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Auberge du Soleil Celebrates its Anniversary with Getaway Package

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Auberge du Soleil, the iconic Michelin-starred restaurant (and winner of the Luxist Readers' Choice Award for Most Romantic Restaurant) and premier luxury resort is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a resort (30 years for the restaurant). Auberge du Soleil, which is Napa Valley's first fine-dining venue, helped transform the area into the must-see destination it is today for food, wine, and the beauty of wine country. In honor of this milestone, Auberge du Soleil will celebrate with a year of culinary offerings and experiences in addition to a fresh new look unveiled this month.

The first culinary offering features a "30-Year Journey Through Wine" list featuring 30 consecutive vintages from around the world as well as from the Napa Valley that was compiled by Wine Director Kris Margerum. This special list will be available through 2011 in addition to the more than 1,300 selections that are featured on Auberge du Soleil's standard comprehensive wine list.

Gallery: Auberge du Soleil

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The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection 2011 Fashion Show (Exclusive with Video)

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Design

The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection 2011 Fashion Show kicked off Fashion Week at Lincoln Center in New York last evening. The celebrity-studded affair celebrated the national awareness campaign for women about heart disease. Celebrity models included Ann Curry, Audrina Patridge, Camila Alves, Denise Richards, Dita Von Teese, Eve, Gayle King, Giuliana Rancic, Julianne Hough, Laila Ali, Linda Gray, Natasha Bedingfield, Patti LaBelle (see photo above and video below), Suzanne Somers (see photo below) and several others (featured in slideshow below). Watch the full video of the show on MyDaily.

There were plenty of celebrities in the audience to watch the presentation, including actor Matthew McConaughey and Apprentice-winning Bill Rancic, who were both there to cheer on their significant others (Camila Alves and Giuliana Rancic, respectively).

Many of the participants have a personal connection to heart disease, which motivated them to become involved in the show. "It turned out to be a lot of fun---now that it is over," The Today Show's Ann Curry, who was stunning in Carmen Marc Valvo (see slideshow below), told Luxist. "It wasn't so much fun leading up to it because I was kind of nervous. I have never done anything like this before."

Gallery: The Heart Truth's Red Dress Collection 2011

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Far Niente: A Jewel Box that Produces Luxury Estate-Bottled WInes

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Far Niente is nominated for a Luxist Award for Best White Wine

Legendary for its jewel box beauty, stunning gardens and critically acclaimed estate wines, Far Niente is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Domestic White Wine.

Far Niente was founded in 1885, by John Benson, an original forty-niner of the California gold rush and uncle of the artist, Winslow Homer. It was one of the Napa Valley's first gravity flow wineries, which gently moves the grapes through each stage of production.

Benson named the winery "Far Niente" after the Italian phrase "Dolce Far Niente" meaning, "sweet to do nothing". The winery prospered until its abandonment at the onset of Prohibition in 1919. The winery was abandoned for sixty years, until Oklahoman Gil Nickel purchased the property and adjoining vineyard in 1979 and began a meticulous, three-year restoration. Nickel, a physicist by education with a background in agriculture through his family's nursery business, had relocated to California with a quest to create a world-class Napa Valley wine estate. While the winery was being restored, Nickel took courses in the enology and viticulture program at the University of California at Davis. Nickel's efforts were rewarded with the placement of Far Niente on the National Registrar of Historic Places.

Gallery: Far Niente

Tags: Far Niente, luxist-awards, luxist-main, Napa Valley, Oakville, wine

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Dominus Estate: A Minimalists' Approach to Producing Great Wine

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Dominus Estate is nominated for best red wines.

Dominus Estate in Yountville, Ca. is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for best domestic red wine.

Owner Christian Moueix' philosophy is to produce his wine in the vineyard, not the cellar. The wines are "estate bottled" in the spirit of the Bordeaux chateaux. Dominus follows a traditional philosophy: in order to produce great wine, it needs the best possible grapes. As such, it concentrates its efforts in vineyard. Vines are meticulously manicured. The winery "treats our vines as if they are part of our family, we help them produce the best fruit possible given the climate they have to face."

The company practices crop-thinning, known as "nettoyage", in which the grapes are washed with water, leaf-plucking, and other labor-intensive activities. Following the maturation of the clusters, enables Dominus to harvest the grapes under the best conditions. When the fruit enters its cellar after harvest, it follows a natural process of fermentation with few interventions. Next, the wine is blended in a manner that expresses the natural qualities of the fruit--not forced into a style with preconceived notions.

Gallery: Dominus Estate

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Clos Du Val: Classic Wines that are Always in Style

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Clos Du Val is a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Domestic Red Wine.

The winery's roots date back to 1970 when American businessman John Goelet sent French-born winemaker Bernard Portet off with his passport and a mission to find new territory with the potential to produce world-class wines. Portet fulfilled that mission when he selected the Stags Leap District for Bordeaux varietals.

In 1973, Portet became one of the first vintners to stake a claim on some of the finest hillside land in the cool-climate region of Carneros, another undeveloped and promising district now famous for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Portet's old-world approach to winemaking combined with Napa Valley fruit established Clos Du Val's tradition of classic estate-style wines of balance, elegance and complexity. Its first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1972 was one of only six California Cabernets selected for the now-legendary 1976 Paris Tasting. That same vintage took first place in a rematch ten years later, proving that Clos Du Val wines age with grace.

Gallery: Clos du Val, Napa Valley, Ca.

Tags: Clos du Val, luxist-awards, luxist-main, napa valley

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37 Extreme Actives Wins Readers' Choice Award for Best Skin Cream Line

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cosmetics and Fragrance

37 Extreme Actives wins the Luxist Readers' Choice Award for Best Skin Cream Line.

With a rich mixture of academic and scientific knowledge, Dr. Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas has created an unparalleled line of skin care offerings for her eponymous company. No surprise that her signature product, "37 Extreme Actives," has won the Luxist Awards Readers' Choice Award in the best skin cream category.

Dr. Alexiades-Armenakas started her skin cream line after a more than a decade of impressive preparation. She earned three degrees from Harvard (B.A., M.D., and a Ph.D in genetics), also stopping off at Yale to teach at the medical school and serve as a physician at Yale-New Haven hospital. She started her own private practice in laser and aesthetic dermatology in New York in 2003. Since becoming a board-certified dermatologist, Dr. Alexiades-Armenakas continued her scientific research in skincare, working as a consultant to L'Oreal Paris for three years, conducting clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies and laser device companies, as well as independent research on lasers and her newest work in the lab.

Gallery: 37 Extreme Active