh and organic to the landscape, but never fussy, and most include in-room fireplaces and screenedin porches. The library in the main Manor House is also ideal for hibernating, stocked with books that belonged to the property’s longtime previous owners. (As they were civil rights activists, you will find the framed letters of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Langston Hughes hanging on the walls.) Another feel-good update is the staging of discrete outdoor gathering spaces that can be reserved throughout the property. Nestled by Webatuck Creek, by The Barns, or set back by the woods, these setups feature Adirondack chairs and firepits for s’mores. Of course, food, in general, is a huge component of the experience here, with a heavy focus on truly local and seasonal ingredients.

All in all, a winter day at Troutbeck can take many forms, according to Bentivoglio: “It can look like an afternoon snowshoeing along the river, watching the cardinals and blackcapped chickadees dance in the evergreen branches above, or just softly gazing out the window during a moment of meditation.” Other hoteliers are joining this movement toward relaxed, intimate experiences, personalized customization, and winter wellness. In the Catskills, The Chatwal Lodge (thechatwallodge.com) opened on the historic Chapin Estate with 11 log cabin–chic rooms and a farm-to-table restaurant. And, on 140 unspoiled acres in the nearby Hudson Valley, Wildflower Farms, Auberge Resorts Collection (aubergeresorts.com )—sleek and neutral—opened this fall, just in time for a cold weather slowdown, with a particular focus on nature and wellness. Guests staying among the 65 rooms will be able to trek hiking trails, take pressed-flower pottery classes, forage for seasonal farm ingredients, and visit Thistle, An Auberge Spa. u —Nora Zelevansky

Courtesy Chatwal Lodge/Tim Williams. Opposite: Courtesy Auberge Resorts Collection (3)

Built with reclaimed wood from the Hudson Valley’s famous former Tappen Zee Bridge, The Barns are the property’s two clean-lined, lofted, wellness-focused structures, built in raw woods with gray slatted roofs and floor-to-ceiling windows that open out to let in fresh air and daylight. Each day, the hotel offers soul-nourishing classes, including hatha and restorative yoga, Pilates, and Kinesoma (flow-based dance), with beloved local instructors, as well as spa experiences such as classic massages, infrared and pine sauna sessions, and even somatic trauma work. There’s a true sense of communing with nature in these spaces, though indoors, especially unique during colder months. “The quiet backdrop of winter at Troutbeck, with the snow settled over the stalks of our wildflower field just outside the windows of our Tall Barn movement studio, invites guests to go inward for moments of tranquility in quiet reflection during meditation and yoga,” says Wellness Manager Joseph Bentivoglio. “Winter brings an incredible quietness to

This page: Wildflower Farms is a beautifully designed, nature-inspired retreat in New York’s Hudson Valley. Opposite: Manhattan’s luxury property The Chatwal has opened its sister property, The Chatwal Lodge, in the Catskill Mountains with the same award-winning, bespoke service.

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Wintry Waters

Incredibly remote, cold-water diving connects you to the world’s most pristine and exotic oceanic habitats. BY ALEXANDRA CHENEY

onder for a moment the notion that 80 percent of Earth’s oceans are unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored. The ultimate anecdote to a habitual city routine, the ocean can offer the last frontiers of discovery—actual uncharted waters. On the following pages, find the potential for adventure that lies not only in the remote dive spots and destinations themselves but in the preparation and expedition expertise it takes to reach them.

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POOR KNIGHTS ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND There are more than 60 dive sites scattered among the Poor Knights Islands, a marine reserve 15 miles off the Kiwi coastal town of Tutukaka. The Poor Knights group includes two large islands (Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi) as well as 10 islets that span approximately six miles. Sheer cliffs weathered to shades of ocher, charcoal, and chestnut provide a striking visual above water. Underwater, shoals of blue maomao and curious demoiselle consider themselves permanent residents alongside spotted black gropers and Lord Howe butterflyfish, all due to the islands’ location at an oceanographic intersection between temperate and subtropical waters. From the sponge gardens to the gorgonian fields, Poor Knights offers pristine diving. Perhaps that’s why legendary French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau listed it as one of his top 10 dive spots in the world.

Travel Route A three-hour drive from Auckland, New Zealand.

Ryan Struck (2)

Lodging + Dining Farther up the coast in Northland is the 22-suite The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs (from $1,700; robertsonlodges.com), one of a trio of hotels that comprise New Zealand’s Robertson Lodges. As the cliffs give way to Takou Bay, the Bay of Islands, and the Pacific Ocean beyond, discover a deep and vast serenity where ocean meets sky. An all-inclusive resort, the chef creates excellent gluten-free breads and pastries. Diving Tips Dive! Tutukaka (from $140 for a two-tank dive; diving.co.nz) provides a vast array of equipment with an incredibly knowledgeable staff. Full boat hires allow for greater flexibility, from departure time to dive-site preferences. While some food at sea can be a bit lackluster, Dive! Tutukaka creates custom lunches and snack platters that adhere to most dietary restrictions. 

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Located on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago at the tip of South America, Ushuaia (pronounced oosh-why-a) proudly embraces its nickname, the “End of the World.” The departure city for most Antarctic expeditions, it was first charted by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520. (Many vessels still use Magellan’s maps to navigate his namesake strait.) Oceanic temperatures never exceed 46 degrees Fahrenheit, thus it is necessary to complete dry-suit certification to safely navigate the shallow waters from the shores of the Beagle Channel, surrounded by the Martial Mountains. Decreased salinity and increased density allows for extraordinary visibility of a vast array of marine life. Thick, bronzecolored kelp forests provide habitat to colorful nudibranchs as well as a variety of starfish and giant invertebrate species. Subantarctic seaweed like the Durvillaea antarctica is used in local stews, but it’s the scarlet king crab that excites both in the ocean and at the dinner table.

