Tuscany

Spend Valentine's Day at Benoit New York, Alain Ducasse's French Bistro

Filed under: Dining

Celebrate Valentine's Day at Alain Ducasse's traditional French bistro Benoit New York, the highly acclaimed French bistro and you just may end up winning a two-night stay at L'Andana, Ducasse's country hotel in Tuscany, Italy.

Indeed, Valentine's Day guests will be given a candied apple to take away, which will reveal the lucky winner of the giveaway. L'Andana represents Chef Alain Ducasse's passion for Italy and his interpretation of "l'art de vivre," the art of living. Formerly the Duke of Tuscany's hunting lodge, L'Andana is situated on the 1,240 acre Tenuta La Badiola estate. Ducasse envisioned L'Andana as a comfortable countryside inn with the spirit and atmosphere of a guesthouse, while also providing the finest hotel amenities and services to its guests.

On Sunday, February 13th, Benoit Executive Chef Philippe Bertineau will be offering the regular à la carte menu and a $65 prix-fixe menu. On Valentine's Day, Monday, February 14th, a limited à la carte menu will be served, along with the special $65 prix-fixe menu (with choice of appetizer, entrée and dessert).

Gallery: Alain Ducasse's Benoit New York

Tags: Alain Ducasse, Benoit, Benoit New York, french+valentines+day+menu, frenchvalentinesdaymenu, giveaway, how+to+spend++valentines+day, howtospendvalentinesday, LAndana, luxurious+valentines+day+menu, luxuriousvalentinesdaymenu, Philippe Bertineau, Truffle, truffles, tuscany, valaentines+day+menu+nyc, valaentinesdaymenunyc, Valentines Day, Valentines menu, valentines+day+french+bistro, valentinesdayfrenchbistro

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The Nominees For The Best in Summer Travel

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The Yachts of Seabourn's Fabled Far East Cruise

Best Adventure Getaway
The first nominee offers an unforgettable trekking experience in Bhutan while the second offers an unparalleled safari in East Africa. The third nominee is located in one of the world's finest unspoiled havens, while the fourth features elephants in their natural habitat. The final nominee, located in the Montana Rockies, is known for its outdoor sports, from fishing to horseback riding.

Amankora Resort: Trekking in Bhutan
East African Safari with Abercrombie & Kent
Phinda Private Game Reserve
Savute Elephant Camp by Orient-Express
Montana's Triple Creek Ranch

Best Beachside Hotel
The first nominee is where to go when in search of a peaceful sanctuary while the second nominee is a tropical haven with a relaxed pace. The third nominee is located in a secluded natural sanctuary while the fourth offers an award-winning beach. The last nominee offers a beachside location that is idyllic and unspoiled.

Amanpuri Resort, Phuket, Thailand
Four Seasons Resort, Bali at Jimbaran Bay
Four Seasons Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
Grace Bay Club, Turks & Caicos
The Oberoi, Mauritius

Best International Summer Destination
The first nominee is one of the world's most glamorous destinations while the second one was once the home of the Ottoman Sultans. The third nominee is the premier hot spot on the Amalfi Coast while the fourth offers chauffeured-driven tours of the Tuscan wine country. The final nominee offers a once-in-a-lifetime trip from Venice to Istanbul aboard one of the world's most luxurious trains.

Hotel Santa Caterina, Amalfi Coast
Kempinski's Ciragan Palace, Istanbul
San Pietro di Positano, Amalfi Coast
Tuscany Wine Tours
Venice Simplon Orient-Express Train

Best Luxury Family Vacation
The first nominee offers a luxurious barge cruise through Burgandy while the second offers an armchair safari suitable for the whole family. The third nominee is where families go for Scottish outdoor pursuits from falconry to golf. The fourth nominee is considered to be the jewel of Maui while the final nominee is unplugged and unpretentious.

Abercrombie & Kent's River Barge Cruise in Burgundy
Ebony Lodge, Singita Game Reserves
Gleneagles, Scotland
Grand Wailea Resort Hotel, Maui
Kona Village Resort, Hawaii

Best Summer Cruise
The first nominee offers an unforgettable cruise through the fabled Far East while the second nominee is the way to experience the Greek Isles and Turkey in complete luxury. The third nominee is an expedition to see the ice bears upclose while the fourth nominee takes its passengers down the Nile in style.

