This past weekend saw opening day of the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge at Blue Star Jets Field in the Hamptons, the start of another great season of world class equestrianism. The sport's greatest athletes will once again compete for one of polo's most treasured prizes, watched by the East End's most high-profile and influential audience of VIPs, celebrities and media. The VIP tent will host an invitation-only cocktail reception for exclusive guests each Saturday afternoon during the tournament. Season partners include Mercedes-Benz, Piaget, Blue Star Jets, Coca-Cola, Stoli Elit, Riva Yachts, and OPTYX by gruen. A portion of proceeds from the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge will go to South Fork Breast Cancer Coalition. Polo Ralph Lauren will return this summer as the exclusive apparel retailer with an onsite shop at the polo matches held at Bridgehampton's Two Trees Farm.

Evocative of the spirit and heritage of Polo, the shop will feature Ralph Lauren's Black Watch collection and The World of Polo Fragrance. Spectators visiting the Ralph Lauren shop will have a great view of the polo matches and be able to enter to win a polo lesson with Black Watch team member Nacho Figueras. The season will continue for six consecutive Saturdays, ending August 22nd. Anyone can watch from the stands, but the invitation-only V.I.P. tent is the real scene. Celebs in attendance on opening day included Victoria's Secret model Anne V., Beth Ostrosky, Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford and Star Jones. Past years' VIPs have included Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Hurley, Heather Graham, Howard Stern, Jared Leto, Jay Z, Jessica Alba, Mischa Barton, Natalie Portman and Prince Albert of Monaco, to name a few.

Along with the stunning 68' Ego Super which we wrote about last month, iconic Italian motoryacht maker Riva will debut its new 52' Rivale Palm Beach (above) at the Miami Yacht Show this weekend. The limited edition $2.46 million yacht designed specifically for the American market as a tribute to Palm Beach style features a deck and hull finished in desert sand with Roman bronze detailing on the dashboard and signal mast mimicking a shark's fin. Inside the luxe cabins, walls and furniture are made of luminous elm complemented by topstitched natural-grain leather. The Rivale Palm Beach is equipped with two 1100-hp Man engines for a top speed of 40 knots and a range of 260 nautical miles at cruising speed.

[via AffluentPage]

Riva Yachts, the iconic Italian motorboat maker that epitomizes Dolce Vita style, will introduce its new new 68' Ego Super (above) to the USA at the Miami Boat Show next month. An understated Desert Sand colored deck and anthracite hull give the yacht, priced at about $4 million, a sleek and elegant profile. A reclining sofa in the cockpit enables passengers to be seated in two positions, facing either the stern or the salon. In the bow a teak table and another large sofa accommodate up to six people, creating an open-air salon, protected by an electric awning. There are also two sunroofs on the upper deck.

The lower deck is accessed by a central ladder leading down into a single open space that comprises the salon and well-equipped galley. Light wood, large windows, ivory-colored upholstery, lacquering matching the deck's Desert Sand color, and saddle leather paneling give the interior a soft, bright feel. The full beam master cabin is set astern, and the VIP cabin to bow. Both have en-suite bathrooms and were built following ergonomic studies to optimize available space. There's also a guest cabin, and a separate crew cabin set astern provides direct access to the cockpit. Twin MAN 1550 hp Common Rail engines bring the boat to a cruising speed of 34 knots and a top speed of 38 knots.

Back in the summer we wrote about the super-cool collaboration between famed French champagne house Veuve Clicquot and iconic Italian yacht builder Riva. Now Veuve and Riva have teamed up again to produce a new yacht-inspired gift box (above) for a bottle of Veuve Clicquot's exquisite La Grande Dame 1998. Made of mahogany, chrome and black lacquer and modeled on one of Riva's classic Dolce Vita-esque wooden motoryachts - their latest, the $944,000 Aquariva Super, just debuted at the New York Boat Show - the box is priced at $140. La Grande Dame is Veuve Clicquot's prestige cuvée, named after its legendary founder, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin.

[via JustLuxe]

Riva Yachts, the iconic Italian motorboat maker that epitomizes Dolce Vita style, is debuting its newest luxurious creation at the New York Boat Show opening this weekend. The Aquariva Super (above) is a 33-footer combining elegant and sinuous lines, precious woods and supreme attention to detail in carpentry, chrome, lacquer-work, leather, and fittings; it's priced at about $944,000. Riva, which launched a collaboration with Veuve Clicquot champagne over the summer, first captured the attention of movie stars and the international jet set in the '50s. Its classic wooden craft, which inspired the Cruise Collection, have been owned by the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, Aristotle Onassis and Prince Ranier of Monaco.

The history of renowned French champagne house Veuve Clicquot is told in a fascinating new book by Tilar J. Mazzeo, who reveals the young widow who brought it to fame and fortune. The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It is the story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, who was "a young witness to the dramatic events of the French Revolution and a new widow during the chaotic years of the Napoleonic Wars."

After her husband Francois' death, Barbe-Nicole, 27, defied convention by assuming control of their fledgling family wine business. With much bravery and good fortune, against all odds and through "dizzying political and financial reversals", she became one of the world's first great businesswomen and one of the richest women of her time. Pictured above is her estate the Hotel du Marc in Reims.

A legend in her native France, Barbe-Nicole's story is not well known abroad. Mazzeo has uncovered many fascinating details about the grande dame of champagne, including the following:

• By her late 30s, Barbe-Nicole was one of the richest women in France, with annual sales of more than $30 million per year. She's credited with having taken champagne from marginal to mainstream and making it synonymous with style.

• As the Napoleonic Wars wound down, Barbe-Nicole risked her entire fortune and ran the blockade with 10,000 bottles of her most precious vintage, positioning herself to corner the huge Russian market the moment it re-opened. She was there weeks ahead of her competitors, selling her champagne for $100 a bottle to the celebrating Russians, becoming famous practically overnight.

• Barbe-Nicole invented champagne-making techniques that shaved months off production time and are still used today. Thanks to her employees' loyalty and a shrewd profit-sharing plan, she kept her method secret for almost a decade, solidifying her market dominance.