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Travel Route A three-hour flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Lodging + Dining Arakur Ushuaia Resort & Spa (from $300; arakur.com) is perched on a hill within the Cerro Alarkén Nature Reserve. The 117-room resort’s duo of outdoor hot tubs boasts the best panoramic views of Ushuaia, while their shuttles make it simple to head into town and to Restoran Volver, which specializes in its preparation of fresh king crab and sea urchin. Diving Tips April through May and July through October are the best months for spotting the greatest diversity of whales, other mammals, and crustaceans. The deeper channels between the islands supply nutrient-dense waters that attract orcas, gray whales, southern minke whales, and humpbacks, as well as seals and dolphins. Because it is essential to dive in a dry suit, it’s advisable to get Dry Suit Diver certified prior to arrival. PADI (padi.com) offers courses nationwide from $129 while local outfitter Beagle Buceos (beaglebuceos .com) arranges Ushuaia boating excursions, equipment rentals, private guides, and hotel transfers.

Clockwise From Top: BluePlanetArchive/Michael S. Nolan; Courtesy Arakur Ushuaia Resort & Spa (2). Opposite: Courtesy MolaMola Diving Center (2)

USHUAIA, ARGENTINA

Travel Route A 1.5-hour flight from Doha, Qatar, or Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

MUSCAT, OMAN The oldest independent state in the Arab world, Oman shares a border with Yemen to the south, the United Arab Emirates to the north, and Saudi Arabia to the west. Boasting roughly 1,970 miles of coastline, much of it rugged, the country overlooks the Arabian Sea as well as the Gulf of Oman. The capital city of Muscat doubles as a major port. Thanks to a quickly descending shelf just offshore, it also proffers some excellent diving. A 40-minute boat ride north of Muscat, Daymaniyat Islands are a tiny archipelago of rocky islands with 12 dive sites that were deemed the first marine reserve in Oman. From endemic marine species, such as Oman anemonefish, Oman butterflyfish, and Oman cuttlefish to two-faced toadfish and blue-barred parrotfish, the underwater wildlife seem more curious than fearful.

Lodging + Dining Al Husn, or “castle” in Arabic, is an apt description for a 180-room hotel overlooking the Gulf of Oman. Grand in scale, scope, and size, the Shangri-La Al Husn (from $325; shangri-la.com) prizes tranquility, and only welcomes guests over age 16. Its Luban Spa focuses on frankincense-centric services, as the spice originates from the local Boswellia tree. Mahhara Beach Bar serves flame-grilled seafood by the sea. Diving Tips Heralded as the Middle East’s new diving frontier, the water ranges from 73 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to 89 degrees in the summer. While boats head out year-round, you’re most likely to see stonefish and whale sharks from December through April. MolaMola Diving Center (from $920 for a private day trip; molamoladivingcenter.com) handles everything from national park fees to equipment. 

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To call Easter Island remote would be an understatement. As the crow flies, the nearest inhabited landmass is 1,293 miles away (Pitcairn Island, population of around 50)—or roughly the distance from New York to Miami. Known to locals as Rapa Nui, the island exudes an ancient ambiance of volcanic rock mingling with lowlying vegetation. Mounds that resemble hills are in fact extinct volcanoes, and one of two main roads that loop around the island is intermittently unpaved. Wellknown for its moai, centuries-old monumental statues crafted and carved by Polynesian colonizers, the island deeply embraces its history. Find the majority of dive sites along the west coast, where coral reef blends beautifully among a network of lava rock caves, arches, and tunnels overflowing with sea life. On a single dive it’s possible to see roundbelly cowfish, gray-withblue-spots scrawled filefish, mosaic morays, Galapagos sharks, and Chinese trumpetfish. Depending on which local tells the story, the submerged moai situated four minutes by boat from the harbor was either crafted and placed for a Hollywood movie or as a tribute to previous indigenous generations. The story lacks importance to the reef, which has embraced the moai—sea urchins, sea stars, and coral have made themselves comfortable in a rather stunning, unique display.

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Travel Route A 5.5-hour flight from Santiago, Chile. Lodging + Dining Each of the 75 rooms at Nayara Hangaroa (from $510; nayarahangaroa.com) feature private ocean-view terraces as well as perennially cool-to-the-touch stone- and lava-carved bed frames and room details. The hotel hosts a series of guided island excursions and will provide, for those seeking a little more freedom, 4x4 Can-Am ATVs to circumnavigate Rapa Nui. A 15-minute walk from the hotel, Te Moana, a thatched-roof restaurant directly on the water, boasts the best ceviche in town, with diced fresh caught fish and sweet potato marinated in coconut milk and lime juice. Diving Tips Founded in 1989, Mike Rapu Diving Center (mikerapu.cl) remains a family business. Raised on the island, proprietor Christian Rapu, who is also a dive master, has an unrivaled knowledge of the islands’ dive spots and conditions surrounding them. Passionate about oceanic education and protection, Rapu leads many of the outfitter’s dives himself, both for tourists and the local schoolchildren. As equipment is limited, it is advisable to bring your own mask for optimal comfort. Aqualung’s Plazma (from $129; us.aqualung.com) uses surgical-grade silicone to create its frameless panoramic diving mask. u

Clockwise From Top: BluePlanetArchive/Michael S. Nolan; Courtesy Nayara Hangaroa (2). Opposite: Courtesy Mike Rapu Diving Center

EASTER ISLAND, CHILE

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REAL ESTATE

Buying Abroad

When you can purchase a baronial Scottish manor house with modern interiors for less than a newly built Manhattan apartment, it’s no wonder Americans are snapping up property in foreign countries. Whether you fancy a Parisian studio with Eiffel Tower views, a vineyard château in Italy, or a ski-in/ ski-out pied-à-terre in Japan, here are some factors to consider before investing. BY IRENE RAWLINGS

Photo Credits

Spain, Coldwell Banker

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Scotland, Savills Glasgow Estate Agents