Fabled Far East Cruise by The Yachts of Seabourn
Greek Isles and Turkey Cruise by Sea Cloud Cruises
Land of the Ice Bear Cruise by Lindblad Expeditions & National Geographic
Oberoi Zahra Luxury Nile Cruiser: Down the Nile in Style
Mediterreanean Luxury Cruise on Cunard's Queen Mary 2

Tags: Abercrombie Kent, Amalfi Coast, Amanpuri, awards-main, Cunard, Ebony Lodge, Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo, Gleneagles, Grace Bay Club, Grand Wailea, Hotel Santa Caterina, Kempinski, Kona Village, Lindblad Expeditions, luxist-awards, National Geographic, Oberoi Mauritius, Oberoi Zahra, Phinda, Queen Mary 2, San Pietro di Positano, Savute, Sea Cloud, Tuscany, Venice Simplon Orient-Express, wine tours, winners-summer-travel, Yachts of Seabourn

Luxury Wine Tour in Tuscany: A Wine Tasting Extravaganza

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

Wine Tours Through Tuscany with Cellar Tours.

When it comes to visiting wine country, there's the standard booze bus variety-and then there's the exclusive week-long Tuscany Wine Tour, a Luxist Awards' nominee in the Best International Summer vacation category.

When you touch down in Florence, Italy, your personal chauffeur will be waiting to whisk you away in a Mercedes to the Piazza Santa Maria Novella hotel where you'll spend your first night (the boutique resort is actually a small mansion down the street from the Renaissance church of the same name down the street). On day two, you'll be driven out to the Chianti Classico region for a private tour of the Badia a Coltibuono property, where you'll savor wine and olive oil before continuing along to another estate, ending the day at the hilltop castle in Siena for an overnight stay.

Wake up the next morning for a red wine tasting in the nearby village of Montalcino and lunch at the Poggio Antico's Michelin-spangled restaurant; you'll round out the afternoon with a stop at the hillside town of Montepulciano before heading back to your castle for the night. Days four and five bring more wine tastings, small village sightseeing and overnights at a villa-style hotel. The last day of the trip includes a visit to the medieval village of San Gimignano before returning for one final night in Florence.

The Tuscan Wine Tour sure beats the booze bus, but it's also more expensive: Trips start at 500 Euros per person, per day, for one couple. For two couples touring together, prices start at 450 Euros, airfare not included.

Vote for the International Summer Vacation destination that you think is the best of breed. The winner will be announced on September 1st.

Tags: awards-main, best international summer destination, Cellar Tours, chauffeur, Italy, luxist-awards, Tuscany, wine tasting, wine tours

Two Young Ladies, One Wine - The Launch of BLBL

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Children

Beatrice Landini and Blake Leonard of BLBL

BLBL is the name of the latest wine from the house of Viticcio in Tuscany, and it is named for its two young women winemakers, Italian Beatrice Landini, age 26, and American Blake Leonard, age 24 (above, left to right). Naturally, a pairing like this doesn't come out of nowhere.

These fresh-faced ladies are both the eldest daughters in the third generation of their family businesses. Ms. Leonard hails from the Stew Leonard's family (known as "The Disneyland of Dairy Stores" and famous for their funny commercials), and Ms. Landini's family are the proprietors of Tuscany's Viticcio Estate. The pair met for the first time at age 14 when the Leonard family toured the Landini family's Fattoria Viticcio vineyard in Greve. Both fathers and daughters bonded, and kept in touch.

Tags: BLBL, Stew Leonards, Tuscany, Viticcio, wine

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The Classicist: Caracalla Bagaglio Commemorative Motorsport Collection

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Men's Style, The Classicist

Caracalla Bagaglio Commemorative Motorsport Collection

Simon Jordan takes his supercars seriously. He is the director of Cortese, an independent Ferrari and Maserati showroom located in Bath, UK on the Priston Mill Estate, where you can pick up an F430, Testarossa or GranSport as well as classic and racing models. It also houses his vast collection of Ferrari and Maserati memorabilia, including a library of books, pictures and models dating back to 1947. For Jordan, thoroughbred automobiles are a way of life. Hence he has also created Caracalla Bagaglio, a line of Italian leather goods designed to complement the world's greatest cars. The line takes its name from the Terme di Caracalla race circuit in Rome, where Ferrari won its first race in 1947, and its main range is the Commemorative Motorsport Collection featuring leather bags and holdalls dedicated to pivotal moments in racing history.

Skilled artisans hand make each bag in Tuscany from the finest leather in a process of craftsmanship passed down over generations. Each piece relates to the history of famous race car marques, drivers and racing numbers, and are endorsed by racing legends such as Sir Stirling Moss, Niki Lauda and Emerson Fittipaldi. Each piece closely matches the color (interior or exterior) and racing livery of the car it's designed to celebrate. The Moss No. 7 bag (priced at £295) for example, commemorates Sir Stirling Moss's victory at Goodwood in 1961 driving the legendary Ferrari 250 SWB bearing the number 7, Moss' favorite. Finished in dark blue leather to match the original paintwork it features Moss' official signature embossed into the white center panel, and Moss himself owns one of the bags.