Courtesy Savills Glasgow Estate Agents/SquareFoot/Angus Behm. Opposite: Courtesy Coldwell Banker

ccording to Knight Frank, global real estate consultants based in London, the number of Americans house hunting for French properties jumped 37 percent in the first five months of 2022 over the same period in 2021. In addition, there is strong interest in areas such as Mallorca in Spain and Sardinia in Italy. “In the past, US interest has been focused on cities offering culture and connectivity, such as Rome, Paris, Barcelona, and Florence, but now we are seeing US buyers also targeting traditional sunbelt areas,” says Mark Harvey, head of Knight Frank’s international department. Christie’s International Real Estate coCEOs Mike Golden and Thad Wong are bullish on the post-pandemic global luxury real estate market. “Whether wealthy buyers are looking for value in some locations or paying a premium in others, the overall market will tilt toward the high end for the next couple of years, as it typically does in a volatile economic climate,” Wong said during the company’s annual conference in Aspen, Colorado, in the spring of 2022. The 2022 Christie’s International Real

Estate Mid-Year Luxury Trends Report, released at the Aspen meeting, spotlights three notable trends—hard assets, blue-chip markets, and relative value—that are gaining momentum and promising to shape the luxury market narrative well into the second half of 2022. Luxury consumers are seeking the stability of hard assets like real estate in a time of rising inflation, rising interest rates, and volatility in equity markets. They are also placing a premium on blue-chip markets with predictable, long-term growth opportunities. As prices are continuing to break records, savvy buyers are searching for properties with a relative value, not anything wildly overpriced. Wong noted that these three trends played out in similar ways at Christie’s auction house, where colleagues also saw a strong appetite among luxury consumers for both hard assets and blue-chip lots. Contributing factors to Americans’ growing interest in Europe are the favorable dollar-to-euro and dollar-to-pound exchange rates. There’s the desire to park cash from pandemic-related savings and the return to travel after two years of closed borders. The weaker euro alone means it is 16 percent

cheaper for Americans to buy property in Europe compared to a year ago. In Asia (mainly Japan and Thailand), Americans are taking advantage of the most favorable exchange rates in a generation. Hot locations where prices have not yet peaked include Greece, Spain, and Italy. According to Kyriakos Xydis, managing partner at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Athens Properties, Greece is now experiencing uncharacteristically low property prices and offers a Golden Visa program similar to those offered by Spain, Canada, Ireland, and Portugal. In Portugal, ranked one of the safest places in the world by the 2022 Global Peace Index, both the temperate climate and low cost of living are factors. “We are seeing an influx of US buyers, especially as English is spoken so widely here,” says Joe Pyke, managing director of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Portugal Property. In addition, Portugal offers the D7 visa, which allows non-EU buyers to become residents with overseas income. Spain is seeing an increase in US and Canadian buyers, but buying in Spain is not without its challenges because of high taxation rates, 

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according to Ugo Bagration, head of business expansion at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Marbella. Can dollar-based buyers expect the bargains to last? The professionals say yes, due in part to America’s status as a net energy exporter and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies aimed at keeping the dollar strong, coupled with the instabilities in Europe generated by the war in Ukraine. According to the Global Property Guide (globalpropertyguide.com), the market for overseas properties is strong and prices will continue to rise in Europe and parts of Asia. The guide, a candid and up-todate assessment of real estate investment possibilities worldwide, is published by Matthew Montagu-Pollock, a UK-based journalist and economist. He founded the guide when he and his wife bought an apartment in Vienna’s stylish 7th district.

France, Coldwell Banker

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Everything went fine, until they received the lawyer’s bill for more than $10,000. That’s when he realized that if he was flying blind, many other people were probably in the same position. Global Property’s report findings are widely quoted in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and the London Times. MontaguPollock and his team of researchers address questions like: Where is the easiest place to buy? Where should one expect the highest ROI? What are the regulations for foreign buyers? Are the buy/sell costs high? How heavy are the taxes? What is the cost to maintain your property and who will manage it while you are gone? Two key pieces of advice to consider prior to closing: One, have documents professionally translated before signing. You need to know exactly what you and the seller are agreeing to in words you can

Italy, Coldwell Banker

clearly understand. Two, consider the taxes and consult a tax professional. In France, for example, there’s an annual wealth tax on real estate assets valued over €1.3 million ($1.3 million). Montagu-Pollock also addresses one-on-one purchases. Maybe you’re vacationing in Italy, and you love the home and want to buy it. The owner wants to sell and offers you a great deal. If you are unfamiliar with a country’s real estate laws and regulations, you should consult with a professional real estate agent who can provide guidance that will help you avoid any pitfalls. Here’s the kicker. Buying a home in a foreign country doesn’t mean you have the right to live in it. If you spend most of your time in the United States, you can rely on the Schengen Agreement signed by 26 EU countries. You don’t need a visa or residency permit, but you can’t stay longer than 90 consecutive days within a six-month period.

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Top: Coldwell Banker; Vladi Private Islands; Christie’s/Aaron Jamieson; Coldwell Banker; Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. Opposite: Courtesy Coldwell Banker (2)

Portugal

ITALY

PORTUGAL AND SPAIN

JAPAN

PRIVATE ISLANDS

Cities steeped in classical architecture, scenic countrysides, and unbeatable weather make Italy an attractive prospect for overseas buyers. Marcus Benussi, managing partner and general counsel at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices MAGGI Properties Agency, says, “This is not an escape from COVID anymore. It’s turning into a more permanent model for life and family decisions. More people are choosing to move to Italy as they focus on the quality of life over anything else.” He notes that many luxury buyers also appreciate Italy’s favorable tax conditions.

Portugal is on the radar of investors because of its political stability, safety record, and Mediterranean climate, according to Frederico Abecassis, CEO of Coldwell Banker Portugal. “Portugal has an outstanding reputation for welcoming expats,” he says, “and getting a mortgage is straightforward.” It’s estimated 70 percent of recent buyers in the Algarve have been Brits and Americans. The pattern in Spain has been similar, according to François Carrière, CEO of Coldwell Banker Spain. Both countries offer the Golden Visa, which has manageable requirements, although a significant capital investment is required.

Japan has been attracting American buyers, especially since the beginning of 2022 when the yen began losing ground to the dollar. Japan also has a stable political and legal framework and high level of public safety. “Japanese real estate law does not put special regulations on foreign ownership,” says Paul Butkovich, H2 Christie’s International Real Estate director of real estate sales. “However, it is difficult for most foreign investors and non-residents to secure a mortgage. Most international investors pay with cash.” Where financing is possible, the interest rates can be as low as 1.43 percent.

If owning a private island is on your list, consider Canada, where the supply is high and prices remain affordable. “If you can afford a car, you can afford an island,” says Farhad Vladi, founder of Vladi Private Islands. For a reasonable investment, you can experience a great lifestyle, a pleasant climate, political security, and good infrastructure. Vladi also recommends Canada because the land is freehold (as opposed to leasehold) and foreigners are allowed to buy land without any special permits. Greece, on the other hand, has stunning islands for sale, but foreign buyers “need at least 32 government permits in order to make a purchase.” u

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Crescent Beach, 2021

Step and Repeat

Repetition is the method to the miracle of artist ANDREW DADSON.

n 1970, National Geographic published its first Map of the Heavens, a celestial diagram of the night sky constellated with names of the ancient gods. Both the map and map’s title were part of a cartography tradition spanning millennia. Stone carvings that chart the stars date as far back as the second century BC. In Mapping the Heavens from 1693, mythological beings envelop astrological formations from the then-seldom considered perspective of Earth rather than the traditional God’s-eye view. But in 2008, the artist Andrew Dadson found himself curious about the way the Nat Geo map and contemporary ones like it had begun to change the wording of their names. “After a certain year, they stopped describing the maps as ‘heaven’-related, and they became known as star charts,” Dadson explains. “The heavens were separated from the stars.” Dadson, who is 42 with a warm, down-toearth presence, began to collect old celestial maps from wherever he could find them— eBay, booksellers, secondhand shops. Among his purchases was Visible Heavens, a map from 1850. Though Dadson can’t tell you where the impulse came from, he began photocopying the map relentlessly. He made photocopies of photocopies of photocopies, doing this 158 times—once for every year between the map’s 1850 origin and the year 2008. “Just from repeating the same steps, the map sort of degraded itself and an abstraction emerged,” says Dadson. The zodiac gods disappeared and the pages became anchored by a large black rectangle enshrined in a swirl of black specks. “A kind of cosmic black hole took over.” Were you to step into Dadson’s studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,

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the first thing he’d do is hand you a copy of Visible Heavens, his book of this work. It’s a black-on-black-on-black hardcover that exists as a physical manifestation of the abstraction. Perhaps more than that, the book has become a kind of manual for understanding Dadson’s approach to his painting, photographic, and installation work. Much of Dadson’s creative process is rooted in repetition. Canvases from his Wave Paintings series are rendered over a period of months with paint that is patiently built up using a palette knife. In Primary Weighted (2021), a smooth white façade covers an eruption of textured color that can only really be glimpsed from the canvas’ periphery. The paint is weighted in such a way that it almost falls out of frame, forming a hybrid painting-sculpture. The effect looks something like beholding an unassuming rock that, smashed open, reveals layers of depth for the eye to excavate. “In a way, I know what I have to do inside the studio each day,” Dadson says. “It’s like a set of tasks where I have to keep making marks and keep going, but what I don’t know is the end point.” It’s in the ritual of practices repeated over a span of time—painting something over and over again, photographing markings hundreds of times, photocopying star charts—that a kind of transformation unfolds in the work. The ground gives out and things that once seemed subtle or simple or perhaps just mundane, evolve into something more transcendent. In late summer while his dog Ruby napped at his feet, Dadson took a break from preparations for a group show at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler (Out of Control: The Concrete Art of Skateboarding, through January 8), to discuss his process. 

Courtesy of Nino Mier Gallery and Andrew Dadson

BY BROOKE MAZUREK

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Ginestra (Cytisus scoparius) Violet, 2020

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Black Medic and Foxtail Barley (Medicago lupulina and Hordeum jubatum) Pink, 2019

Courtesy of Nino Mier Gallery and Andrew Dadson

Your time at the studio is very much aligned with that of the “working artist.” Yes, I’m pretty scheduled. I have an 11-yearold, so I do school drop-offs and pick-ups. It wasn’t always like this, but it sort of fits my personality—a studio practice where I’m making something that requires a lot of repetition, a lot of time. Sort of meditative. What have you been working on this summer? What’s inspiring you? Since last October, I’ve been working on new content for my series Wave Paintings. Here in Vancouver we don’t have very many places to surf. There’s really only Tofino, where I go and spend a lot of time on the beach. The tide goes really far out, and when it’s leaving, there are these ripple impressions in the sand that happen. Sometimes little rocks or shells interfere and make their own pattern. In the studio, I do the same with the paintings. It all starts off with a pencil and a loose wave pattern, then I start applying the paint with a palette knife so it slowly builds up. There might be a mistake, there might be a drip or something—and I kind of just work around it

and keep going. There’s always a weight layer, so the bottom is always heavier. They’re almost evocative of beachside cliffs, the way you can see the passage of time move down the rocks as the sea level has changed. I often refer to the paintings with geological names because there’s an excavating of the layers in nature, but also in the paintings. In the studio, I’m thinking about nature and reflecting back in my work. What was the first painting you ever made? It was actually for the Painted Landscapes series, which is ongoing. In an area that’s under development, I’ll paint plants with paint I’ve mixed myself—sometimes made of milk and chalk, or it might be an indigo. The things I mix up are temporary and once I capture them in a photo, it’s left to disappear. The plants I choose are often the first type of plant to grow in an environment. They’re the weeds, but they’re also the starting point for other plants that can grow after they’ve nutriated and enhanced the soil.