Gallery: Caracalla Bagaglio Motorsport Collection

JPS Fittipaldi No. 6 (1972 'Type 72' Lotus F1)

Cortese 56 (1947-2007 Ferrari 60th Anniversary)

Tags: bags, Caracalla Bagaglio, Ferrari, Italy, Jaguar, Le Mans, leather, leather goods, leathergoods, Lotus, Maserati, motor racing, motorsports, Porsche, racecar, racing, Simon Jordan, Sir Stirling Moss, Stirling Moss, supercar, Tuscany, UK

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Vistarenni, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Ever dreamed of making Chianti in Tuscany? Here's your chance. Vistarenni is a 17th Century villa built on Etruscan ruins of a pre-existing village in the hills of the Chianti region of Tuscany. The 296-acre property is situated between the towns of Gaiole and Radda. This historical, Renaissance property was bought by the wealthy and powerful Florentine Strozzi family in the 19th Century. The main villa includes over 21,528 square feet of living space, with large reception rooms, 13 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms and its prime spot offers views of the countryside. This is the real deal, the home includes cotto tile floors, beamed and frescoed ceilings, vaults, gray stone fireplaces and walls that just seem to breathe history. The basement of the villa is a huge wine cellar excavated out from the rock, providing a great wine cellar for aging prized Chianti. Also on the property there are a 16th Century chapel and a restored 16th Century farmhouse with six bedrooms and three bathrooms, a tennis court and a swimming pool overlooking the Tuscan hills. Part of the land is 29 acres of Chianti Classico San Giovese vineyards producing top quality wine which is produced and bottled on the property. Buy the estate and you get the wine label too. There are also 10 acres of olive groves. Wine, olives, history and all under the Tuscan sun. This home is listed at $21.785 million.

Gallery: Vistarenni

Tags: chianti, estate of the day, italy, tuscany

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Fonteverde Natural Spa Resort: The Healing Waters of Tuscany

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spas

Fonteverde Natural Spa Resort is the five star home to an exquisitely developed set of natural springs in the Tuscan countryside, and an Italian nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best International Spa Retreats.

Located in San Casciano dei Bagni, Tuscany, the resort was built in the 17th century by the Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici (yes, those de' Medicis) to take advantage of the therapeutic properties of the hot springs. Today, one can stay in that same, well-kept residence while enjoying the spoils of mother nature in the seven spa pools and multi-disciplinary areas of the spa.

Fonteverde offers an Oriental area with eastern treatments from massage to reflexology, as well as glass domes for Harmony Therapy, a collection of sonic experiences including the musicalization of your very own brain waves, recorded then given to you on CD. The Mediterranean area regards olive oil as "the element of life," and incorporates it into hydrating, nourishing and beautifying experiences which also utilize the Five Elements of ancient Chinese medicine.

Gallery: More from the Fonte Verde Spa

Tags: awards-main, best international spa, best spa, fonteverde natural spa resort, italy, luxist-awards, spa, spa-main, tuscany

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Epicurean Golf Tours by PerryGolf

by Paul Rogers (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Sports

It's hard to imagine a more enticing golf vacation than one that includes rounds on world-class courses, but add singular epicurean adventures to the mix and you've fully entered the realm of fantasy. The established tour operator PerryGolf has drawn up a dozen such itineraries for 2009. Each combines visits to unforgettable courses like New Zealand's Cape Kidnappers (above) with indulgences such as cooking classes and private, chef-prepared meals in gastronomic capitals around the globe. The destinations range from Provence to Tuscany to the wine lands of Australia and New Zealand.

Here's a small taste of what's on offer. You can cruise the Rhône on Le Phenicien, an 18-passenger luxury barge, stopping at the Seve Ballesteros–designed Pont Royal Golf Club, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape winery and the cheese-making village of Epoisses. Or you can fly to Edinburgh and play such classic links as Carnoustie and the Old Course at St. Andrews and dine at Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, the only restaurant in Scotland to have earned two Michelin stars. For more information, visit perrygolf.com.

Gallery: Epicurean Golf Tours by PerryGolf

Tags: Australia, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, golf, New Zealand, PerryGolf, Provence, Scotland, St. Andrews, Tuscany

Lusso Collection Adds $5 Million Tuscan Villa

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

In August we reported that the Lusso Collection portfolio of multi-million dollar residences in the world's most desirable vacation spots was launching a new membership program. Now the company, whose properties - worth an average of $4 million each - are located in luxe spots such as Cabo San Lucas, Aspen, Miami, Hawaii and the Bahamas, has acquired a $5 million villa in Tuscany, its first European estate.