In 2003, I painted my parents’ lawn when they were away—that’s how it started. It was a way of highlighting the space that felt very strange. Everyone had matching lawns, and so I just painted it. The gesture was big back then, but by making the images smaller in the time since—I’ve been able to talk about the idea of urban expansion and development in a more delicate way. That’s what the new ones are. They’re more thoughtful with the plants and working with them. I’ve painted maybe 20 or so different places. For me, as a painter, plants and canvas kind of work together. How do you choose the place? The newest one happened in an empty lot in Vancouver. A store had been demolished and what was left was an empty field. When I photograph the plants, they fill the entire frame and the photos are often printed quite big. Bigger than life-size. But if you were to expand the frame of the photo, you’d see that it’s an area no one cares about, and those are the types of spaces that I’m looking for: spaces in transition, forgotten spaces. And the reality is, maybe a month or two after I left, people came in and paved over it. 

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Cuneiform, 2015–Ongoing

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White Tree, 2017

You never know what’s coming. Exactly. But it’s part of the development.

They almost look hieroglyphic. Exactly. I think of them as something that could spell something out, except they’re missing what they’re supposed to be saying. The sign is gone. So you don’t know what the rules are, how to interact with the city. I find it funny that no one writes their name or even a swear word. It’s very much about the squiggle and you start to see a pattern. Everyone has a type of gesture that they do. I’d be curious to start collecting them in Korea or Japan, somewhere where there might be a whole different set of mark-making techniques.

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Courtesy of Nino Mier Gallery and Andrew Dadson

Where did your path as an artist begin? Skateboard culture introduced me to art and artists. I grew up in White Rock, a small town really close to the border of Washington state, and my parents didn’t really go to museums or anything like that. In school, most of my favorite artists were land artists, people interacting with nature. I didn’t get to see Robert Smithson’s work in-person, for example, but those works existed for me in books and I began to think of my own work as functioning like that. The documentation of an action or of a mark-making. As an art student, I was mostly doing installations. Works that were performance-driven that I then documented or photographed. The group show I’m in next week will have 100 of my photographs, but they’re photographs based around the idea of painting—an ongoing archive of found markmaking that I collect. When people rip down the signs in cities—the No Parking or No Smoking signs, for instance—there’s usually a glue mark that someone randomly made. Once the sign is removed, I photograph the marks and they’ve become a kind of font in a way.

White Re-stretch Violet/Blue/Green/Yellow/Orange/Red, 2013

David Hockney moved from California to Normandy, France, a few years ago, and spoke of the way the change of environment hugely affected the work. It was a case of “environment is everything.” Is it the same for you? In Vancouver, we have 10 months of rain—so . . . [laughs]. We have different cycles of nature that affect how I think about plants. I can’t work on the photos for most of the year. It’s only in the spring and summer that this kind of work even becomes possible. That’s when the plants start growing from the cracks in the empty lots. You gratefully acknowledge that you live and work on unceded, traditional, and ancestral territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam First Nations groups. How, if at all, does that influence the work? It’s really important for us here to acknowledge the unceded territories we work on. I do feel the work I’m doing is always a response to the nature, the place I’m in—whether it’s the

empty lot, the beaches, or the neighborhood. The studio area I’m in now is a high-drug-use, lower-income area of Vancouver called the Downtown Eastside. We had a big homeless camp in the park across the street that came up during the pandemic. The city wanted the campers gone, which really just pushed their tents to different areas. We just received a grant for starting an art tent in the park. It’s going to be a low-barrier, no sign-up art school where people can drop in, make art, get supplies, and leave. We’re bringing a tent back, but want to offer positive opportunities for relaxation, meditation, and making art without barriers. We’re trying to work with the community and it’s been rewarding so far. We’ll see how it goes ... The work you create requires time. It’s this sort of slow and patient process. It’s also a product of the archive—a collection of symbols that emerge from discarded objects in your environment. After decades of work on the same series,

has your perception of time itself shifted? I don’t know if I think of time much differently in that way. For me, it’s really about how time and distance can change the way you see something. The re-stretch paintings I do are an extension of this—they’re almost exactly like Visible Heavens for me, but in a different form. I’ll build up these mountainous blobs of paint on the side of a canvas that I’ve stretched with extra material left around the back. lt’s months of layering. I build it up to the point where you can’t see any unpainted canvas. Once it’s dryish, I get a bigger stretcher bar and re-stretch the canvas onto the new stretcher. Even though the painting has stayed the same size, I’m left with a border that’s unpainted—and it was always there. It was just hidden from my initial step. The only thing that changed was the support structure. And to me, it’s like life— one area is being affected, but it’s connected to something bigger. u Editors’ note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and fit.

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SHOP

Swiss-based skincare company Valmont ushers in the longawaited second edition of La Quintessence des Glaciers with a burst of Pop Art color (right). Available at Maison Valmont in NYC or online. $3,888; lamaisonvalmont.com

Loro Piana’s new Milan headquarters and store opens in an imposing palazzo, once the center of the local silk trade. Find customizable blankets made of Piana’s signature cashmere, silk, and wool as well as stylish, anthropomorphic furniture by Paris-based designer Raphael Navot. loropiana.com

in a customizable finish (right). “As pieces move on the board, it organically becomes a skyline,” says co-creator and interior architect Ted Heisler. $3,900; citychessusa.com; hslrdesign.com

Pickleball—a mash-up of tennis, badminton, and pingpong—has taken the country by storm. Colorful and chic Nettie Pickleball Sets (above) work for beginners as well as someone who plays every weekend. From $150; playnettie.com Not a royal court, but a cityscape assembles on the contemporary City Chess board made of solid American walnut and white oak that both complement and contrast. The two tallest building shapes, representing the king and queen, wear solid metal crowns

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Mr Porter now sells vintage (rare) watches curated by an ex-Christie’s specialist. Customers can also reach out to the company’s team of watch experts for assistance in sourcing specific vintage timepieces. mrporter.com Klaus Obermeyer turns 103 in December 2022 and has been skiing for 100 years. His Aspenbased Sport Obermeyer makes skiwear and accessories, and the new collection (beautiful and useful) takes its cue from 1963’s The Pink Panther. obermeyer.com Argentinian brand Fueguia 1833 launches Puro, a masculine fragrance with notes of tobacco, Cuban cedar, and woody-citrusy palo mulato. Limited to 400 bottles. $475; fueguia.com