Located on the outskirts of picturesque Cortona, La Ripa (above) is a 500-year-old, 4,000-sq.-ft. fully-restored stone farmhouse with five bedroom suites, stone fireplaces, terracotta floors and brick archways. The estate's 27 landscaped acres include a privately situated swimming pool, lush gardens and olive and cypress groves. With 31 luxury properties in 17 destinations currently in its portfolio, the company plans to have 39 luxury residences in 21 destinations by year's end, with London and Paris coming next.

[via Affluent Page]

Tags: Italy, Lusso Collection, LussoCollection, Tuscany

A Tour of Italy's Poshest Places to Stay

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Books

Anyone with the price of a room can book in at a grand hotel. It takes a little more effort to seek out the truly exceptional places to stay when traveling abroad in the continental style.*

There are some very posh and quite private places in Italy that don't exactly go out of their way to advertise: ancient castles and estates in Tuscany, sixteenth-century palazzos in Venice, and exquisite chateaus like the mountaintop Villa Beccaris in Piemonte pictured here.

In Italian Hideaways: Discovering Enchanting Rooms and Private Villas, out next week, Meg Nolan, formerly of the International Herald Tribune's Milan bureau, takes us on an armchair tour of the best of them. Take a look at the gallery below for an exclusive preview, and start saving up for that trip....

* (with apologies to Tom Waits)

Gallery: Italian Hideaways

Bedroom at Torre Di Bellosguardo, Tuscany.

Tags: italy, palazzo, tom waits, TomWaits, tuscany, venice

Cook with the Chef at Villa Mangiacane

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wine

In beautiful Tuscany sits Villa Mangiacane, a hotel that in addition to beautiful scenery and luxury sleep accommodations offers its own wine, olive oil, and now cooking classes.

As part of the "Flavours of Chianti" package you're treated the first night to a 4 course candlelit dinner prepared by Mangiacane's acclaimed Chef Massimo Bocus, which prepares you for the following day's cooking lesson with the Chef and a Villa Mangiacane wine and olive oil tasting. Among other treats (like cooking aprons, daily spa access, and fresh fruit in your room) you'll also get a Tuscan Cookbook and a bottle of Villa Mangiacane Chianti. €1270-€2450

Gallery: Villa Mangiacane

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Tags: cooking, hotel, hotel package, hotel packages, HotelPackage, HotelPackages, hotels, italy, travel, traveling, tuscan, tuscany, villa mangiacane, VillaMangiacane, wine

Staten Island Wine

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

When you think of Tuscan vineyards Staten Island is probably not first on the list of places that come to mind, or anywhere on the list of places that come to mind for that matter, but it may soon be. A large-scale educational vineyard is being planned for New York City in Staten Island, along with a signature wine called Super Staten Island Red.

The non-profit vineyard will be all of 2 acres, producing cabernet sauvignon, merlot and sangiovese varieties. It will be an educational effort in regards to how grapes are grown and how wine is made. Created with the assistance of its sister city in Italy, the Staten Island vineyard will take at least 4 years before it's expected to actually start producing grapes for wine.

Source

Tags: New York, New York City, NewYork, NewYorkCity, NY, NYC, Staten Island, StatenIsland, Tuscan, Tuscany, vineyard, wine

Roberto Cavalli Gets Into The Wine Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Fashion designer Roberto Cavalli has already released a vodka but now his family is in the wine business. Cavalli's son Tommaso is in charge of the family wine business which will release two new wine brands: Cavalli Collection and Cavalli Selection. The grapes are grown at the Cavalli family estate, Tenuta degli Dei, in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The wines will be blends of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Alicante Bouchet. The bottles will play into Cavalli's fashion designs with leopard-printed and RC-logo'd bottles. The first 5,000 bottles of Cavalli wine should hit the States early next year.

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Tags: fashion, roberto cavalli, RobertoCavalli, tuscany, wine

Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Wine Spectator has chosen their wine of the year and have unveiled the first ten of their 100 best list. The top wine is the Brunello di Montalcino Tunuta Nuova 2001 from Casanova di Neri. The family-run winery in Tuscany creates this Sangiovese-based red wine which is aged in 600-liter French oak casks. In the Wine Spectator video, James Suckling says that the warm summer days and cool nights of that year created a wine with a rich perfume and raspberry and blackberry flavors with a hint of chocolate and seamless tannins. He also believes the wine could be even better in a couple years.

The Casanova di Neri website says that the quest for the Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova came about with the search for the perfect microclimate of the terrain as well as the delicate cultivation of the Sangiovese grapes. The wine is aged in small oak casks for 24 to 30 months and then for at least a year in the bottle. The first vintage produced was in 1993. The wine has earned a rating of 97 and sells for $70. There were 4,830 cases made. The winery also makes olive oil and grappa as well as fine wines.

Also, I must mention, Giacomo Neri is a serious wine fox.

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Tags: brunello, casanova di neri, italian wine, red wine, sangiovese, tuscany, wine, wine spectator