STORE OPENINGS Æquō Contemporary Design Gallery in the historic district of Colaba, Mumbai, is India’s first-ever collectible design gallery—pushing boundaries of raw materials and Indian craftsmanship in creative ways: sculptural bronze, curved oak, marble lamps, handknit linen rugs. aequo.in New York’s Aimé Leon Dore— semi-sporty, never-serious menswear—opens a two-story flagship in London. Stop to see the new New Balance collab or to sip an espresso at the walnut-paneled, marble-floored café. aimeleondore.com

Now, guests of the Baccarat Hotel in New York can take home a sparkling souvenir. Baccarat 53rd Street (below) on the second floor of the legendary hotel offers a curated selection of lighting, barware, tableware, and jewelry. baccarathotels.com

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Top: La Maison Valmont; City Chess; Baccarat Hotel New York; Nettie. Opposite, Courtesy Images From Top: Ant/Dote; Rizzoli USA; Assouline; Taschen (3); Legacy Literature

What’s Next

ANT/DOTE, a multi-brand boutique for women and men, opens a standalone, architecturally significant store in Atlanta. The owners are ardent supporters of cutting-edge brands such as Rochas, Marine Serre, Rick Owens, and Mugler. A lower-level accessories room (left) is flanked by a VIP lounge. antidotestyle.com

BOOKS Art X Fashion: Fashion Inspired by Art pairs eyepopping designer pieces with the artworks that inspired them. This stylish book reveals the art behind coveted fashion designs—from Chanel and John Galliano to Raf Simons and Kerby Jean-Raymond. $45; rizzoliusa.com

Taschen has released its 2009 favorite Walton Ford Pancha Tantra in the company’s large-scale Baby Sumo size. The limited edition of 1,500 signed books contain highly detailed watercolors of Ford’s animals that make up a unique anthropomorphic

universe rich in sly jokes and hidden meaning. Imagine Audubon on steroids. $2,000; taschen.com

Two new releases from Assouline’s highly collectible and much lauded Ultimate Collection: Gold: The Impossible Collection (Special Edition) ($3,950) unpacks the eternal symbol of wealth and status that has dazzled humans since the beginning of time. The handcrafted volume comes nestled in a gold leaf–covered case with a clear lid infused with gold flakes. Golf: The Impossible Collection

($995) details the 100 most architecturally significant and historically noteworthy golf courses, including greens as old and hallowed as St Andrews Links and as storied as the Hamptons’ Maidstone Club. assouline.com Legacy Literature, a private biography writing service, is designed for people at the pinnacle of their lives. Working with a stable of top writers, the service produces full-length, exquisitely bound books that capture life lessons, formative experiences, and key pieces of wisdom to pass down to future generations. From $150,000; legacy-literature.com 

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What’s Next SHOP

Euphoria, Talia Golchin

Out of the Blue, Jasmine Deporta Magnify, Kristin Chan

A Harmonic Mission

he passage of time, as we all know, reveals itself differently on every individual’s face. Some of us are more prone to wrinkling, others to laxity. There’s even a directional distinction between these manifestations of aging: horizontal, characterized by fine lines and wrinkles that appear on skin’s surface, and vertical, which is seen in a gradual loss of contour due to the decline of underlying tissue and bone. The horizontal variety has long been easier to treat, with highly effective tactics such as resurfacing lasers and retinol regimens resulting in softer, smoother, line-free skin. But when the issue is sagging? Let’s just say, it’s not easy to fight gravity. Enter La Prairie Skin Caviar Harmony L’Extrait, the Swiss luxury brand’s newest launch. La Prairie scientists have discovered that a proprietary blend of caviar proteins can strengthen ligaments in the hypodermis that support the structural stability of skin, bolstering contours and enhancing facial firmness over time. In other words, this one-

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of-a-kind formula works from the inside out to help facial architecture remain intact. The elegant elixir contains caviar beads suspended in a silky gel that burst upon contact with skin, providing an immediate tensing effect— and, with habitual use, a re-densification of ligaments and collagen fibers that keep the complexion looking plump and youthful. The precious Skin Caviar Harmony L’Extrait serum is dispensed via a dropper, and the sleek, vanity-upgrading bottle incorporates La Prairie’s signature cobalt blue (notably borrowed from feminist artist Niki de Saint Phalle in the 1980s) in the form of an inner vial that appears to float within a clear glass casing. La Prairie has long held an affinity for the aesthetics of the Bauhaus, and L’Extrait is no exception: the minimalist design—a visual expression of the seamless union of form and function—was inspired by Bauhaus architecture. In keeping with this idea, and with La Prairie’s ongoing mission to support female artists through independent commissions and through its partnership (now in its fifth year)

with Art Basel, the brand has also inaugurated its own Women Bauhaus Collective. This initiative seeks both to pay tribute to the women of the original Bauhaus movement who were unrecognized in their time, and empower a new generation to take up the mantle. Over the course of a year, five young female artists participated in an exclusive program at the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation in Germany to immerse themselves in Bauhaus School history and ideology, then spent time in the atelier of award-winning designer Sabine Marcelis, who mentored them in the creation of artworks inspired by the principles of harmony. The dazzling virtual creations of these five artists—Lauren Januhowski, Jasmine Deporta, Kristin Chan, Gloria Fan Duan, and Talia Golchin, all of whom had recently graduated from top art schools around the world—were first shown at Art Basel in June and are now presented in a virtual exhibition on laprairie.com. The exhibition’s title? Suitably, The Pursuit of Harmony. Something as important to the skin as it is to the world at large.  —April Long

Courtesy La Prairie (6)

For Swiss skincare brand La Prairie, finding harmony in a serum is just as potent as empowering female artists.

Photo Credits

Wishbone, Gloria Fan Duan

Colonade of Craft, Lauren Januhowski

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What’s Next FOOD & DRINK

RESTAURANTS Chef José Andrés’ ThinkFoodGroup opens San Laurel (right) in the Conrad Los Angeles. Expect a casual California-meetsSpain cuisine like celeriac carpaccio, stracciatella salad, and vermicelli “mac ’n cheese.” A breezy terrace overlooks the Frank Gehry–designed Walt Disney Concert Hall. sanlaurel.com

Chef Eyal Shani (of Miznon and HaSalon), known for contemporary Israeli cuisine, introduces Shmoné, a 50-seat eatery in New York’s Greenwich Village where the menu changes daily. Hot focaccia studded with tomatoes might come with hand-chopped lamb kabob and a whole mackerel served with a chunk of challah for dipping. Sit at the counter overlooking the open kitchen. Order a drink from the intriguing all-absinthe menu. Ask about the prix fixe experience. shmonenyc.com Foragers Table (above), a light-filled dining room and bar on an under-the-radar NYC block, is back and better than ever with a seasonal, modern-Mediterranean menu by Executive Chef Olivier Palazzo. A tightly edited list of mostly natural wines features robust reds, crisp whites, and sparkling pours from Spain, southern France, and Italy. The decade-old farm-to-table restaurant, beloved by locals, was closed during the pandemic. foragersmarket.com

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Dirty French Steakhouse in Miami has that Casablancain-the-1940s vibe: aubergine velvet wingback banquettes, fringed leopard bar stools, Murano glass fixtures. Don’t get distracted by the caviar vichyssoise or the crab gumbo. Prime aged steaks are the big draw here, and the endless list of exotic martinis. dirtyfrench.com Finally! Little Saint (from Kyle and Katina Connaughton of three-Michelin-star SingleThread) opens in

downtown Healdsburg, California. Thirty acres of Alexander Valley farmland provide the still-warmfrom-the-garden fruits and vegetables for the restaurant’s hyper-seasonal, completely plant-based menu. littlesainthealdsburg.com Peter Luger Steakhouse, a Brooklyn institution since 1887, launches an outpost in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. One of the most popular items on the menu is a gigantic porterhouse, plus the traditional apple strudel mit schlag (whipped cream) for dessert. caesars.com Chef Daniel Boulud’s glam new spot inside New York’s Beekman Hotel is an informal French restaurant called Le Gratin. Inspired by the bouchons and bistros of Boulud’s hometown of Lyon, France, the menu’s rustic comfort food includes gratin dauphinois, côte de boeuf, steak frites, and a great rotisserie chicken. Choose among more than 100 wines from Lyon. legratinnyc.com

The Tin Building (in what used to be The Fulton Street Fish Market in New York’s Seaport neighborhood) is a sprawling, 53,000-square-foot historic warehouse that’s been reimagined by Jean-Georges to include a collection of six full-service restaurants, four bars, six grab-and-go counters, retail, and private dining. Order coffee and pastries from T Cafe (below), shaved beef à la planchet at taqueria Taquito, longevity noodles at House of the Red Pearl, and a cold brew from Beer Here. tinbuilding.com

Courtesy Images From Top Left: Les Deux Chats/Melissa Hom; Bathtub Gin LA; Les Halle aux Grains/Delphine Constantini (2). Courtesy Images From Top: Conrad Los Angeles; Forager’s Table; The Tin Building

BARS New York restaurateur and hotspot impresario Jon Neidich is on a roll. His newest ventures include The Nines (ninesnyc .com), a swanky supper club with red corduroy settees, cheetah-print carpet, classic cocktails, and nonstop seafood; Le Dive (ledivenyc .com), a buzzy, French-flavored watering hole; and Deux Chats (deuxchatsbk.com), a velvetand-vintage homage to the Great Gatsby era that serves sky-high seafood towers and ice-cold martinis (above, left).

Moët & Chandon Champagne Bar joins other legends, Baccarat Bar (glam cocktails in sparking crystal) and The Tiffany Blue Box Café (breakfast on signature blue plates), in Harrods’ almost mythical Food Halls. Sample the full range of Moët & Chandon cuvées by the glass, from the signature Impérial, Rosé Impérial, and Ice Impérial to the current Grand Vintage releases. harrods.com Stepping into Quality Time in Chicago is like walking into a

hangout from the ’70s: dark, wooden paneling, hanging greenery, and tufted leather booths. There’s a solid drink menu with some notable outliers like the frozen Red Bull–infused Vegas Bomb. Order tamales from the Tamale Guy and listen to DJs spin every weekend. qualitytimebar.com A cool new Prohibition-style bar opens in Los Angeles, Bathtub Gin LA, a New York transplant speakeasy-style (you enter through a signless door) cocktail lounge with a Roaring

Twenties vibe (above, right). Find a dozen riffs on gin-andtonic. Burlesque Tuesdays, live jazz Wednesdays, and DJs on weekends. bathtubginnyc.com The Puttery is the latest entry into the boozy indoor putt-putt craze. Among nearly a dozen locations nationwide, DC is housed in a 19,000-square-foot building with three unique courses themed Pop Art, desert, and illusion (the latter is right out of a David Lynch movie), plus two bar areas. Generous pours. Reservations recommended. puttery.com 

Bon Appetit

Three new Parisian restaurants worth flying for Chef Tom Meyer’s Granite (granite.paris), a small eatery on a tiny side street just around the corner from the Louvre, received a Michelin star less than six months after opening. Bold dishes include a colossal gnocchi filled with steamed shellfish and garnished with cockles in a lemony sauce. Wines from smallscale producers pair with prix fixe menus. In the heart of the Marais, Parcelles (parcelles-paris.fr) is a retro (think 1936) bistro (potato gnocchi, country pâté en croûte, creamy garlic polenta) with a huge focus on wine, many by the glass. Under the enormous glass dome of the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection, Restaurant La Halle aux Grains (halleauxgrains.bras.fr) has exceptional views of Paris (left). Navigate the grain-centric menu (right), which includes grain-fed meat, and save room for dessert: recently featured, plump figs roasted in anise-flavored butter served with fig leaf ice cream. LM FALL/WINTER 2022 207

What’s Next FOOD & DRINK Presenting the Hennessy Paradis x Lorenz Baümer – NBA Limited Edition to commemorate the American basketball league’s 75th anniversary. Baümer, formerly artistic director for jewelry at Louis Vuitton, conceived the magnum decanters (a Baccarat crystal gilded globe) of which only 75 will be made. $175,000; hennessy.com

Blackberry Farm partners with some of its favorite artisan cheesemakers on a very special series of quarterly, seasonal cheese collections paired with house-made accompaniments like Apple Butter or Grilled Grape Jam. Cheese Club Boxes (above) from Blackberry Farm, $800/one year; blackberryfarmshop.com Merdaco Famous is a new company that ships the best charcuterie of Spain (including whole legs of jamón Ibérico, the pride of España). $30 for 2 ounces (serves one); $300 for whole leg (serves 25); mercadofamous.com Long-cured country hams from heritage breeds pasture-raised on small family farms in North Carolina include Lady Edison Extra Fancy Country Ham, available at butcheries across the country or online. $18 for 2 ounces; snukfoods.com The West Virginia nonprofit Appalachian Headwaters helps restore ecosystems damaged by mountaintop removals for

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coal mining by replanting hundreds of thousands of trees across scarred landscapes. The Appalachian Beekeeping Collective’s robust, forest-based honeys include Andrew Zimmern– recommended Black Locust Honey. $12 for 12 ounces; abchoney.org Blondery Pies—flaky, fruity, buttery, chocolaty—each brings something different to the table. The seasonal collection of blondies from the limited-release bakery can include pecan and salted caramel, birthday cake, and gluten-free Brooklyn Blackout. Pie box or Blondie Box from $75; blondery.com Wonderbird Spirits is a true grain-to-glass distillery and produces the only American gin that starts with rice, and one of the few outside Japan that do. The ethereal Gin No. 97 Magnolia Experimental is fragrant, subtle, and sells out quickly. Limited edition of 800 bottles. $76; wonderbirdspirits.com

New top-shelf spirits brand Mujen (above) offers three varieties of premium ricedistilled shochu crafted by a family-run Japanese distillery that has been making shochu for four generations. Mujen X, a 10-year barrel-aged reserve, is intended to be sipped like the finest single malt Scotch, aged whiskey, or añejo tequila. From $35; mujen.com ’Tis the season to raise a glass of bubbly. Does there have to be a reason? Dom Ruinart releases Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2010 ($265; ruinart .com), a full-bodied, aromatic, and lively cuvée from the oldest of France’s Champagne houses (established in 1729). If Reims is in your travel plans, reserve a seat on the Maison’s terrace for a cuvéecentric brunch. Dom Pérignon, another venerable (and perhaps better known) Champagne house, releases Vintage 2004 Plénitude 2 ($495; domperignon.com), which has been slowly maturing in the cellars for nearly 20 years.

A chic way to carry wine to a fancy gathering or give as a host/hostess gift is a tote by Graf Lantz (from $44; graf-lantz .com), made of the LA-based company’s signature merino wool felt in single or double carrier. Vinarmour ($300; vinarmour.com) wine carriers are made with waxed cotton from Scotland and leather from the same company that supplies NFL footballs. Patsch (below), crafted using only organic, fully ripe Blue Weber agave, is a standout artisanal tequila in a standout bottle (designed by Patsch co-founder Martin Schapira, inspired by the outré fashion designs of the late Alexander McQueen). Blanco $80; Extra Añejo $350; patschtequila.com u —Irene Rawlings

Courtesy Images, Clockwise From Top Left: Wonderbird Spirits/Andrew Welch; Mujen; Patsch/Yutaka Kawachi

Crafted in the best tradition of Ruffino’s single-estate Brunello di Montalcino, Greppone Mazzi is full-bodied, elegant, and deeply rooted in the terroir of the small hilltop village in southern Tuscany. $71; ruffino.com

SECOND GUEST SAILS FREE — PLUS — REDUCED DEPOSITS LIMITED AVA IL A B ILIT Y END S D ECEMB ER 3 1 , 2 02 2

D E S T I N AT I O N I M M E R S I O N S I N

REL A XED LUXURY Aboard an all-inclusive intimate, yacht-style cruise, experience highly personalized and attentive service while becoming immersed in your destinations. Our new cruises for Spring 2023 aboard our small, sleek ships will take you to captivating locales throughout the Mediterranean. With fewer than 200 Guests and a nearly 1-to-1 Crew to Guest ratio, we create a distinct atmosphere for every explorer.

THESE ARE JUST A FEW HIGHLIGHTS YOU WILL EXPERIENCE WITH ATLAS OCEAN VOYAGES:

• Sister ships World Navigator and World Traveller dock together on Monaco Grand Prix Race Day so you experience the thrill with your fellow explorers

• Dock steps away from iconic city centers like Málaga to bring you closer to the heart of adventure

• Volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands and stunning beauty of the Côte d’Azur

TO BOOK, CALL YOUR PREFERRED TRAVEL ADVISOR OR OUR VOYAGE SPECIALISTS AT 1.844.44.ATLAS (28527) VIEW OUR FULL 2023 YACHT-ST YLE CRUISE COLLECTION AT ATLASOCEANVOYAGES.COM

ALWAYS INCLUDED •

Complimentary cultural immersion on every voyage

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Chilled craft cocktail or sparkling wine welcome

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Elegant main restaurant with ever-changing menus inspired by global cuisines, a specialty chophouse, a cozy café, afternoon tea with light snacks, and room service

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Luxurious L’OCCITANE bath amenities

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In-room mini-fridge stocked daily with your preferences

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Gratuities for exceptional service

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Emergency Medical Evacuation Insurance

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Unlimited wines, premium craft cocktails and brews

Offer is not combinable with any other offers or savings. All fares, special offers and inclusions may be changed or withdrawn from any voyage at any time without notice. © 2022 Atlas Ocean Voyages. Ships’ Registry: Portugal_1538